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Cancer survivor shares story to encourage others

Doctor advocates for wellness lifestyle, self-examinations

LEWISTOWN — Taylor Fultz, 26, of Lewistown, said surviving breast cancer has made her determined to live her life to the fullest.

“Life is too short to let cancer spoil it,” Fultz said.

At the tail-end of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Fultz said she wanted to share her story to encourage others fighting breast cancer.

“I want everyone out there who is diagnosed with cancer to be strong and remember that cancer is not stronger than you.”

Fultz, a nurse at Geisinger-Lewistown Hospital was 23 when she was initially diagnosed with an Invasive Ductal Carcinoma form of breast cancer. Upon receiving her first diagnosis her mother did what she could to help in Taylor’s fight against the disease.

“She not only babysat (my oldest daughter) but she would also religiously keep tab on my treatment and its progress,” Fultz said. “I can always count on my mom, be it 2 a.m. or 6 p.m.. I want everyone to know what a hero my mom has been. I did not want to miss out on my children growing up, but I knew I need to take care of myself for them. Thanks to my mom, I was able to do that.”

Taylor received 30 radiation therapy treatments for about six weeks and underwent a double mastectomy in September 2015. She went on living a cancer free life and found out in July 2016 that she was pregnant with her second baby, Karsyn. However, three weeks before Karsyn was born doctors found another lump in Taylor’s breast-area. Taylor said she was devastated, but knew that needed to fight because she had two babies who needed her.

“The battle was real,” said Fultz. “It was hard, very hard, but I cannot and (would) not give up.”

Doctor Dana Jackson, diagnostic radiology and breast cancer specialist at GLH, said he appreciates Fultz sharing her experiences.

“Breast cancer awareness is about teaching each other,” Jackson said.

Though Fultz’s story is not unusual, Jackson said it not very common.

“Reoccurence is more rare than normal, but it does occur,” Jackson said, noting that reoccurence is most common within the first five years after treatment.

According to www.breastcancer.org, the various facets of breast cancer include Male Breast Cancer, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Tubular Carcinoma, Medullary Carcinoma, Mucinous Carcinoma, Papillary Carcinoma, Cribriform Carcinoma, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, Lobular Carcinoma In Situ, Molecular Subtypes, Paget’s Disease of the Nipple, Phyllodes Tumors, Inflammatory and Metastatic. Though there are numerous facets with which both men and women can be diagnosed, Jackson said they usually fall into two categories; ductal and lobular.

Jackson said the severity of the cancer determines the type of treatment. Generally, a biopsy of a detected mass in the breast is taken and sent to a pathologist who determines if the tumor is aggressive or localized and if the cancer has metasticized. If the tumor is localized, often a lumpectomy is required followed by radiation, chemotherapy or both. Jackson said if the tumor crosses two or more quadrants of the breast–i.e. upper-inner upper-outer, lower-inner and lower-outer–a mastectomy is usually necessary, followed by radiation, chemo or a combination of the two. In about four to six weeks following treatment, Jackson said the surgical area should heal but side-effect symptoms from the radiation or chemotherapy may still need treated. Radiation side effects include shortness of breath and a cough while chemo side effects can be as mild as a headache, moderate as hair loss and severe as naseua and/or diarrhea.

Jackson said patients treated for breast cancer are often seen every three months for the first year and every six months for the next four years to monitor the possibility of reoccurence. Changes in size, shape or contour of the breast, lumps or masses in the breast, clear or bloody discharge from the nipple and pitting or thickening of the skin of the breast (peau d’orange) are all red-flags for further treatment. If a patient with reoccuring breast cancer received a lumpectomy, a mastectomy would be required, while removing the cancer and enduring both chemo and radiation with possible hormone therapy would be required for a previous mastectomy-treated patient.

Jackson said breast cancer risk can be reduced, with weight reduction, exercise and physical activity as well as eating a high fiber/vegetable/fruit diet complete with green veggies high in isothiocynate. Regardless of whether a person has been diagnosed and treated or has yet to have either, Jackson said men and women should do monthly self-examinations and see their doctors regularly and advocates that women especially get their annual mammograms at least by age 40.

Jackson said the American Cancer Society statistics for 2017 recorded more than 250,000 new and invasive cases of breast cancer, 63,000 of which were localized and 40,000 resulted in death. Information on symptoms and diagnosis, treatments and side effects, day-to-day matters, lowering your risk and getting involved can be found at www.breastcancer.org.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct an error from an earlier version.

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