Cindy Canevari

If timing is everything, Cindy Canevari could certainly tell us all a thing or two about how to persevere when life throws a big monkey wrench into your schedule! She and husband Mike had just moved from Connecticut to the beach in Delaware. They'd left a very fast-paced lifestyle behind and were looking forward to a more laid back life.

Cindy recalls, "We had just moved into our new home, and I had just started a new job at Beebe Medical Center. I actually only had three days of orientation when I found out I had breast cancer. I had to tell my supervisor that I didn't think I could take the job. I work as a physical therapist assistant, so I was amazed when he told me not to worry about it. They held my job for me for nine months. I just can't say enough about the people and the place I work!"

"Because I work in healthcare I think I'm very attuned to issues surrounding my personal health. From the time I heard about breast cancer I always did self-exams. I know there is some controversy about their effectiveness, but here is what I do know -- a self exam doesn't tell you what's wrong -- it tells you what you are feeling isn't normal for you. Anyway, I was doing a self-exam in the shower and I felt this hardness on the left side of my breast that I knew I hadn't felt before. You know that voice in your head (which I think is my guardian angel); well, mine said, 'Something isn’t right!' Remember, we had just moved so I didn't even really know any doctors here. I had just had a mammogram six months earlier and it had been clear, but I didn't want to take any chances. I went to see a gynecologist I'd only been to once since our move, and he sent me to a surgeon. They did a biopsy, and sure enough, when I went for my follow up appointment, the surgeon told me I had breast cancer."

Cindy was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma. About 20,000 women are diagnosed with this type of breast cancer each year in the United States. Invasive lobular carcinoma makes up about 15 percent to 20 percent of all breast cancers. Compared to the more common form of invasive breast cancer -- invasive ductal carcinoma -- invasive lobular carcinoma is less likely to show up on a mammogram, so it's fortunate that Cindy decided to be proactive!

'I think I've had one miracle after another happen in my life," she continues, "I was diagnosed on February 9, 2005. I was supposed to have a luncheon at my house with five girlfriends from high school that I hadn’t seen in probably 20 years. We were close in school, but had all gone our separate ways. I called my friend Jane and said I couldn't have the luncheon because I was just diagnosed with breast cancer, and she says to me you have to come to Cooper University Hospital! Her husband was the Chief of Surgery at that time. I knew he was a doctor, but I had no idea where he worked or what he did."

"Jane met us there at the doctor's for my appointment. I was referred to Dr. Frank Koniges, who is a breast cancer surgeon. He immediately put me at ease, even though he was telling me I had to have a mastectomy. His confidence was contagious -- and a knew I was in good hands. He then referred me to an oncologist, Dr. Generosa Grana. She is the most amazing human being I've met in my entire life. Not only is she compassionate, but she knows breast cancer. When you have a team of doctors and they look at you and say, this is what we're going to do, I was finally able to take a breath. I knew I was going to live."

Cindy learned after her surgery that she had two tumors and the two lymph nodes closest to her breast had microscopic cancer. She joined a clinical trial that was comparing the standard of care on the east coast, the standard of care being used on the west coast, and a third portion of the study with an additional drug. She was randomized to the standard of care for the west coast which was called TAC (Taxotere/Adriamycin/Cytoxan) which was given every 21 days.

"The first chemo session is always the most frightening," says Cindy. "My best friend Joan came down from Connecticut on the train so she could be with me. We packed saltines, we packed ginger ale, because we didn’t know what to expect. I didn't realize then that you don't get sick right away. We didn't need any of those supplies that day. In fact, I drove up and back to Cooper. When it did hit, there isn't a word in the English language to describe how you feel. I've always had a tremendous amount of energy. Well, not while I was on chemo! It was an effort to raise my head off the pillow. When I went from my bed to the bathroom, I'd have to take a nap! Even having the TV on was too much. I will say, however, once I got through the first one, I knew I could get through the remainder!"

After her chemotherapy was over, Cindy had 28 sessions of radiation. "I finished my last radiation treatment on September 28th in 2005. In October I sent out invitations and said, 'I'm having a party for all the women who supported and helped me.' Women in my life had lined up to take me to chemo. My sister flew in from Florida to take me. My cousin took me. They actually made those trips fun. If my husband had taken me I would have been worried about how it was affecting him. These women just let me be me. We would chat, read magazines; we actually had fun. So people came from far and wide for the celebration."

A year after her initial treatments, Cindy had her right breast removed prophylactically. "You know how you just don't want to keep having tests. I didn't want to go every year to have a mammogram -- especially since my first cancer didn't show up. I talked it over with my husband and my doctors. I opted not to have reconstruction. I was not going to give cancer one more minute of my life. I didn't want to go through more surgeries."

"My husband and I went on a cruise in 2007 and I had on a cocktail dress with spaghetti straps. I wasn't wearing anything under it. I can't tell you how many women came up to me and said my dress was gorgeous. No one could even tell. I feel free of worrying about whether I’m sensual or not. I realized that my brain is the sexiest thing about me. Having breast cancer really made me stop worrying about how big my butt is, or how big my thighs are. I'm not thin, I'm not fat – I'm just a normal, middle-of-the-road kind of gal!"

What has breast cancer taught Cindy? Well, among other things, she realizes her golf swing is much improved now that she doesn't have breasts. It's freed her to do things she believes in (she started a non-profit called The Ribbon Cap Club), and as she shares, "The other thing that happened to me after breast cancer is I say yes to everything I want to do! If there is something that intrigues me or that I want to experience, I'm going to do it. There's no more waiting or saying well, I don’t know. I can truly say that breast cancer has given me much more than it took away -- so I guess although it didn't feel like it back in 2005, the timing was just right."