At the age of 35, I went to my OB/GYN on August 18, 2017 for an annual checkup. She did a base line mammogram and said she was “an old school doctor and likes to screen her patients early”. Little do I know, she would be saving my life. The next week the hospital called and said they saw some densities in my screening. I was to come in the next day and have a diagnostics mammogram and an ultrasound. The radiologist comes in and says, “You need a biopsy.”
At this point, I’m speechless . The nurse called upstairs to a doctor’s office to schedule me an appointment that day with Dr. Micheal Haiely. She walked me upstairs to meet with the nurse practitioner, and they scheduled the biopsy for the next day. Dr. Haiely came in and said, “It’s probably nothing so don’t worry, but either way we are going to take care of you.” I went the next day and had the biopsy done. On August 29, 2017 I received a call from Dr. Haiely that said, “Mrs. Roberts I’m sorry but it’s cancer and I need you in my office tomorrow at 6am.”
I called my mom and asked her to come to Baton Rouge. I have no family in Baton Rouge, I’m here all alone, so I was very scared at this point. The morning of August 30, 2017 we showed up in Dr. Haiely’s office. We went over the game plan and he made me feel like everything would be okay. At this time he wanted me to get blood work done and get things ready for an MRI. Later that day I went home and Dr. Haiely called me. He said, “Mrs. Roberts we have a problem.” I said, “Yes, sir.” He said, “You are pregnant I can save your breast but I can’t do anything about a baby. We are going to have to get DR. Lafranca on board.” At this point I wanted to jump. I found out I have cancer and not even 24 hours later I find out I’m having a baby as well. Why me Lord is all I could say. In November I made my second trimester. I had two lumpectomies on my left breast. I went into early labor and had the baby on March 31, 2018. After delivery, I started my radiation treatments. I had 30 treatments of radiation 5 days a week. I felt it would never end, but I continued to say to the nurse staff, “This is the price I’m paying to stay alive so lets do what we have to do.” As of today, I’m cancer free with a 4 month old baby and I take a pill every day for the next 5 years just to stay cancer free.
