Sandi"s Survivor Story - Conquering the Enemy: IBC
Updated April 16, 2014.
Sandi Johnson went for a mammogram and came out with a diagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.She endured a range of treatments:chemotherapy, surgery, radiation.She owns a gym and is fit, and she has served as the president of her school board.Sandi and her network of support made it through the crisis, and she is now holding steady.Here is Sandi Johnson's breast cancer survivor story.
Sandi Johnson has faced the sledge-hammer diagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.With the support of her family and friends, school board members, and healthcare team, she has survived grueling treatments, as well as an episode of metastasis.Through it all, she kept a journal, and stayed persistent and positive.Her story starts with a compassionate and concerned mammogram technician, who advocated for Sandi and started the ball rolling.
Sandi is married to her husband Gary with two sons, Jake and Jordan.Sandi and Gary own and operate the The Asylum Gym in Machesney Park, Illinois, and Sandi has been President of her local School Board for the last 10 years.Her journey is chronicled online at her Caring Bridge web site.
Type of breast cancer:Inflammatory Breast Cancer (3” by 5” nest/sheet) and Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (3 tumors=2 0– largest approximately 3 cm)
Lymph node status: 5 out of 12 positive nodes
Tumor Description: Stage IV, Grade 3
Surgery:Bilateral radical mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy
Treatments: Chemotherapy with ACT (Adriamycin, Cytoxan, Taxotere), Neulasta injections – 5 months. Radiation of surgery site – 7 weeks.
Follow-up Hormone therapy:Femara.
Treatment for Later Metastasis:Radiation – 5 additional weeks, monthly dose of Zometa given intravenously (see photo).
Diagnosed on: August 13, 2007
Family History of Breast Cancer:None
I knew something was wrong. I had a broken (saline filled) breast implant that I intended to, eventually when I had time, have replaced. In the meantime, I could tell progressively, that something was not quite right besides the break. Unfortunately, once doctors had diagnosed a broken implant, they just did not have any interest in investigating further. My request for an MRI was denied by my insurance company, I believe, because they felt I might be attempting to scam them by getting my broken implant replaced at their expense. I was unable to get help at every turn and it was upsetting.
Finally, by the time my yearly mammogram came due, the technician could tell merely by looking that I was critically ill. Within 16 hours, I was on a biopsy table with a room full of people who were, quite obviously, seeing something that none of them had seen previously. It was an ominous moment for me. From there, I was swept up in the whirlwind of diagnostics, doctors, diagnoses, and desperation. It was determined that I had Inflammatory Breast Cancer as well as your garden variety Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma with lymph node involvement.My cancer had already spread to my 5th and 6th rib on my left side, my right hip and pelvis, my thoracic, cervical and lumbar spine. This was Stage IV cancer.
The approach to my treatment was done with a sense of great urgency and speed. I began 5 months of radical chemotherapy treatment, and then bilateral mastectomies, followed by 7 weeks of radiation therapy. The surgery to remove my breasts and the cancers kept me hospitalized for 11 days.But I nearly lost my life on two other occasions during a 2-month period.I was hospitalized for 6 days with a condition called neutropenia in which my white blood count had fallen dangerously low making me susceptible to every illness imaginable.I was quarantined in an area in the hospital where I could not see anyone other than nurses and doctors who were suited up in what amounted to space suit-looking outfits.
On that trip home, I decided to go back home to Rockford, to the one most positive thinking oncologist I had met to date.There would be no more seeking out second or third opinions...my spirit would surely break if I received another apologetic prognosis.It's frightening! I write, since the beginning of this ordeal, in a diary format on my Caring Bridge website most every day which provides people who care for me an insider’s view to my life as a cancer patient. I have been heralded for what has been called my “raw, in your face, truthfulness” in my writing. I am proud of this fact. My Caring Bridge website has received almost 190,000 hits in 16 months.
Sandi Johnson went for a mammogram and came out with a diagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.She endured a range of treatments:chemotherapy, surgery, radiation.She owns a gym and is fit, and she has served as the president of her school board.Sandi and her network of support made it through the crisis, and she is now holding steady.Here is Sandi Johnson's breast cancer survivor story.
Surviving Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Sandi Johnson has faced the sledge-hammer diagnosis of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.With the support of her family and friends, school board members, and healthcare team, she has survived grueling treatments, as well as an episode of metastasis.Through it all, she kept a journal, and stayed persistent and positive.Her story starts with a compassionate and concerned mammogram technician, who advocated for Sandi and started the ball rolling.
Sandi is married to her husband Gary with two sons, Jake and Jordan.Sandi and Gary own and operate the The Asylum Gym in Machesney Park, Illinois, and Sandi has been President of her local School Board for the last 10 years.Her journey is chronicled online at her Caring Bridge web site.
