breast cancer,” Stephney shares.
The next day Stephney went in for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. The shock, fear, and emotional turmoil enveloped her as the reality of the diagnosis sank in.
“I remember walking to the car and I just had a complete emotional breakdown in my car because no one knew what was happening. I hadn’t told anyone. I just started thinking all these thoughts…it just was such an awful experience,” Stephney recalls adding that she wishes she’d had someone with her at the appointment for emotional support, but wasn’t afforded the opportunity.
Treatment Journey
The path that followed was what Stephney describes as impersonal.
“I didn’t have an opportunity to interview an oncologist,” she shares. “I couldn’t really get a feel of what the doctor’s like. It just felt so structured to me – it was very impersonal and I didn’t like that but at the time I didn’t have a choice, that’s what they were offering,” Stephney recalls of her Zoom appointment.
After being told she had stage 2 triple-negative breast cancer, Stephney’s doctor made recommendations for treatment. Ultimately, she underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiation. She also opted for a bilateral mastectomy.
“I just wanted to give myself the best chance of survival,” Stephney shares.
The physical and emotional toll of the treatments, compounded by an unexpected infection post-surgery, added layers of trauma to an already challenging journey.
“I ended up having to have another emergency surgery and that was another traumatizing event,” Stephney notes adding that her instincts that something was wrong were driven by a distinct odor.
Despite Stephney’s persistent efforts to convey the severity of her symptoms to her surgeon, it took considerable persuasion to prompt an examination. To her alarm, the surgeon identified the presence of necrosis at the scar site during the examination. However, in a disconcerting turn of events, the surgeon initiated cutting away at the affected area without