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McClellandtown teacher living her best life after breast cancer

By Rachel Basinger rbasinger@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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Melanie Dean looks through a folder of pamphlets, information and doctor contacts that she accumulated throughout her ordeal.

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Rachel Basinger

Melanie Dean of McClellandtown is cancer free after hearing she had breast cancer over 7 years ago.

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Rachel Basinger

Melanie Dean looks over a drawing from one of her doctors explaining exactly what was happening in her breast where they found cancer.

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Rachel Basinger

Melanie Dean looks over a drawing from one of her doctors explaining exactly what was happening in her breast where they found cancer.

Melanie Dean heard the scary words “You Have Cancer” over seven years ago on Aug. 7, 2012.

Today, even though the McClellandtown resident is considered cancer free, she always has a small nagging fear in the back of her mind because nothing can ever stop her from wondering if, or even when, it will ever come back.

“The doctor said, you’re never really cancer free, because there’s always the potential for it to come back,” she said. “Even though they removed the breasts and felt as though they got it all, there’s still tissue in the area that they couldn’t remove, so it’s a lifetime of continual checkups.”

In the early spring of 2012, when the now-54-year-old Information Technology Instructor at the Fayette County Career and Technical Institute was having unusual pain in her breast, she made an appointment with her gynecologist.

“My next annual check-up wasn’t scheduled until June of that year, but when you sense something is wrong, you need to pursue it and take action right away,” Dean said.

There was no history of breast cancer in her family.

They scheduled a mammogram, and after the mammogram she was taken for a sonogram the same day because of some concerns.

From there she had three biopsies before she got the call that she had cancer.

She was home alone.

“I couldn’t stop crying,” Dean said. “You hear the word cancer, and it would scare anybody. You don’t know if you’re going to live or die. You don’t know if you’re going to have to have chemo or all of those terrible things.

“I immediately thought of my friend (and fellow teacher) who had been battling breast cancer for awhile,” she added. “You question everything. You just don’t know what the future holds.”

Dean was overwhelmed with information as the person on the other end of the phone call was telling her to call “this doctor and that doctor and this doctor.”

Married with two older children, Dean told her family and then got ready to fight.

“You have to have faith and take one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time – whatever it takes,” she said. “It got to the point where I would only allow myself 10 minutes a day to cry.

“I had to be strong for everyone around me, who were all scared to death,” Dean added. “You do what you have to do. The will to survive is what drives you.”

Over the next several weeks she would learn that she actually wouldn’t be doing chemotherapy or radiation.

“I didn’t have to have chemo or radiation, but I was on Arimidex – its’ used to treat postmenopausal women diagnosed with hormone-receptor-positive, early-stage breast cancer to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back,” Dean said.

And while she didn’t experience hair loss or the other effects that chemotherapy and radiation causes, it did cause terrible pain in her joints and muscles.

She also had a double mastectomy, which caused her to take five weeks off of work.

“Initially, they thought the cancer was in situ, meaning it hadn’t left the milk duct, but during surgery they discovered that it was invasive (it was outside of the duct and in the breast tissue),” Dean said. “They said it was best to remove the breast.

My right breast had a lot of pre-cancer in it so they recommended that I remove it, too,” she added.

From there, Dean opted to have reconstruction surgery.

“I wanted to get back what was taken from me,” she said. “I didn’t want cancer to win. I wanted to be back to the old me as much as possible.”

Implants were placed under her muscles. She went every two weeks for six months to have saline put in expanders before having the implants placed in the summer of 2013.

It wasn’t an easy road as she began having problems with the right breast implant which turned out to be Capsular Contracture, a response from the immune system to foreign materials in the body. A plastic surgeon in Latrobe fixed it through surgery and also found out that her left implant was upside down.

Dean said despite the journey being tough when it came to the pain and discomfort for not only her but by worry for her family as well, she did have moments of hope.

“There were so many ladies who were survivors or even battling breast cancer that reached out to me,” she said. “I received worry stones, cards, breast cancer pins and so on. You become part of a family that you didn’t sign up for, but quickly learn that their support makes the impossible possible.”

A major thing that she has learned on her journey that she hopes to encourage others with is that she had choices even though she didn’t know it at the time. And above all, that there will be people who are there to help.

“I’ve learned that even though cancer is hateful, people care – even people that don’t know you, that there is power in prayer and that family makes anything possible – my husband was with me at every appointment, surgery and whatever,” she said.

Being a teacher, Dean said it’s important for her to educate others on the disease and help anyone along their journey.

“If I can help one other person by sharing my story and my experiences, then it will have been worth it,” she said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health released a report this month that said breast cancer risk increases with age, which is why it is so important that all women be active in their health and get regular mammograms, especially as they get older.

“In addition to a yearly screening, there are a number of other ways women can stay healthy and decrease their chances of developing cancer,” said Department of Health Deputy Secretary Cindy Findley. “Some examples include staying away from tobacco, keeping a healthy weight and being active, and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.”

The American Cancer Society recommends the following screening guidelines for breast cancer:

n Women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening if they want to.

n Women age 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year.

n Women 55 and older should switch to mammograms every other year or can continue yearly screening.

n Screenings should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live 10 more years or longer.

n Talk to your medical provider about the benefits and limitations of breast cancer screenings.

These guidelines apply if you have an average risk for breast cancer. If you have a high risk because of family history, a breast condition or any other reason, you should consult your medical provider.

For more information on breast cancer or the free breast and cervical cancer early detection program, visit www.health.pa.gov or follow the Department of Health on Facebook and Twitter.

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