You’d never know from her infectious smile that Erica has fought, and won, an enormous battle.
It began on May 8th, 2019 when she was diagnosed with Triple Positive Breast Cancer (TPBC) that would catapult her incredibly hard and invasive road to recovery into action.
She was just 39 years old when she noticed something wasn’t right in her breast. “We’re taught to look for a lump, but for me, it never presented as one.” She recalls, “It just felt…odd. When I ran my hands over the top part of my breast, there was a distinct line where it felt very different from the rest of my breast. And because it wasn’t a lump, I didn’t worry at first”. Luckily, she followed her instincts as it persisted and started to take it seriously.
She went to her doctor who agreed it was worth further investigation, and she gave Erica a requisition to get a mammogram – an unfortunately necessary step for women under 40. After her mammogram appointment, she was immediately led past a lineup of pregnant women and ushered into the small, dark room for an ultrasound where the imagery illuminated her worst fear. The following week, she had a biopsy. A week after that she was officially diagnosed.
Without any time to process what was happening to her, she started her first intense and excruciating round of chemotherapy in an effort to shrink her enormous 8.5 cm X 7.5 cm mass before surgery. “I did 4 rounds of Doxorubicin – the ‘Red Devil’” she somehow says through her bright smile. Named for its Kool-Aid red colour and fierce side-effect profile, which includes hair loss, extreme nausea and vomiting, its nickname is common for those unfortunate enough to be ‘in the know’. For Erica, she thought it was aptly named. “To the minute, 4 hours of taking it, I was sick every 10-15 minutes for 5-7 days.” she recalls. Then a week of quiet reprieve before the next dose – a feat nobody should have the honour of bragging about.
After that, she went through 12 rounds of another chemotherapy drug called Taxol, for a total of 5 months and 16 rounds of chemotherapy. Following that, with the support of her family, church and medical team, she made one of the hardest choices any woman can make, and underwent a double mastectomy in November of 2019. “I didn’t want to get implants, I knew I wanted a flat closure, and I advocated for myself to get one.” she recalls, being unwavering in her decision.
But surgery wasn’t the end of her battle, “A month later, I started 25 rounds of radiation and completed 7 rounds of Herceptin and 8 rounds of Kadcyla. I have been on Tamoxifen since Feb 2020 and will be on it for at least 5 years.” While her journey of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation might read as a pharmaceutical dictionary, she’s all too comfortable with the names and side-effects, a common trait in breast cancer survivors.
Once she healed physically, Erica did something to help her heal emotionally. She decided to get a tattoo over her mastectomy scars, helping her to make her new body feel more like her own. A choice to take back control. Now decorated with stunning chandelier-style artwork, she’s proud to show her body, and in doing so, her battle. “I am not shy about sharing my journey, and I love being able to help other women who are currently facing a breast cancer diagnosis by lending my ear and sharing my experience. My hand is open for anyone who wants to take it.”
It’s stories like Erica’s that make donating to breast cancer research so important. Without it, strides like mammography, cancer-fighting drugs and techniques wouldn’t exist. Research is getting us closer to easier, earlier detection, advancements in personalized treatments and care, ultimately saving lives, like Erica’s, across the country and globe. Your donation can help there be no more stories like Erica’s, so please, donate generously if you can.
