“Speak with your doctors if something feels off”
A mum-of-three has shared her breast cancer journey with the public in a bid to raise awareness about the disease. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
Jena Losurdo, who is a mum to three girls, explained that she was breastfeeding her third daughter Mia when she noticed a lump.
She told CafeMom, “I had noticed I had a lump on my right breast around May, but I figured it was a clogged duct. I was very familiar with mastitis and clogged ducts as I have had them a few times before, so I tried to pump and nurse this “knot” out.”
She decided to get support from her OB-GYN, but the antibiotics they prescribed didn’t help and the lump hadn’t gone down at all.
She was called into her doctor for an ultrasound, which led to a biopsy being scheduled.
As she waited for her results, Jena believed she had mastitis and even told her husband that was the reason for the lump. The mum got an infection after the biopsy, which resulted in another trip to the doctor’s surgery.
During her trip, the nurse practitioner had received Jena’s results.
“She looked at me like she saw a ghost.”
“She said, “Jena, you need to sit down. I don’t know how to say this but it’s malignant, you have breast cancer. I’m so sorry.” Tears were in her eyes. I don’t remember much else other than feeling like I was going to throw up and then panicking, saying I needed to get home to my husband.”
The mum, who was only 27 at the time of her diagnosis, was terrified of leaving her girls behind. “The thing I kept repeating was I can’t leave my daughters without a mother.”
The days that followed were a blur for Jena, but the doctor diagnosed her with stage 2 estrogen-positive breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy.
She then discovered the cancer had spread so she would need to undergo chemotherapy. “Dr. Chunduri went over my pathology reports with us and informed me I was negative for estrogen, progesterone, and HER2.”
Jena said her daughters helped her cope with rounds and rounds of chemo. “They were my strength and everything I did, I did it for them. They were too young to understand Mommy was sick and needed help.”
Jena had her lymph nodes removed and finally got the news she had been dreaming about.
“I am now almost a year and a half out from active treatment and I am feeling great.”
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The mum wants women of all ages to be aware of the risk of breast cancer. She didn’t realise young women could also suffer from this horrible disease and hopes to raise awareness by sharing her story.
“If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to know your body and to speak with your doctors if something feels off or different.”
Click here for advice on how to check your breasts.
