One day when Kathie LoPiccolo was 42, she felt a lump during a breast self exam. “I felt the lump, and I went in right away for a check up,” she recalls. “The doctor found a lump in the other breast as well and immediately sent me for a diagnostic mammogram.”

The mammogram showed the possibility of cancer. Kathie had a biopsy, and during the biopsy, they confirmed the cancer and performed a lumpectomy. Unfortunately, the cancer had spread to three lymph nodes, and Kathie needed surgery again. The oncologist then recommended chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Kathie followed the recommendations, and she kept going with her life. She was teaching part time and raising her son, who was just starting kindergarten. “I kept working until it was time for the radiation treatments,” Kathie explains. “So many people offered to drive me to Billings for treatments, but it made more sense to stay with my parents in Phoenix. Their home is close to the hospital, and my son could go to kindergarten nearby. That support from my family and friends was an important part of healing process as well.”

After the treatment was over, Kathie came home, but life was not quite the same. “It took a while to get back to normal,” she recalls. “That first summer during chemo I couldn’t do much physical work, and the following summer I was still weak but could do some things. The next year was better, and it continued to get better as time went on. I still remember something one of the doctors said to me, ‘It’s ok to feel sorry for yourself for a day or two after chemo treatments, but then you have to pick yourself up, and get on with it.’ I still try to do this!”

For five years after her treatment, Kathie was on Tamoxifen, a drug that helps prevent breast cancer recurrence in many women. She has been cancer free for nine years now. In that time, her perspective on life has changed. “I am much more conscious of my life, my decisions, and what I do,” she explains. “It’s a big thing to face the reality that your life might be shorter than you would like. I have a son. I didn’t want to die, and I had to let go of the illusion that I could control that. The letting go changed my perspective on life in ways I can’t briefly describe.”

Kathie’s experience is a message to other women. “You deserve to take really good care of yourself,” she says. “A lot of women spend their time taking care of others, but we all need to take care of ourselves too. There is a lot to do in this world, and you need to take of yourself so you can live your life. Just make that appointment, and get your mammogram. If there is something there, it’s much better to know early, and act on that information.”