My Survivor Story – Kristine Kraft

At age 18, I discovered a lump in my breast while taking a shower.  Luckily the tumor was benign and removed via a lumpectomy shortly thereafter.  After having clean routine mammograms for many years, it was 26 years later, at age 44, that instead of receiving my “clean screen” letter in the mail, I received a phone call.  My mammogram revealed another benign tumor as well as a mass that my doctors wanted to explore further.  They seemed confident that if it was indeed malignant, it was very early stage and contained to the breast (not in the lymph nodes), requiring radiation at most.  I was told not to worry as it was the best case scenario for a potential cancer diagnosis.  I went for a second mammogram and an ultrasound core guided biopsy on October 28, 2015.  When the results came back, both the doctors and I were shocked to learn that I had not one, but two separate malignant tumors.  On November 2, 2015 I was diagnosed with Stage One right breast invasive ductal carcinoma (ER+, PR+, and HER-) as well as ductal carcinoma in situ.  Needless to say, this was an unexpected and unwelcome surprise!  My treatment plan changed to now include chemo and more surgeries, but my determination to beat cancer became even stronger.  In a strange twist of irony, two aunts (maternal and paternal) were diagnosed with breast cancer at just about the same age and successfully conquered breast cancer some years ago.  I had a lumpectomy on December 14th, 2015 and began chemotherapy on January 29th 2016.  I received Taxol and Herceptin weekly for 12 weeks, then Herceptin once a week every three weeks for a year.  After chemo I had another lumpectomy on May 17th, 2016 to clean up my margins upon my doctor’s recommendation.  Once I was healed, I began daily radiation in mid-June.  While I experienced some hair loss and mild fatigue during my treatments, I was fueled by my faith and the love and support of my family and friends and continued to live my life to the fullest.  Cancer was not going to beat me!  On July 28th, 2016 I had my last radiation treatment and showed no further signs of cancer.  I now take Tamoxifen daily (and will do so for the next 10 years), continue with routine screenings, and see my doctors a few times a year for check-ups.  No one wants to be diagnosed with cancer, but this experience reminded me how important it is to stay positive and to carry on as much as you can with life.  Many people view cancer as a terrible word.  For me, I focused on the “can” part of it.  We can and will beat this disease!