At 31, Breast Cancer survivor
inspires councilor
Paula Porten
METHUEN - We love her.
We want to adopt her and take care of
her, (and give her) anything she
needs.
These are the words of Methuen City
Councilor Debbie Quinn and Methuen Fire
Department and Veterans Affair employee
Dottie Avery when speaking of Riverbank
Vice President and Branch Manager
Veronica Calixto.
Quinn and Avery are taking part in the
breast cancer three day walk benefiting
the Susan G. Komen For the Cure
Foundation. The walk will take place
August 15-17 in Boston and Quinn and
Avery will be walking in Veronicas
honor. Veronicas name will appear
on their t-shirts and anyone who
makes a donation in honor of a loved one
or in memory of someone will have that
name appear on their t-shirts.
Quinn met Veronica at a recent Board of
Trade meeting where Veronica was seated
at her table. Her story is so
compelling and moving and we knew that we
needed to tell it, related Quinn.
I noticed this young, pretty girl
wearing a wig. She was speaking so
bravely and confidently about the
situation she was going through that I
was overcome by the reality of her
situation. She was facing life and death
and yet was moving forward in a positive
and optimistic manner. Right then and
there I knew Dottie and I needed to walk
in honor of Veronica, concluded
Quinn.
Veronica is 31 years old, married to
Johnny and they have two beautiful, young
daughters, ages 7 and 2. Veronica jokes
that last year around January or February
she began hearing commercials for the
walk for cancer and heard the statistic
that one in five women will be diagnosed
with breast cancer.
She said, I have four very close
girlfriends whom I grew up with and we
are in our 30s and I used to say to
them, jokingly, that one of us is going
to get it.
Then she recalled, But that
statistic of one in five kept playing in
my head over and over and I decided to
begin doing self exams.
Several months later, in September 2007,
Veronica became a statistic from that
commercial when she found a lump.
Because I had no family history of
cancer, a mammogram would typically not
be performed until I was 40. As my case
illustrates, women under 40 need to do
self exams and go for annual doctor
visits, says Veronica.
I was extremely angry when I found
the tumor and I figured this cant
be happening to me. This is not part of
my plan. This is not acceptable. But then
I got over it and realized, thank God I
found it! she says.
Veronica immediately called her doctor,
Dr. Kaul in Methuen, who scheduled a
mammogram and biopsy at Holy Family
Hospital.
I am very grateful to her (Dr.
Kaul) because she dealt with it very
urgently. She called the hospital to get
me in for a mammogram and biopsy and told
them that I needed to be seen
immediately,
After the tests confirmed that Veronica
had breast cancer, she then contacted
Dana Farber in Boston for a second
opinion.
I had been watching TV and
following WCVB Kelly Tuthills story
of how she was dealing with breast cancer
and I contacted her plastic surgeon at
Dana Farber, Doctor Donald Morris.
says
Veronica.
Veronica had a 3 ½ cm tumor and was
diagnosed with grade 3 cancer and, in
December 2007, underwent a transplant
mastectomy.
My breast cancer is HER-2
positive, Veronica explained.
Up until two years ago, Herceptin,
the treatment used for patients with
HER-2 positive breast cancer did not
exist....my prognosis would have been a
lot worse.
I had a transplant mastectomy and a
tummy tuck where the doctors used my own
tissue for reconstruction. It led to a
very difficult recovery and issues with
the healing process. That is why I need
to undergo a second procedure, because of
issues with healing says Veronica.
After the surgery in December, Veronica
underwent both chemotherapy and radiation
with her last radiation treatment on
April 30th .
Veronica will be undergoing further
re-constructive surgery this month and
then will begin additional radiation
treatment the first week of June and
additional chemotherapy shortly after
that.
They were able to remove all of the
cancer the first time but because Grade 3
cancer is the most aggressive type of
can-cer, and because I am so young, the
doc-tors and I opted for aggressive
treatment with both radiation and
chemotherapy after this surgery,
she says.
After Chemotherapy the first time,
Ver-onica lost her hair, eyebrows and
eye-lashes. Her husband has been
amazing, she says noting that he
took several months off from work to take
care of her.
This month is our 10 year
anniversary, and, hopefully, we can go
out for dinner to celebrate.
Her mother also helps take care of her
and has taken her for treatments. Her
seven year old daughter is quite
aware of the situation and they have
included her in what Veronica is going
through, explaining the process to her,
so she will understand.
I have taken her to chemo and we
have met with a councilor. She is having
a very difficult time with it.
Veronica began to cry while talking about
her daughter.
The other day, she came home from
school and asked Mommy, Are you
go-ing to die? Because kids at school say
that people with cancer die.
Veronica then had to reassure her
daughter. Her two year old sees what is
happening to her mother but is too young
to understand. According to the American
Cancer Foundation, an estimated 182,486
NEW cases of invasive breast cancer will
be diagnosed in 2008.
These figures are staggering,
commented Quinn.
According to the Susan G. Komen For the
Cure Foundation website, eighty-five
percent of the net proceeds of this event
go to Susan G. Komen For the Cure. The
remaining fifteen percent of net funds
goes to the National Philanthropic Trust
Breast Cancer Fund, which provides
on-going support to breast cancer
initiatives.
Debbie and Dottie need to raise
$2,500 each to participate in the three
day walk. If you would like to make
a donation, you can send your check
payable to the Susan G. Komen Foundation
and mail it to Debbie Quinn at The
Valley Patriot, P.O. Box 453, North
Andover, MA 01845 or mail or drop off a
donation at Riverbank, 148 Lowell Street,
Methuen, MA 01844 .(M-W 9-4,Th & F
9-6 and Sat 9-1)
Veronica is not able to walk with Debbie
or Dottie this year, but excitedly says,
I will absolutely be walking with
them next year.
Paula Porten is an
attorney and former member of the North
Andover Finance Committee. If you have a
news tip or any additional information
about this story, please email her at plporten@comcast.net
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