Survivor Story

Sunday, November 1st 2009

Laura Munson

Submited by Maria Duncan

Many people facing breast cancer will equate their personal journey from patient to survivor with a feeling that they have climbed a mountain. But for one Connecticut woman, actual mountain climbing with her family literally got her through the tough times in her own battle with breast cancer.

 

Falls Village resident Laura Munson, 43, her husband Karl and their children, Lusanna, 8 and Kneeland, 5 ½ trekked up Canaan Mountain to “Stone Man” in between each of her four rounds of chemotherapy as a way to deal with her cancer. “I made it a point to hike to the top between each chemo session with my family and friends,” says Laura. “You have to find the silver lining in this. You set goals for yourself. Exercise was the key to getting through it.”

 

The combination of a high insurance deductible and the knowledge of her own dense breasts led Laura to the CT Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (CBCCEDP) at The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, and to patient navigator Leslie Handelman, R.N., CBEC.

 

The CBCCEDP, made possible in part with a grant from Komen Connecticut, provides funding to assist medically underserved, uninsured and underinsured women in receiving free breast and cervical cancer early detection “I don’t have a primary care doctor. I had been healthy, “ recalls Laura. “But I needed a mammogram.”

 

Because of the Komen-funded Pink Rose Program -- established to provide educational outreach and screening funds to assure that the women of Northwest Connecticut have comprehensive, coordinated access to services related to breast cancer prevention and treatment at Charlotte Hungerford – Leslie,who is certified to perform breast exams, was able to give Laura a breast exam and send her for a mammogram..

 

A shadow on her mammogram screening was enough to warrant a biopsy and an ultrasound and, in August of 2008, Laura was diagnosed with Stage I invasive ductal carcinoma. Even though her mother had post menopausal breast cancer, Laura was still thrown by her own diagnosis. “I wasn’t expecting it,” she says. “Each step of the way (through mammograms and biopsies) you hope for the best.”

 

Following a lumpectomy and a re-excision, Laura’s doctor was not able to get a clean margin. After some soul searching and further testing including the BRCA test and the Oncotype DX that determined she would have a 14 percent chance of recurrence, Laura opted for a mastectomy and chemotherapy. “It’s all your own choice and it just overwhelming what you think about,” she explains.

 

Laura says her relationship with Leslie at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital was an “invaluable” connection that took so much of the stress out of her experience . “I don’t know how people do it without a navigator. Leslie steered me over the waves,” Laura says. “The comfort with her attention and guidance – it gives you strength to deal with what you have to deal with.”

 

Throughout her treatment Laura remained active with the mountain climbing, cross country skiing and she began yoga. But she recalls the cuddling with her kids, Kneeland and Lusanna, was what really helped her through the tough times. She adds that she credits her son Kneeland with “pulling me through it. He was awesome.”

 

Laura’s hair fell out with the autumn leaves when she began chemo in October and is now growing back with the spring flowers. This, she says, plays a significant part in her journey. “I am now coming out of the fog,” she says, likening her experience thus far to a boxing match. “I made it through each bout,” she says. “Now I am standing on the mat not sure what to do.”

 

Throughout her journey, Laura says her eyes were really opened and she is now a staunch advocate for early detection. “I tell everyone not to miss a yearly mammogram,” she explained. “I went from a clean mammogram to breast cancer in a year.”

 

Though she began annual mammograms with a baseline at 39 and then, each year thereafter, she kept up with the screenings, Laura says she is still bowled over about her diagnosis. “It is unreal that it can be like that, so fast,” she reveals. She also says the fact that knowing you have dense breast tissue is key to women getting the proper diagnostic testing.

 

Laura says that one of her toughest decisions was whether to have reconstructive surgery following the mastectomy. “It really was one of the biggest decisions for me,” she explains, adding that she opted out of the surgery to reconstruct her breast, at least for now. “I had started yoga just between chemo and the mastectomy,” she explains. “Finally it occurred to me that I was feeling good again and I just wanted to be done.”

 

Laura says she is happy to continue what she does best – being a mom, a wife, a gardener, a substitute teacher and an avid visitor to her local library. Breast cancer survivor is new to her, but she says, like the gardens she can’t wait to tend, she, too, is always growing.