2008 Woodie Awards
Manager of Jazzman's beats breast cancer
Jillian Smith
Issue date: 10/13/06 Section: Features
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Heidi Huffnagle, the retail brand manager of Jazzman's and Sandella's, was diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast in June 2005. Through her recovery, she remained strong and is able to tell her story.
The most common cancer in women, besides skin cancer, breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from the cells of the breast. Huffnagle was thought to have at least five spots that looked cancerous.
"When I was first diagnosed, I kept a level head," Huffnagle said, "but my family freaked out. My sisters are both doctors, so they see it all and know it all."
Doctors tell women to start getting yearly mammogram exams at the age of 40, it was only Huffnagle's second mammogram ever. "I'm only 41," she said.
"I pretty much said, this is what it is, this is what I have to do." A week after being diagnosed with breast cancer, her mastectomy, when the whole breast is removed, was scheduled.
After her left breast was removed, doctors found that there was only one small spot in the breast that was cancerous. "You couldn't feel it; it was really small. The MRI tends to over read the report," Huffnagle said, "but I feel pretty good about the decision I made."
Doctors replaced the removed breast with an implant. Muscles from her back were stretched around her body to her breast bone, so the implant could be placed somewhere. She went through physical therapy to help stretch the muscle. Huffnagle, a pretty active person, would rip her stitches several times because she wouldn't listen to the doctors when they told her not to be active.
Huffnagle then started chemotherapy in November 2005 for three to four weeks. She was on three different drugs for 18 weeks. "Aside from losing my hair and being tired all the time, it wasn't really that awful of an ordeal."
Huffnagle said that because of the new medical advances that have come to pass over the years for breast cancer, she wasn't deathly ill. "They now have drugs for everything, like an upset stomach or when your white blood cell count is down," which is why she says she wasn't so sick.
The most common cancer in women, besides skin cancer, breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from the cells of the breast. Huffnagle was thought to have at least five spots that looked cancerous.
"When I was first diagnosed, I kept a level head," Huffnagle said, "but my family freaked out. My sisters are both doctors, so they see it all and know it all."
Doctors tell women to start getting yearly mammogram exams at the age of 40, it was only Huffnagle's second mammogram ever. "I'm only 41," she said.
"I pretty much said, this is what it is, this is what I have to do." A week after being diagnosed with breast cancer, her mastectomy, when the whole breast is removed, was scheduled.
After her left breast was removed, doctors found that there was only one small spot in the breast that was cancerous. "You couldn't feel it; it was really small. The MRI tends to over read the report," Huffnagle said, "but I feel pretty good about the decision I made."
Doctors replaced the removed breast with an implant. Muscles from her back were stretched around her body to her breast bone, so the implant could be placed somewhere. She went through physical therapy to help stretch the muscle. Huffnagle, a pretty active person, would rip her stitches several times because she wouldn't listen to the doctors when they told her not to be active.
Huffnagle then started chemotherapy in November 2005 for three to four weeks. She was on three different drugs for 18 weeks. "Aside from losing my hair and being tired all the time, it wasn't really that awful of an ordeal."
Huffnagle said that because of the new medical advances that have come to pass over the years for breast cancer, she wasn't deathly ill. "They now have drugs for everything, like an upset stomach or when your white blood cell count is down," which is why she says she wasn't so sick.
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