I am Janie Branscomb and a mother of 4 crazy kids that I home-school and live in Florida on a cattle ranch. I love baseball and to travel. I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer right off the bat in October 2017. What most people don’t understand is I will be in treatment until there is nothing left to try.
Name: Janie
Type/Stage of Cancer: Triple Negative Breast Cancer, stage 4
Diagnosed: 0ctober 2017
Age of Children When Diagnosed: 1, 3, 7, 9
Take me back and tell me about the day when you were told “you have cancer”.
I did not have a typical experience with this as I went for a free ultrasound and the results mailed to me suggested possible metastatic disease with a small tumor in breast and suggested a biopsy asap. So I tried to get one from interventional radiology yet the radiologist felt there were too many blood vessels for him to get a good biopsy and recommended a breast surgeon. While waiting for the appointment with the surgeon I had a PET scan and received the results from that while in the waiting room for the surgeon where it did indicate metastatic disease. The surgeon had it all set up to do a lumpectomy as well as take lymph nodes when the oncologist that he worked with suggested NOT to do the lumpectomy and just do the lymph nodes. While in surgery they confirmed it was indeed breast cancer and they scheduled an appointment with the oncologist. When I got out of surgery I had not only my arm pit in bandages, but I also had some on my upper left chest, which to me confirmed cancer as I knew they had put a port in. My husband was the one who actually said the words to me “You for sure have cancer”. I wasn’t heart broken at this point as I know people can “beat” cancer and live many years.
Tell me, how many doctors did you meet with before you decided on your medical team and treatment plan? Did you get the same opinion for your treatment plan or were there conflicting plans? This is often the hardest part, the beginning. What were the key factors in your final selection?
So as a patient I told myself that I had to trust my doctor as they are trained for this and know what they are doing. I was so, so wrong! The first doctor I went to was the one my breast surgeon had recommended. I so clearly remember the first words she said to me when she walked in the room “well, there is nothing we can do for you, it’s estrogen positive, progesterone negative and Her2 negative”. I sat there stunned. Didn’t know what to say. She then said we can try some medication that might get you 3-5 years. I decided to send my records to a family friend in another state who is an oncologist and he agreed with her treatment plan. I took this medication and continued to progress slowly. I went with this plan for a year before I finally got in my right state of mind and said “no this is not good enough for me”. I then went to another oncologist about an hour away from my home who informed me that the previous doctor did not do the standard of care and she ordered the lumpectomy which showed the cancer was actually triple negative everywhere.
What are the most surprising lessons have you learned from your journey?
I guess that I can’t do this on my own. I need to ask for help. I also learned that there are so many good people in the world, some who I have never met in person that are willing to pray for me and help. I have learned that I am not a statistic!
I’m sure readers would want to understand how other moms are approaching telling their children, as it’s different for every family and various ages. How did you approach this delicate conversation and is there any advice for other moms you can share?
I wish I was good at this. It was the hardest thing to ever tell my kids. I don’t think we did it in the best way as i only had the appointment with my surgeon and then surgery the next day so I had to go home and tell my kids that I had cancer and had to have surgery the next day. My sweet little 3 year old was so worried about me losing my hair because it was his comfort. He would hold my hair to go to sleep or whenever he needed comfort.
How do you balance work, family and treatment?
This has been the hardest as I travel 1.5 hours each way for appointments and treatment. My husband works the night shift and I homeschool my kids. We ended up after the first two years that we needed more help because we live in the country. There aren’t really any babysitters that could come often, so we hired a live-in nanny so I could rest when I needed to in the day and could schedule appointments first thing in the morning so there was less traffic and less time away from my kids.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Ask for help!
Who are your biggest influences? Who do you admire the most?
My biggest influence is my Friend Stefani. She has been by my side the entire way. There are also others, some of whom I have lost. Kelly and Kim. Kim still makes me get out and laugh but she also lets me complain and cry when I need to.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I want my legacy to be kindness and service amidst trials of my own.
What do the words, “Beautiful Struggle”, mean to you?
Beautiful struggle means to me grace under pressure. Always being kind and serving others. Being able to help others while struggling is the most beautiful struggle to me.