Early detection is the key to beating Breast Cancer
By Jean Odom
When Michelle Treadwell was diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2024, it wasn’t diagnosed in the most usual way.
“Everyone always feels for a lump, but in my case that wasn’t it. I couldn’t feel a lump and neither could my doctor,” Treadwell said of the experience.
Treadwell was diagnosed with stage 2 Invasive Delta Carcinoma, which began in her milk ducts. While she was told that was the best type of breast cancer to have, it was still cancer.
Treadwell began to notice changes in her body in July of 2023 after losing around 50 pounds in gym classes.
“At first a chalked it up to the weight loss, but the more I thought about it, the more it felt off,” Treadwell explained.
Treadwell scheduled an appointment with her doctor for November 2023, but due to some conflicts the appointment was rescheduled to February of 2024.
“I had dimpling on my breast but lots of women have that as they age,” Treadwell said. “But I would have missed it if I had not gotten checked out. Even the surgeon said he would have overlooked it without further testing.”
Treadwell had a mammogram in February that came back with abnormal findings. In March of this year had a diagnostic mammogram. The results were suspicious, but doctors were still not sure it was cancer at that point. Eventually she had an ultrasound where they discovered what looked to be a tumor. An ultrasound guided biopsy confirmed her diagnosis.
Treadwell decided to have a mastectomy in late March of 2024, to assure her that all of the cancer tissue was gone. She then went through a full chemo treatments in April of ’24 and will begin Radiation treatments later this month.
While the mastectomy removed all the cancer cells, one of her lymph nodes still tested positive for cancer so her oncologist elected to treat her from head to toe and do chemo and radiation treatments.
“It was so fast,” Treadwell described. “Once it gets started it’s just boom, boom, boom,”
Treadwell was treated at the Kirkland Cancer Center in Jackson, and was very happy with the experience.
“I met so many people during treatment,” Treadwell said. “You think it affects older people, it’s not. It’s young couples with kids.”
Treadwell credits her family and her faith for helping her get through the process.
“At first, I was really scared,” she admitted. “But I realized that I was not in control, but God was. My prayer was to have enough strength to get through the treatments. You can’t continue treatments if you can’t keep pushing forward. Lots of people have to cancel treatment dates due to sickness.”
Treadwell’s family was supportive throughout the entire ordeal and continues to be her rock to this day.
“My family celebrated every milestone,” she explained. “You don’t realize how much faith and strength you have until that is all you have.”
Treadwell also found support in other survivors.
“I know of 4 different women who have the same diagnosis as I did,” Treadwell said. “All women in their 40s. There are enough of us locally to make a support group with the same diagnosis.”
Treadwell hopes that her story will encourage other women to pay close attention to their body and get checked out if they feel something is off.
“I wish insurance companies would approve mammograms for anyone who felt they needed or wanted one,” Treadwell said. “This affects so many women. I had never heard of cancer that starts in the milk ducts, but it does.”
Breast Cancer can strike at any age and without any warning from medical history.
“There is no history of breast cancer in my family,” Treadwell said. “You hear about people being diagnosed and you offer to pray for them, but until you are in the eye of the storm you really have no idea how many people cancer affects.”
She wants others to know the importance of regular exams and paying attention to changes in your body. While checking for lumps is important, any change that feels off can be a sign that something isn’t right.
Early detection gives patients the best chance for positive outcomes.
