Dale Ferguson-Joseph is celebrating seven years cancer free as Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed globally.
Ferguson-Joseph's battle to best breast cancer began on what she said was a "regular Monday" on September 19, 2016 - which would also become the day her life changed, and words like battle, warrior, and survivor would forever become attached to the 71-year-old's name. She was diagnosed with cancer. She fought valiantly as she did battle with the disease. And she survived breast cancer.
Ferguson-Joseph said she is one of those women who loves to pamper herself which means indulging in long, fragranced baths and showers which she always follows with complementary fragranced body lotions and sprays. It was as she enjoyed her evening ritual that she felt a small "prickle-like" lump under her right breast - a lump that she had not encountered during her morning routine. Concerned, she recalls having awoken a number of times during that night to check the spot to see if it had gone away; each time, she said it was still there.
Not wanting to alarm her family, unnecessarily, she opted to not tell them of what she had found, especially as she was scheduled to visit her primary care physician in a few days for her annual. During the visit she said she immediately brought the lump to her doctor's attention, and a biopsy was ordered. She had the biopsy done that very day. And was told to return in 14 days for the results.
Her result returned positive for stage II breast cancer.
"Just hearing the words "breast cancer" was scary," recalled Ferguson-Joseph.
"Absolutely heartbreaking!"
But she said she is not one of those people prone to crumbling in the face of adversity.
"I called my son Mervyn Johnson, and two my siblings Eloise Moxey, Deidre Gray, and shared the news with them. My faith in God is strong [and] I said to myself, God you are in control – you make no mistakes. You and I together – we gat this!"
Ferguson-Joseph was told by her doctor to travel to Florida to have a PET (positron emission tomography) scan, which determined that the cancer had not metastasized. And she got down to the business of doing what she needed to do to rid her body of the insidious disease.
An MRI on her breast and blood work confirmed Ferguson-Joseph's cancer as HER2 and aggressive; a right breast mastectomy was recommended. Her oncologist recommended six chemotherapy treatments prior to surgery.
Just under two months from finding the lump, Ferguson-Joseph had a port-a-cath inserted to begin chemotherapy, and took her first chemo infusion one day later. Her last pre-op chemotherapy infusion took place on March 7, 2017.
The five months of chemotherapy treatments shrunk the tumor.
But it was also a rough period for Ferguson-Joseph.
"There were days I could not drink water. The chemo did a number on me. It was rough."
During her treatment, her sister Deidre Gray moved Ferguson-Joseph in with her.
"But I fought," she recalled.
Today she is thriving, and she chalks it up to her faith.
"There is nothing God can't do. You have to put your faith and trust in him," she said.
Ferguson-Joseph opted for a bilateral mastectomy which she had done on Friday, April 7, 2017.
"It wasn't just about me. I wanted to live for my son and my two grandchildren. I wanted to do any and everything to live – no, ifs, ands or buts about it."
She said on the morning of her surgery her chart showed that she was scheduled to have her right breast removed, but she told them she wanted to remove both, because she had heard the stories about women removing one breast and the cancer returning in the second breast."
At age 64 at the time, an appointment was set up for her with a plastic surgeon who spoke to her about reconstruction - the different types of implants, and the pros and cons. She was given all information including the possibility that her implants could leak and what could happen, including death.
Ferguson-Joseph opted out.
"I said God has brought me through cancer and to fly in his face and do reconstruction, and what could happen. I would not do reconstruction."
Ferguson-Joseph's oncologist recommended she do a treatment of Herceptin every three weeks as a "maintenance" precaution. Herceptin is a monoclonal antibody used to treat breast cancer and stomach cancer. It is specifically used for cancer that is HER2 receptor positive.
Ferguson-Joseph saw her port removed one year after her diagnosis and took her final Herceptin infusion weeks later, and visits her oncologist for yearly for check-ins.
"Getting the breast cancer news is not a death sentence if you catch it early" she said as Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed.
She encourages women to know their bodies.
