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40s: New Outlook on Life
Donna Lindsay, 47
Regional director of a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company; new, single mom to an adopted 1-year-old daughter; marathon runner. Donna Lindsay had a long list of titles and a longer list of responsibilities. So she didn't even notice that she had dropped 20 pounds back in 2003. But her mother did-and had her schedule a doctor's appointment.
A Not-So-Routine Exam
"I'm one of those women who uses their gynecologist for everything, so when I went to see her about my weight, I also got my annual mammogram," explains the Jamison, Pennsylvania, resident. Lindsay had been good about getting them ever since she turned 30, starting early because a benign tumor had been removed from her right breast when she was in her early 20s. Unfortunately, this time the exam revealed something.
Lindsay had several more tests, including a stereotactic biopsy, in which she lay facedown flat on a bed while her breasts hung through little holes, allowing a needle device to remove certain tissue. Doctors concluded that she had Stage I cancer.
Deciding on the Right Treatment
Lindsay's breast cancer type was estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor positive (ERPR-positive), which means it was fueled by the hormone estrogen. While rare in African-Americans, this form of breast cancer is one of few that can be treated with hormonal therapy. However, Lindsay chose to treat it surgically by having her ovaries removed. And even though she didn't need it, she had a double mastectomy. While it is not generally recommended, it can be the right choice for some patients because of the emotional stress another diagnosis could cause.
After her mastectomy, the 5-foot, 7-inch, 119-pound mom joyously looked into reconstructive surgery and considered D cups. "I thought, If I'm going to go through all this trouble, I'm going to have some chu-chu mongas," she recalls. "But my mom said, 'You're going to tip over with those.' " So Lindsay opted for C cups.
Finding Friends in the Fight
One source of strength for Lindsay was Sisters Network Inc., a Houston, Texas-based national organization for Black women with breast cancer. She says she felt more comfortable talking to other Black women in their support groups who could relate to her specific worries about keloids, skin-color changes and more. Today Lindsay encourages other women to fight for their own health.
What You Need to Know in Your 40s
Schedule annual mammograms beginning at age 40. African-American women in general are diagnosed at more advanced stages than White women, partly because of their tendency to delay getting a mammogram, according to Edgardo Rivera, M.D., an oncologist at the Methodist Hospital in Houston.
Talk about it. "I have African-American patients who get diagnosed and they don't want to tell their families," says Rivera. But that silence is keeping us from learning important warning signs from one another and getting the support we may need.
Ask questions. Whether you're panicked about a lump you've found or are about to have surgery, national support groups are available to help. Y-Me, for example, has a 24/7 hotline (800-221-2141) with interpreters in 150 languages and helps callers with everything from how to support a family member who was just diagnosed to finding another African-American woman to talk to who has their type of breast cancer.
Continue to the next page for more from our survivors in their 30s, 40s and beyond and what you precautions you can take ».
Related links:
Paint your life pink: Help fight breast cancer by shopping »
Would you lose your lenghtly locks for a good cause? These ESSENCE staffers did. See why. »
Find out more about the Warriors in Pink campaign and see ESSENCE Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt-Murray get a mammogram and more. »
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