ELLEN ELSON

I moved to Scottsdale from the suburbs of Chicago in the summer of 2005 with my husband and 2 sons. The following summer I noticed a lump in my right breast at the age of 49. I had no primary care physician nor Ob/Gyn. I asked a girlfriend for a referral to her Ob/Gyn. 

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I met with a nurse practitioner in June of 2006 for my 1st exam to expedite the process of getting a mammogram as soon as possible. During this exam I showed the nurse that I was expressing a clear liquid through the nipple. She referred me for a mammogram & an ultrasound. I asked her if both results were negative, would we forget the whole thing? She said,”no, then we’ll refer you to a breast surgeon.”

Also of note is a history of breast cancer in my family. My maternal grandmother had a unilateral mastectomy in the 50’s without any reconstruction. It was very disfiguring back in those days. They took all the muscle along with the rest of the tissue. I’m confident that this was a contributing factor to my grandmother’s  relentless depression.

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My mother had breast cancer twice. When she was 60, she underwent a unilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. 10 years later she had cancer in the other breast. As a former smoker with COPD, she had an extensive lumpectomy rather than full mastectomy. She got a staff infection that left her surgical site quite disfigured. My mom’s chest was a lopsided mess. At that point I made a note to self that if I ever contracted the disease, I would undergo surgery once and wake up with cancer behind me.

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Of course the mammogram and ultrasound came back negative as I had suspected. At the mammogram appointment, the nurse asked me how long my nipple had been inverted. I asked my husband because I never noticed. He told me I’ve appeared that way for months. I called the doctor’s office immediately to get their recommendation for referral to a breast surgeon. It took 3 weeks to get an appointment. When I finally saw Dr Nakamora, she said that trying to read my mammogram is like looking for the moon behind a cloud. I told the surgeon that I have a lump, it’s expressing liquid and I have a nipple inversion which she said looked benign. I said, okay but I’m a third generation-if you tell me I’m okay, great. She ordered an MRI. She also said that if the MRI revealed “highlighting” it’s probably cancer. I had to wait 3 more weeks for this test. It was a Friday afternoon seven weeks after I had discovered my lump. My family was eagerly awaiting the results. The surgeon didn’t call until the following Wednesday late afternoon. She said the MRI highlighted. I said, “Is it cancer? You told me if it highlighted it was cancer.” She said, maybe, we have to do a biopsy to be sure. That took a few more weeks to schedule with an interventional radiologist. It was a needle biopsy. The results of that test were a false negative. 10 stabs, no cancer cells. Dr. Nakamora would not stop there. I had to wait 3 more weeks for the inflammation to subside, then she would do an excisional biopsy. She sent the results of this second biopsy for a second opinion before confirming the result; Cancer, carcinoma insitu.

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After all the diagnostics to get to this point was nerve wracking for sure. “My body, my choice” I told my husband;  Double Mastectomy with reconstruction. Truthfully, I was waiting for this shoe to drop. I’ve been around breast cancer my whole life. 3 years earlier my friend Jody had Inflammatory Stage 3B Breast Cancer. The day she met her breast surgeon, she was escorted down the hall to start chemo immediately. My surgery  was performed on the eve of our 19 wedding anniversary, one month before our son’s Bar Mitzvah celebration. I had no time to be sick. I was planning a family celebration.

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Dr. Nakamora  performed the double mastectomy, Dr. Trojanowski did my reconstruction. What a fabulous job these surgeons did! I never felt disfigured for a second. 4 weeks later, at our son’s Bar Mitzvah you’d never have known the journey I’d been through to get there.

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The final procedure in my recovery was areola repigmentation with Rachell Hall. It was a year after 3 surgeries performed by Dr. Trojanowski. The icing on the cake! I looked like a real girl! I looked and felt beautiful and whole!

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I did not look like my disfigured grandmother or my lopsided mother. I looked and felt like a miracle of modern medicine. Just amazing results.  Rachell’s  procedure took 1 hour. It was transformational. I felt beautiful and confident.  My husband was amazed.

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The story doesn’t end there. Rachell and I fought with my insurance provider to approve this final step of my reconstructive rights. We had 5 submissions after 4 denials. I told Rachell, nevermind and she refused to give up until Blue Cross/Blue Shield paid for the procedure. Rachell told me we were fighting for everyone else who comes after. Fighting for all sisters who will need this final step to wholeness. Our fifth submission was covered at 100%!

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I am grateful 10 years later to tell you my survival story. Happy in the knowledge that medicine and beauty have come so far in restoring women to wholeness 3 generations later. Blessed to know talented doctors and Rachell Hall. Rachell’s determination to women’s health and beauty have made me a forever fan of Breastetics!