An interview byMeganMills
and
Kathy’s story of survival
Kathy Hammond pauses
for a photo on the trek up
Mt. Whitney.
When
I met Kathy, her smile was
just about as bright as the hot pink
running shirt and Nikes she wore.
“
I like your shoes,” I said.
“
Oh yes!” Kathy exclaimed. “My
trainer helped me pick these
out. They are for walking, not
running, but specially formed
to be excellent for walking.”
She said it all in one breath. I
couldn’t help but smile. You would
never know by looking at Kathy—
with her wavy brown hair, toned
body and delightful demeanor—
that not long ago she was ghting a
battle no woman wishes to face.
Asuspicious lump
In summer 2010, Kathy, an intensive
care nurse, was performing her
monthly breast self-examwhen she
felt something out of the ordinary—a
lump situated between her breasts.
“
I was concerned, but I had just
had my mammogram a month
ago, and nothing came up on the
results,” Kathy says.
She made an appointment with her
doctor and a secondmammogram
was done. The results again returned
nothing. Kathy underwent an MRI
and a biopsy on the lump—and
learned that she had breast cancer.
“
I felt very small and helpless,
but I was not surprised,” she says.
“
Both my grandmothers, an aunt
and a couple of cousins have had
cancer. The reason the mammo-
gram had not detected the lump
was due to its location between
the breasts. My experience proves
just how important monthly breast
self-exams are. I joke now that the
‘
valley view’ is important.
“
I textedmy husband following my
appointment, ‘I have breast cancer.’
I wouldn’t recommend texting
bad news to your husband,” Kathy
says. “He came home fromwork
just devastated. We spent the rest
of the evening going through the
education materials I had been
given and talking about howwe felt.
It really helped to have this time
withmy husband to learn that there
are options, there are treatments.”
Kathy discussed her options with
Michael Figueroa, MD, whoworks at
Solace Cancer Care and is amember
of the medical sta at Mercy Medi-
cal Center Redding (MMCR).
“
He is a very kind, compassionate
and honest man,” Kathy says.
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