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Magnolia woman learning to be a survivor
  
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By TANA ROSS
Before last March, Sharon Leyendecker of Magnolia considered herself an average woman. She was 55, divorced, with three grown children and enjoyed spending her time with her family, fishing and camping and making native American crafts for an occasional show.
Then came her first detour, a routine well-woman check revealed a lump in her breast.
“Nothing to worry about, I thought. I always had it and four years before my tests came back clear,” Leyendecker said.
But her family doctor sent her on to Kelsey-Seybold Clinic where she got a mammogram and a biopsy. Again, results came back negative for cancer. However, the lump was classified as pre-cancerous and a surgical biopsy was ordered. This time Leyendecker’s pathology report called the mass cancerous.
After seeking follow-up care for four months and believing she was in the clear another routine test changed her life. Leyendecker’s surgeon, Dr. Trenith Baker, ordered a magnetic resonance imaging as a precaution.
Because the MRI allowed a non-invasive, two-dimensional view inside the breast, a second larger mass that was not detected by an exam or a mammogram was discovered. Leyendecker said the MRI saved her life.
“Most insurance companies will not pay for a MRI, especially if there is no history of cancer in the family as in my case. But they really should consider looking at MRIs as diagnostic tools rather than dismissing them before cancer is found,” she said. “The MRI saved my life, I am sure.”
Now four months after her diagnosis, and facing four more rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiation, the ever-positive Leyendecker is continuing her course in life, sure of the future and who she is.
“I have always been positive and have told my kids there is a reason things happen,” she said
However, Leyendecker does not entirely believe there was a reason for her breast cancer. She regrets the four years she went without a mammogram and strongly advocates the annual test for all women.
“Not going back was a mistake,” she said. “They would have caught my first cancer sooner. I go twice a year now.”
Looking back at the past year, Leyendecker says the support of her family including her daughters Jennifer and Tracey (who works for a Houston area oncology center) and her son Tony, was invaluable.
Moreover, Leyendecker advises any woman diagnosed with breast cancer to talk about it.
“Keep your family and friends close and talk about it. Do not hold anything back,” she said. “You need to share it with your coworkers too; you see them everyday.”
Looking to the future and waiting on her third grandchild to be born, Leyendecker says she is planning the family’s next camping and fishing trip. And although she does not call herself a survivor yet, she is determined she will be.
“At least I am getting there, I sure am,” she said.
All About Awareness
This is the final in month-long series of articles dedicated to breast cancer awareness. To read past articles, visit www.TheTomballPotpourri.com or www.TheMagnoliaPotpourri.com.
Then came her first detour, a routine well-woman check revealed a lump in her breast.
“Nothing to worry about, I thought. I always had it and four years before my tests came back clear,” Leyendecker said.
But her family doctor sent her on to Kelsey-Seybold Clinic where she got a mammogram and a biopsy. Again, results came back negative for cancer. However, the lump was classified as pre-cancerous and a surgical biopsy was ordered. This time Leyendecker’s pathology report called the mass cancerous.
After seeking follow-up care for four months and believing she was in the clear another routine test changed her life. Leyendecker’s surgeon, Dr. Trenith Baker, ordered a magnetic resonance imaging as a precaution.
Because the MRI allowed a non-invasive, two-dimensional view inside the breast, a second larger mass that was not detected by an exam or a mammogram was discovered. Leyendecker said the MRI saved her life.
“Most insurance companies will not pay for a MRI, especially if there is no history of cancer in the family as in my case. But they really should consider looking at MRIs as diagnostic tools rather than dismissing them before cancer is found,” she said. “The MRI saved my life, I am sure.”
Now four months after her diagnosis, and facing four more rounds of chemotherapy followed by radiation, the ever-positive Leyendecker is continuing her course in life, sure of the future and who she is.
“I have always been positive and have told my kids there is a reason things happen,” she said
However, Leyendecker does not entirely believe there was a reason for her breast cancer. She regrets the four years she went without a mammogram and strongly advocates the annual test for all women.
“Not going back was a mistake,” she said. “They would have caught my first cancer sooner. I go twice a year now.”
Looking back at the past year, Leyendecker says the support of her family including her daughters Jennifer and Tracey (who works for a Houston area oncology center) and her son Tony, was invaluable.
Moreover, Leyendecker advises any woman diagnosed with breast cancer to talk about it.
“Keep your family and friends close and talk about it. Do not hold anything back,” she said. “You need to share it with your coworkers too; you see them everyday.”
Looking to the future and waiting on her third grandchild to be born, Leyendecker says she is planning the family’s next camping and fishing trip. And although she does not call herself a survivor yet, she is determined she will be.
“At least I am getting there, I sure am,” she said.
All About Awareness
This is the final in month-long series of articles dedicated to breast cancer awareness. To read past articles, visit www.TheTomballPotpourri.com or www.TheMagnoliaPotpourri.com.
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