Survivors
Mountain Creek – At 62, Kay Kuhn completed her yearly physical at Tallulah Health Center – which included a mammogram.
She remembers the date: it was Dec. 18, 2010. The week before Christmas. Kuhn didn’t hear back from her reports and assumed everything was well.
It wasn’t until the first day of January that she received a call from her doctor at the clinic: the mammogram had found an abnormality in her left breast.
The doctor waited until after the Christmas holidays to inform Kuhn of the concerns and asked her to follow up at Hope Cancer Center in Asheville. Upon testing, it was determined that she had Stage 0 breast cancer, the earliest form of breast cancer. It is found in the milk ducts, which means it has not spread to the surrounding breast tissue.
Because doctors have no way of knowing which cancers are likely to spread and grow – and which should be monitored for potential spread – it is important to treat Stage 0 cancer. If untreated, there is the possibility that it could spread and move to higher stages.
Kuhn decided to go to the University of Tennessee to a doctor she had seen years before. The doctor commended Tallulah Health Center and their staff, as well as the Hope Cancer Center and their care.
After much prayer and consultation, Kuhn decided to undergo a mastectomy. Two lymph nodes in the area were taken and revealed that the cancer was contained. Because the cancer had not spread, Kuhn did not have to undergo any additional treatments.
She had surgery 13 years ago. She doesn’t regret her choice to be proactive.
Stage 0 may often be labeled as a pre-cancer, in which abnormal cells in the breast have some characteristic of cancer. At this stage, it is not a reason to panic, but the diagnosis is serious enough to take action.
Kuhn continues to monitor her health by having her yearly checkups. At 76, she is cancer-free.
“God has always been so good to me,” Kuhn said. “I have to give Him all the credit.”