Sandi's Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Age at diagnosis: 50Type of breast cancer:Inflammatory Breast Cancer (3” by 5” nest/sheet) and Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma (3 tumors=2 0– largest approximately 3 cm)
Lymph node status: 5 out of 12 positive nodes
Tumor Description: Stage IV, Grade 3
Surgery:Bilateral radical mastectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy
Treatments: Chemotherapy with ACT (Adriamycin, Cytoxan, Taxotere), Neulasta injections – 5 months. Radiation of surgery site – 7 weeks.
Follow-up Hormone therapy:Femara.
Treatment for Later Metastasis:Radiation – 5 additional weeks, monthly dose of Zometa given intravenously (see photo).
Diagnosed on: August 13, 2007
Family History of Breast Cancer:None
Something is Broken and Something is Wrong
I knew something was wrong. I had a broken (saline filled) breast implant that I intended to, eventually when I had time, have replaced. In the meantime, I could tell progressively, that something was not quite right besides the break. Unfortunately, once doctors had diagnosed a broken implant, they just did not have any interest in investigating further. My request for an MRI was denied by my insurance company, I believe, because they felt I might be attempting to scam them by getting my broken implant replaced at their expense. I was unable to get help at every turn and it was upsetting.
The Shocking Mammogram
Finally, by the time my yearly mammogram came due, the technician could tell merely by looking that I was critically ill. Within 16 hours, I was on a biopsy table with a room full of people who were, quite obviously, seeing something that none of them had seen previously. It was an ominous moment for me. From there, I was swept up in the whirlwind of diagnostics, doctors, diagnoses, and desperation. It was determined that I had Inflammatory Breast Cancer as well as your garden variety Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma with lymph node involvement.My cancer had already spread to my 5th and 6th rib on my left side, my right hip and pelvis, my thoracic, cervical and lumbar spine. This was Stage IV cancer.
Swept Away
The approach to my treatment was done with a sense of great urgency and speed. I began 5 months of radical chemotherapy treatment, and then bilateral mastectomies, followed by 7 weeks of radiation therapy. The surgery to remove my breasts and the cancers kept me hospitalized for 11 days.But I nearly lost my life on two other occasions during a 2-month period.I was hospitalized for 6 days with a condition called neutropenia in which my white blood count had fallen dangerously low making me susceptible to every illness imaginable.I was quarantined in an area in the hospital where I could not see anyone other than nurses and doctors who were suited up in what amounted to space suit-looking outfits.
The Blood Clot
The other time I nearly died was when I developed a blood clot in my jugular vein.I was hospitalized December 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27.The Christmas that wasn't.This was terrifying ... an indescribable hell. Many times I felt death would have been the easier option. I spent 6 months in an, much of the time, incoherent drugged stupor attempting to combat cancer as well as its treatment effects.Given A Short Sentence
I understand that the survival rate for IBC at this stage is 25% making it for 5 years. I had begun to build friendships with 3 other women having IBC who have already died since the time I was diagnosed. I, myself, was told I could expect to live anther 6 months. Six months! This just couldn't be! I'm vibrant, I'm healthy, I'm fit ... how can I be so sick? How can I look in the mirror and see a woman who looks healthy ... sometimes rather sexy ... that same woman who doctors say may no longer walk among the living in a mere 180 days.It just cannot be possible.I refuse to believe it ...Off to Visit The Wizard
I gather my family and we travel up to the University of Wisconsin at the Breast Cancer Clinic in Madison, Wisconsin.The experts...or rather in my hopeful, humble opinion, the Wizard of Oz. They are going to tell me this business of only having 6 months left on my life is ridiculous.They're going to fix me.After 2 hours with a team of experts at UW/Madison, I am sent home with an apology...they could do nothing for me.The 45-minute drive home was as profoundly devastating as the drive in had been promisingly hopeful.Turning Point – Decision Time
On that trip home, I decided to go back home to Rockford, to the one most positive thinking oncologist I had met to date.There would be no more seeking out second or third opinions...my spirit would surely break if I received another apologetic prognosis.It's frightening! I write, since the beginning of this ordeal, in a diary format on my Caring Bridge website most every day which provides people who care for me an insider’s view to my life as a cancer patient. I have been heralded for what has been called my “raw, in your face, truthfulness” in my writing. I am proud of this fact. My Caring Bridge website has received almost 190,000 hits in 16 months.
Support Network
The support I’ve had from family and friends (and an entire community) has been so moving and something I could not have survived to this point without. I have a husband, Gary, and two sons (Jake, 21 and Jordan, 17) who have been incredible; they’ve done their share of suffering as well. Gary and I own a gym, although I run it while he has works in administration for Blue Cross Blue Shield, also my healthcare insurance provider. (Yikes!) It’s been difficult. I have been school board president of our local school district for the past 10 years and have made many friends who have come out in support of me.
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