Survivor Story
Monday, February 1st 2010
Betsy Daniels
Submited by Maria Duncan
The first time Woodbury resident Betsy Daniels ran the Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure, she did so because she wanted a nice flat running course to challenge herself as a runner. It was 2001 and Betsy recalls being taken aback by the enormous amount of emotion she could feel in the air – the survivors and co-survivors and all the people there because breast cancer had touched their lives in some way, shape or form. “I felt almost uncomfortable because I was there purely for the competitive nature of a race,” Betsy says, adding that she didn’t know anyone with breast cancer then.
However, the next time Betsy came to Bushnell Park for the Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure in June of 2007, her experience was a whole lot different -- she wore pink and ran the 5k as a survivor. Betsy was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2007 at the age of 46.
“The race changed for me – it wasn’t about how fast I could go,” she says.” It was now about that I could.”
Betsy recalls some signs in front of her that particular year that, now looking back on it all, could have signaled something ahead. One in particular was talking to a family friend who had just finished chemotherapy for breast cancer. “She told me that she had shingles and had a questionable mammogram just before getting her breast cancer diagnosis,” Betsy says. “I remember that day putting it in the back of my mind since I had had those two things too,” Betsy recalls adding that she developed shingles in April of 2006 and had previously had a questionable mammogram.
Even though she was due for a mammogram in October 2006, her busy work schedule as an occupational therapist precluded her from making the appointment then. But in December when a patient had cancelled with her, she decided to call for her mammogram. The imaging center was able to squeeze her in the next day. This eased her mind she recalls because she says she had been unable to shake a “nagging feeling” she had for some time.
Even though she received a call back from the imaging center that time, she didn’t think much of it – with her dense breast tissue a call back was normal for her. When the radiologist told her that she would need the biopsy, she realized this was not the same as before. But even then, Betsy wasn’t truly alarmed.
It was after the biopsy during a quick stop into a store that really knocked her for a loop. “I was looking for some workout clothes at TJ Maxx and the only one left on the rack had a pink ribbon on it,” she recalls. “I said ‘uh,oh’ and immediately walked away.” However, Betsy decided to embrace the signs before her and went back and bought the shirt. “I made the decision that I was not going to be afraid of a pink ribbon.”
The call from her doctor a few days later revealed that Betsy had ductal carcinoma in situ. She was referred to Southbury surgeon Dr. Beth Sieling. “That was the time I felt the most confident that everything would be fine,” Betsy recalls. “It was her manner. She was awesome and together we were armed and ready to kick some butt!”
The lumpectomy produced clean margins and Betsy, who decided that she would not let cancer get in the way of her life, took the weekend to recuperate and showed up ready for work on Monday. “Being at work was therapeutic for me,” she recalls. Shortly thereafter, she began a seven-week course of radiation therapy. During that time Betsy also learned that a skin cancer of her toe had recurred and that would also need radiation. “They did my breast then swung me around for my toe!” she laughs.
A good dose of humor along with some acupuncture treatments helped Betsy relax during the radiation process. “I had read that acupuncture lessened the affects and warded off the fatigue of radiation,” she says. “It made me feel like I was doing something that was right for me.”
Betsy decided to run the Komen Connecticut Race for the Cure again and has been each year since her diagnosis. “I really do look at it as a birthday gift to myself,” she explains. The race is held in June, the month of her birthday, so she asks her friends and family to walk, run or donate in lieu of a present. Betsy, who is a triplet, knows that breast cancer strikes even without a family history and raises money and runs for all the women in her life.
She captains team Bella Donna -- Italian for beautiful woman -- in sincere thanks to Dr. Sieling and her staff for all the wonderful things they do for their breast cancer patients and their families.
Betsy has decided to take on a role as advocate instead of survivor. “You can do everything right but breast cancer has no boundaries,” Betsy says, adding that even though she exercised and ate right, she still shouldn’t have been surprised by the diagnosis. “But one thing you can control is how you educate people that might propel them to go for their annual check-up.” She says the best thing she can do is to tell people that early detection is the key to survival and to waylay people’s fear about cancer. Not every cancer is diagnosed at stage 2 or 3, she says, adding that some cancers -- like hers -- are caught early and “you never have to miss a day of work.”
Betsy was put on Tamoxifen because her cancer was estrogen receptive and she continues her exercise regime. She is in training for her first triathlon this summer and proudly rides her bright pink bike. “My competitive streak is still there,” she says. “But breast cancer has made me appreciate the sport. I can do this because I feel great and I can appreciate looking at things as they go by. I am not competing against myself anymore. Instead I am celebrating myself.”
Betsy Daniels lives in Woodbury, CT with her family and is co-founder of a local Facebook group dedicated to women’s health, fitness and friends. She is also a member of a local breast cancer support group at the Harold Leever Cancer Center and participates in many races, walks and events to fight cancer.
Written by Maria Duncan of Woodbury, CT, freelance writer and 12-year breast cancer survivor.
