Karen's Story

They say that history often repeats itself, but for Independent Senior Sales Director Karen Callsen, being a pioneer proved to be an uphill battle.

Throughout their lives, most women have fleeting thoughts about breast cancer – family history, whether they are high risk and, if diagnosed, which treatment is best. But Karen, who says she had a “know-it-all” attitude when it came to breast cancer, never thought she would be at risk.

“All of the signs pointed to me being low risk. My grandmother was diagnosed but she was a relative once-removed. I didn’t start menstruating before 12 or after 15. My first pregnancy was at 23 years old, as opposed to being in my 30s. I breast fed all four babies. I was not substantially overweight and didn’t take birth control pills or hormone therapy. I had bi-annual mammograms, yearly physicals and did breast self-exams. I thought I was good to go.”

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. That’s because it was discovered Karen had high breast density, which automatically put her at a higher risk. Since fibrous breasts have more lumps and bumps, she started having mammograms in her 30s. “My breasts were the one part of me that didn’t have fat!” she jokes.

But in the fall of 2003, Karen noticed a flat, oval-shaped lump high on her right breast. After a mammogram showed there was nothing suspicious about the growth, Karen managed to push her nagging suspicions aside and tried to convince herself everything was okay.

“Was I in denial? Maybe. I just prayed that it would go away,” she says.

But it didn’t and, in the spring of 2004, it started to get bigger. After getting dressed one day, she noticed her nipple was inverted – oftentimes a symptom of breast cancer – and “I started to do some serious worrying”.

When a needle biopsy and another mammogram failed to turn up anything suspicious, an ultrasound was finally ordered. The results showed an “area of concern”. Still trying to convince herself everything was okay, when the surgeon’s office called to discuss the results “my mouth went dry. My legs turned to jelly. I had a huge empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew what he was going to say, before he even said it.”

Karen was diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer. 70% of those inflicted with the disease have no known risk factor other than being female.

On the drive home, after being told the devastating news, Karen and her husband Jim rode in silence, agonizing over how they would tell their four children, parents, sisters and friends. In the end, they simply told them the truth.

Through tears, Karen pledged “Dying is not an option. I’m going to be fine!” Putting on a brave front and telling everyone she was going to pull through with flying colours was one thing, but deep down she struggled with the diagnosis and often thought about what her family’s life would be like without her.

But someone once said: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. For Karen, the strength and courage she needed came in the form of a thank you card for a graduation gift she had sent to her nephew, Eric.

“After the usual pleasantries, he wrote ‘PS. Auntie, I know you will kick cancer’s butt!’ It hit me like a bolt of lightning. You’re damned right I’m going to kick cancer’s ass! And I immediately visualized a pair of red cowboy boots, ready and waiting to do the job.”

Two weeks later, she had a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy and, eventually, radiation treatment. Although chemo treatment has many side effects, Karen says that losing your hair seems to be the one that women especially have trouble coping with.

“I had heard horror stories from women who woke up in the morning only to discover their hair lying on their pillow. But I took a proactive approach and had my head shaved soon after my first treatment because I wanted to be the one who said when and how my hair was coming out.”

So, one bright fall day, Karen wrapped a garbage bag around her shoulders and, with their three daughters cheering him on, Jim gave his wife a buzz cut.

After finishing chemo, Karen awaited the final leg of her journey – radiation treatment. During this time, she lived away from her family for five weeks, staying with friends in the city while receiving daily treatment to several spots on her chest. “I looked forward with great anticipation to the day that my life would return to normal,” she says.

But for Karen, that day has never come. Instead, she lives with a new normal.

“My world is forever changed and life will never be the same for me as it was before breast cancer. Life is fragile and fleeting and there is no true safety,” she says.

Although no one ever has a guarantee in life, Karen stresses the importance of regular checkups and, above all else, trusting your gut instinct.

“Mammograms are our first line of defense in detecting breast cancer and are an invaluable tool, but they are not foolproof. You know your body better than anyone and if you suspect that something isn’t right, even if previous testing came back clear, I urge you to have it investigated further. I wish I had.”

Although a long and painful journey, Karen says she doesn’t regret being diagnosed with breast cancer, but instead focuses on the positive this often deadly disease has brought to her life.

“It’s given me a second change to wake up and enjoy life instead of sleepwalking through it. I get up each day and thank God I’m alive! My prognosis wasn’t exactly optimistic, but I choose to live with hope. Hope that I will dance at my grandchildren’s wedding – and they aren’t even born yet,” she says.

“I don’t feel sorry for myself because I live with breast cancer and the uncertainty that goes with it, for I am infinitely happier than I have ever been in my life. I take more risks, love more deeply, give more hugs and forgive more easily. I live in the moment and trust that tomorrow will come.”