Some people's greatest fear is flying, but not Gretchen M., a vivacious retired flight attendant who made a career of helping passengers feel at ease while up in the air. But when she faced a breast cancer diagnosis last year, it was Gretchen’s turn to experience fear and a loss of control. Gretchen had no family history of breast cancer and had never known anyone who was diagnosed with the disease.
When she went for her yearly mammogram, a suspicious lesion that neither she nor her doctor could feel was discovered in her right breast. After that, "everything happened at record speed," she says. After further imaging with an ultrasound and a needle biopsy, Gretchen’s breast surgeon confirmed the diagnosis of breast cancer. Shortly after, she underwent a right partial mastectomy and sentinel axillary lymph node dissection.
After Gretchen's surgery was performed, her cancer was identified as node-negative. Because she had early-stage disease, her surgeon ordered Oncotype DX®. Some initial lab results had indicated that she would be a candidate for chemotherapy, but the results from Oncotype DX suggested that Gretchen would not benefit from this treatment option.
Gretchen wasn’t sure what to do with the conflicting test results, so she visited a chemotherapy center and talked to patients and nurses about what to expect while having treatment. After that experience, Gretchen wanted to be sure that she was making the best treatment decision for her individual case. "You can't be shy about these things," recalls Gretchen. "You have to be your own policewoman." She then requested additional reviews of her lab results that corroborated the Oncotype DX findings. Along with these new results and Gretchen's Recurrence Score® of 4, she and her oncologist had everything they needed to make an informed decision and they opted to forgo chemotherapy.
Gretchen was ecstatic. "I felt 20 pounds lighter. But it made me wonder, how many people have endured chemo when they didn't need to?” Gretchen returned to her surgeon to thank him. "I told him that he saved my life with the surgery and by thinking of the Oncotype DX test."
Gretchen completed radiation therapy and continues on hormonal treatment with an aromatase inhibitor. Although she had to appeal to her insurance company to cover the cost of the Oncotype DX test, she says that Genomic Health's Genomic Access Program supported her by communicating with her insurance company, which ultimately covered the test in full.
Nearly a year after her initial diagnosis, Gretchen continues to do well. She has embraced her passion for interior decorating and will begin taking classes in the fall. "Interior decorating is a God-given talent. Everyone is always asking me to help them fix up their homes, and it is a bright spot to lend a hand at something I enjoy.” When she isn't helping out her friends, she enjoys water aerobics and walking her 2 shih-tzu dogs.
Best of all, Gretchen is no longer fearful. "The cancer scare makes life all the more worth it. But you have to get many opinions and be your own advocate."