Doctors find 7 different kinds of cancer cells in woman's breast

October 1, 3:30 PMLow-Carb Lifestyle ExaminerJimmy Moore

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Low-Carb Lifestyle Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Kim Townsend shares about Aunt Glenda

One of the most incredible aspects of my recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee for FitCamp with former “Biggest Loser” contestant Isabeau Miller was all the amazing people I got to meet there. Kimberly Michael Townsend was one of those people and she is a beautiful person inside and out. She worked hard at FitCamp and pushed herself beyond even what she thought she was capable of. But now Kim is pushing herself to do something even better–tell the whole world about the impact of breast cancer which her aunt was diagnosed with last year.

Kim speaks so lovingly of her Aunt Glenda, a 65-year old woman who has remained close to her family over the years, and she describes her as a generous person willing to share her time and resources to help others.

“My Aunt Glenda has spent her life giving to her children and her grandchildren, primarily, but she does leave room for the rest of the extended family, too,” Kim told the Low-Carb Examiner. “She has always taken time out of her life to take my grandparents to the doctor if my mom and her other siblings couldn’t. She made a point to go see them on a daily basis almost. Even after my grandmother’s death almost 2 years ago, she continues to sit with my grandfather in between work and her own family that she takes care of.”

Stating that her Aunt Glenda would “give the shirt off her back if her family needed it,” Kim said this big-hearted special woman in her life was hit hard with the news she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. She added that “the whole family was devasted.” What started out as merely a pain in her breast over several weeks led Glenda to make an appointment with her doctor. After undergoing a series of tests, including a mammogram, MRI, and other diagnostic work, the doctors found the inevitable–a large mass in the breast which was the source of Glenda’s pain. As with all mysterious lumps and masses, the doctors did a biopsy of it to see if they needed to be concerned about it. The result was “the worst news anyone could hear,” as Kim described the cancer news her Aunt Glenda received.

The doctors recommended that her breast be removed since the mass was so huge and it was indeed cancer. She had the surgery within days and once they actually had the mass out they decided to run some more tests. They found that her breast contained 7 different kinds of cancer cells and they even listed her case in a medical journal since it was something they had never seen before,” Kim explained to Low-Carb Examiner.

She added, “Personally, that’s not something I really want to be famous for.”

In the weeks that followed, the doctors kept a watchful eye on Glenda’s cancer to monitor if it had spread. They were pleased to see that all of her tests came back negative for cancer and she was given a virtual clean bill of health. Because they were able to detect the breast cancer early enough, Glenda was able to avoid having to go through painful and sometimes deadly chemotherapy treatments.

“This was a blessing and a surprise to all of us,” Kim remarked to Low-Carb Examiner.

There was some concern by the doctors about a “spot” on Glenda’s ovary since the primary cancer she had usually heads in that direction or the liver when it metastasizes. But that turned out to be nothing in the end–a welcome respite from this devastatingly sudden news that she had breast cancer. It’s been a little more than a year now since her diagnosis and Glenda’s doctors are still checking in on her to make sure the cancer stays away. Unfortunately, it appears the cancer may be on its way back.

In July, Glenda had another MRI done and the doctors found two very small “spots” on her lungs. The doctors said they would wait to see if these grow since they weren’t large enough at the time to deal with. Last month she went back to the doctor for a check-up and one of the “spots” had indeed grown large enough that the doctors ordered another biopsy. Unfortunately, the doctor didn’t get enough of it to make a determining factor about what it is. At this point, Kim doesn’t know if her Aunt Glenda’s cancer has returned moving from her breast to her lungs, but she is holding out “hope for the best” that everything is going to work out.

“Cancer is just bad news altogether,” Kim said, articulating the obvious frustration and heartache that cancer victims and their families go through.

Kim will be participating in the Breast Cancer 3-Day which benefits Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund in November in honor of her Aunt Glenda.

This article was written in participation of Examiner.com's Breast Cancer Awareness Feature.  As part of this feature, Examiner.com asked Examiners to share their personal experiences relating to breast cancer.