"Knowing your body is important. Checking your body is important. You know when something is foreign. I found my own lump while moisturizing my body," she said. "Thank goodness I detected it early, and for my family who was there from day one."
Today, Ferguson-Joseph said it feels good to know she is cancer-free, and she visits her oncologist yearly.
Surgical oncologist Dr. Don Major previously told The Nassau Guardian that one-in-eight women will develop breast cancer and that men are also at risk for breast cancer with a one-in-250 chance of developing the disease. And that symptoms are the same in both men and women, commonly presenting as a lump in the breast.
Treatment for men's breast cancer according to the doctor is also the same for women with respect to surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month is observed, awareness of the disease is heightened. And people are encouraged to be aware of their breasts and what they look like.
Symptoms
Women and men are encouraged to recognize the symptoms that may indicate breast cancer, and to be cognizant of the fact that different people have different symptoms of breast cancer. And that some people do not have any signs or symptoms at all.
Symptoms people need to be aware of include a new lump in the breast or underarm (armpit); thickening or swelling of part of the breast; irritation or dimpling of breast skin; redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast; pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area; nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood; any change in the size or the shape of the breast; and pain in any area of the breast.
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Preventions said people should keep in mind that symptoms can happen with other conditions that are not cancer.
People are also reminded that no breast is typical, and what is normal for one person may not be normal for another person. The way a woman's breasts look and feel can be affected by getting their period, having children, losing or gaining weight, and taking certain medications. Breasts, they say, also tend to change with age.
There are different types of breast cancer. The most common types are invasive ductal carcinoma, and invasive lobular carcinoma, according to the CDC.
In ductal, the cancer cells begin in the ducts, then grow outside the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
In invasive, cancer cells begin in the lobules (a gland that makes milk), then spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by. The invasive cancer cells can also spread to the other parts of the body.
The type of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer, according to the CDC.
Risk factors
Risk factors you cannot change include getting older - the risk for breast cancer increases with age; most breast cancers are diagnosed after age 50; genetic mutations - inherited changes (mutations) to certain genes, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Women who have inherited these genetic changes are at higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Reproductive history - early menstrual periods before age 12 and starting menopause after age 55 - exposes women to hormones longer, raising their risk of getting breast cancer; having dense breasts - dense breasts have more connective tissue than fatty tissue, which can sometimes make it hard to see tumors on a mammogram. And women with dense breasts are more likely to get breast cancer. Personal history of breast cancer or certain noncancerous breast diseases; family history of breast or ovarian cancer; and previous treatment using radiation therapy.
Risk factors you can change include not being physically active - women who are not physically active have a higher risk of getting breast cancer; being overweight or obese after menopause - older women who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of getting breast cancer than those at a normal weight; taking hormones - some forms of hormone replacement therapy (those that include both estrogen and progesterone) taken during menopause can raise risk for breast cancer when taken for more than five years. Certain oral contraceptives (birth control pills) also have been found to raise breast cancer risk. Reproductive history - having the first pregnancy after age 30, not breastfeeding, and never having a full-term pregnancy - can raise breast cancer risk; and drinking alcohol - studies show that a woman's risk for breast cancer increases with the more alcohol she drinks.
According to the CDC, research suggests that other factors such as smoking, being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer, and changes in other hormones, due to night shift working, also may increase breast cancer risk.
People who are high risk for breast cancer include those with a strong family history of breast cancer or inherited changes in your BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. They may also have a high risk for ovarian cancer.
Screening
Women are especially also encouraged to have themselves screened for breast cancer before there are signs or symptoms of the disease. The CDC said although breast cancer screening cannot prevent breast cancer, it can help find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat. Women are encouraged to talk to their doctor about which breast cancer screening tests - mammogram, breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - are right for them, and when they should have them.
Other breast exams include a clinical breast exam by a doctor or nurse, who uses their hands to feel for lumps or other changes; and each individual being self-aware of how their breasts look and feel, so they can notice symptoms such as lumps, pain, or changes in size that may be of concern.
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