Survivor Stories
Patricia Langiotti
Reading, PA
Patricia Langiotti was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma four years ago. Recently, Pat spoke at the PBCC's traveling photo exhibit "67 Women - 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania" at Reading Area Community College, and her remarks hit home with a large portion of the crowd. She has an important message and mission to share. Here are excerpts from her remarks.
The year 2000 wasn't such a great year for me. I got one piece of bad news after the other. Yes, it was cancer. No, I didn't have clear margins on the first surgery . . . I would need more surgery. Yes, it's in my lymph nodes. I needed chemotherapy, but couldn't begin treatment because of wound healing problems. And then, I had to discontinue chemo sooner than planned because of serious side effects.
Everyone stresses prevention and the importance of early detection through annual exams and mammograms. It's clearly an important message. BUT - I wish we could take it one step further and make that message way more effective by lobbying not just for mammograms, but for improving the entire process associated with mammography, for making the annual exam and mammogram a much more effective diagnostic opportunity and not just a routine process that screens the masses and misses so many early stage breast cancers.
Unfortunately, my own breast cancer diagnosis was missed. It was missed in spite of the fact that I have a high-risk family history, that I'm an outspoken, articulate professional, and that I kept a careful and diligent watch over myself, never missing an annual exam.
I went to my doctor with a serious concern about a funny feeling, a thickening in my left breast. Not a lump - an area that just felt different and not normal. I shared this information with the technician who performed my mammogram. In fact, we had an extensive discussion about my family history and my breast cancer risk. Unfortunately, there was no place on her form for much of that very important information to be recorded, so it was not written down or shared with the radiologist who would subsequently review my mammogram films. And, like almost everyone who goes for a mammogram, I never had the opportunity to speak with that doctor or for him to examine me.
Several months later, I was referred to a local cancer center for further evaluation, had a biopsy, and was told my "funny feeling" was indeed breast cancer.
If I had been allowed to speak with the radiologist and had he personally heard my concerns, I'm confident that my outcome would have been very different because I am certain he would have ordered additional studies right on the spot. If that
had happened, I might have had a simple lumpectomy instead of a bilateral mastectomy. My cancer might have been caught and removed before it spread to my lymph nodes. I might have avoided chemotherapy . . . and all of the extreme side effects. I would not have needed two reconstruction surgeries or suffered through almost a year of painful tissue expansion. And I probably would not have had a prophylactic hysterectomy to remove my ovaries. Two or three minutes with the radiologist might have spared me all this.
Women must be allowed to communicate their concerns and to ensure that the doctor who will be reading their mammogram films hears those concerns. And the doctors who review mammogram films must be required to talk with and examine patients who voice special concerns. With that small and seemingly simple change, the annual mammogram could become much more than a mass production screening exercise.
An improved process for early detection would result in many breasts - and many lives being saved. It may be too late for me - but it's not too late for others . . . our daughters and granddaughters and our younger women friends.
Pat currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the Berks County Chamber of Commerce, she is President of Creative Management Concepts, and she is a registered professional management consultant. For a copy of Pat's remarks in full, email Heather Hibshman at heather@pabreastcancer.org.
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Reading, PA
Patricia Langiotti was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma four years ago. Recently, Pat spoke at the PBCC's traveling photo exhibit "67 Women - 67 Counties: Facing Breast Cancer in Pennsylvania" at Reading Area Community College, and her remarks hit home with a large portion of the crowd. She has an important message and mission to share. Here are excerpts from her remarks.
The year 2000 wasn't such a great year for me. I got one piece of bad news after the other. Yes, it was cancer. No, I didn't have clear margins on the first surgery . . . I would need more surgery. Yes, it's in my lymph nodes. I needed chemotherapy, but couldn't begin treatment because of wound healing problems. And then, I had to discontinue chemo sooner than planned because of serious side effects.
Everyone stresses prevention and the importance of early detection through annual exams and mammograms. It's clearly an important message. BUT - I wish we could take it one step further and make that message way more effective by lobbying not just for mammograms, but for improving the entire process associated with mammography, for making the annual exam and mammogram a much more effective diagnostic opportunity and not just a routine process that screens the masses and misses so many early stage breast cancers.
Unfortunately, my own breast cancer diagnosis was missed. It was missed in spite of the fact that I have a high-risk family history, that I'm an outspoken, articulate professional, and that I kept a careful and diligent watch over myself, never missing an annual exam.
I went to my doctor with a serious concern about a funny feeling, a thickening in my left breast. Not a lump - an area that just felt different and not normal. I shared this information with the technician who performed my mammogram. In fact, we had an extensive discussion about my family history and my breast cancer risk. Unfortunately, there was no place on her form for much of that very important information to be recorded, so it was not written down or shared with the radiologist who would subsequently review my mammogram films. And, like almost everyone who goes for a mammogram, I never had the opportunity to speak with that doctor or for him to examine me.
Several months later, I was referred to a local cancer center for further evaluation, had a biopsy, and was told my "funny feeling" was indeed breast cancer.
If I had been allowed to speak with the radiologist and had he personally heard my concerns, I'm confident that my outcome would have been very different because I am certain he would have ordered additional studies right on the spot. If that
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"Women must be allowed to communicate their concerns and to ensure that the doctor who will be reading their mammogram films hears those concerns. Two or three minutes with the radiologist might have spared me all this." - Patricia Langiotti |
Women must be allowed to communicate their concerns and to ensure that the doctor who will be reading their mammogram films hears those concerns. And the doctors who review mammogram films must be required to talk with and examine patients who voice special concerns. With that small and seemingly simple change, the annual mammogram could become much more than a mass production screening exercise.
An improved process for early detection would result in many breasts - and many lives being saved. It may be too late for me - but it's not too late for others . . . our daughters and granddaughters and our younger women friends.
Pat currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the Berks County Chamber of Commerce, she is President of Creative Management Concepts, and she is a registered professional management consultant. For a copy of Pat's remarks in full, email Heather Hibshman at heather@pabreastcancer.org.
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