Mission at Work: Pat Mirley

I am proof that routine mammograms can save lives. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time, I was comforted by the fact that we caught it early and I was going to beat it.

In 1995, when I was 35 years-old, my doctor advised me to have a baseline mammogram and to begin having annual mammograms starting at age 40, the recommended age at that time. Because of this suggestion, I caught my first round of breast cancer at 43, before it was able to spread to the surrounding tissue. Needless to say, I am extremely grateful for my doctor’s recommendation. Today, there is some disagreement around when the appropriate age to begin having mammograms is; should it stay at 40 or be increased to 50. Because of my experience, I’m pushing for 40.

My diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or intraductal carcinoma, which is breast cancer that has not yet invaded nearby tissues. But because it was in multiple quadrants in my breast, my surgical oncologist recommended a mastectomy. I visited Dana Farber for a second opinion, at which point it was confirmed that a mastectomy would be my best route of treatment. I underwent the surgery, followed immediately with Transverse Rectus Abdominis Myocutaneous (TRAM) Flap reconstructive surgery, and after that it was just a matter of recovering and getting my life back to normal, which I did until the summer of 2010.

During my annual mammogram, I was diagnosed with the same condition in my remaining breast. It was the same exact situation as I had found myself in seven years earlier; I had intraductal carcinoma in multiple quadrants. In the fall of 2010, I had a mastectomy with sentinel lymph nodes removed, which was immediately followed by a different method of reconstructive surgery consisting of multiple stages including two additional surgeries.

Both occurrences of breast cancer required mastectomy surgeries, but no chemotherapy or radiation was necessary, as the surgeries alone were enough to effectively remove and defeat the cancer. Today, I have my routine mammograms to thank for allowing me to detect the cancer early.

My experiences with breast cancer required many doctor visits, multiple surgeries, and a lot of recovery time. Through it all, my Charles River family provided a wonderful support system for which I am extremely thankful. Now I can use my experience as a way to offer my support to other women. I am a huge advocate for routine mammograms starting at the age of 40 to aid in early detection, and because I know having a mammogram can be an anxiety provoking experience, I offer to accompany other women to their appointments. I received incredible support from others during both of my experiences with cancer, from pre-diagnosis through full recovery; now I would like to share that support in return.

-Pat Mirley, Research Animal Diagnostic Services, Wilmington, Massachusetts