HER | Hannah Sullivan: 'Breast cancer is so much more than a pink ribbon'

Hannah Sullivan, right, and her daughter, Kinleigh, pose in 2018 while taking pictures for a billboard that touted the importance of mammograms. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Hannah Sullivan, right, and her daughter, Kinleigh, pose in 2018 while taking pictures for a billboard that touted the importance of mammograms. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

My name is Hannah Sullivan and I am a 9-year breast cancer survivor.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2011, at the age of 27. At that time I was working at Collom and Carney Clinic as a radiologic technologist and had just finished mammography school. Since my job was in radiology and seeing cancer daily was a "normal" thing to me, I panicked when I felt the lump in my breast one weekend.

I immediately called my doctor, who ordered a mammogram. The results came back and I had stage 2 grade 3 breast cancer. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I had a 3-year-old daughter that I was now scared I would never see grow up. I was sent to Univeristy of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and had 16 rounds of chemo followed by a double mastectomy then reconstruction. Losing my hair was almost as hard as the diagnosis, but I had the most amazing support system.

I have been in remission for 8 years now and am doing great.

October is now known as month of PINK everything. Everywhere you look there are pink ribbons and pink outs. For the survivors and fighters, this month is nothing new. Every day is a reminder of breast cancer. The ones who have "beat" the monster still wonder how long it will stay gone.

Every ache or pain they have has to mean the cancer is back. The fighters are tired! They dream of the day they can be told their scans are clean, and maybe they can be around to see their baby grow up or their daughter get married.

Breast cancer is so much more than a pink ribbon. It's not pretty. It's scars all over your body, bald heads, radiation burns, throwing up, mouth sores, needle sticks, scans and doctor appointments that you dread to go to because you are terrified to hear what they have to say.

I never gave breast cancer another thought really, until it affected me. Now I see how devastating it is to not only the one fighting but the entire family. There is no way to prevent getting it but you can be proactive and stay ahead of the game.

Make sure you do your monthly exams and get your mammogram EVERY year! No one is exempt from getting it! You're too young? So was I! You don't have a family history? Neither did I!

Be aware of changes in your breasts! Check them at the same time EVERY month! If you are 40 and above (35 if you have a strong family history) schedule a mammogram every year! If you notice a lump, call your doctor immediately. Don't ever assume it's a lymph node or that it will go away.

One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. About 40,000 will die from breast cancer this year. Knowing it exists isn't enough. Be informed. Check yourself and please schedule your mammogram! It could save your life! n

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