A survivor’s story
Self breast exam leads to brave fight against cancer

By JESSICA KELLER
ARGUS OBSERVER
JessicaK@argusobserver.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2009 10:48 AM PDT

Ontario resident Vicki Mosier shows off her medal proclaiming her a breast cancer survivor and the Race for the Cure medal she and her team earned this past spring. Mosier, 62, was diagnosed with breast cancer in April of 2008 and was given a clean bill of health in September.

ONTARIO — Ontario resident Vicki Mosier admits she was never a huge fan of the color pink before she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Since then, however, her attitude has changed since she now associates the color with breast cancer awareness and being a survivor — a group she is thankful to count herself among the ranks.

Mosier found her breast cancer during a self breast examination in April of 2008.

Her sister, she said, was having tests run — which turned out to be negative for breast cancer — at the time, and Mosier thought she should take the initiative in checking herself out because it had been awhile since her last self exam. 

It was during that exam, she found the lump under her arm, but initially it didn’t alarm her.

“I actually thought it was because I gained some weight,” Mosier, 62, said. 

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But because her sister was being so careful with her health, she said she decided to be more proactive for hers. 

“My thought was ‘I’ll just get it checked out,’ ” she said. “So I wasn’t too concerned.”

That was on a Friday, and by Monday she had an appointment with her physician. And as of that Monday, her more than year-long process to rid herself of the cancer began, starting with an MRI.

As of Thursday of that week, the lump was removed, and the tumor was sent to Seattle for testing where it was confirmed she had breast cancer, even though there was no primary site where the cancer originated. The tumor was found in a lymph node underneath her arm and did not show up in mammograms.

Unlike some, Mosier had to undergo the whole regimen for breast cancer treatment, beginning with a mastectomy of her right breast, a year’s worth of chemotherapy as well as radiation, which she said was a piece of cake compared with the chemotherapy.

“And it’s very scary,” Mosier said of being diagnosed with breast cancer. 

She said, immediately of being diagnosed with cancer, her life was filled with it. 

“As soon as you get that diagnosis, 24 hours a day you’re thinking about you have cancer and I can die,” she said, adding, before arbitrary pain could be overlooked, but then any sort of pain led to fears of further cancer and illness. “Your mind just kind of takes over.”

Although she suffered from a bout of depression, which was normal for cancer patients, Mosier tried to stay positive throughout, even though it was physically and emotionally trying. The chemotherapy, she said, was one of the worst parts of the process. She lost her hair, which she said was difficult, and it sapped her energy.

“And it’s such a tiredness that until you’ve gone through it, you just don’t know how tired you can be,” Mosier said.

Help, however, came from everywhere. 

“With so many people that have had it, there’s so much support out there,” she said, adding her support came from family, friends, church members and co-workers.

One friend, who also had breast cancer, helped walk her through the process and told her what she would be going through, which Mosier said was a big help. 

This past spring, Mosier, who runs a child-care consulting business and works at the Treasure Valley Community College child care center, was able to rally the troops and form a team that participated in the Race for the Cure event in Boise.

She proudly shows off that medal and the medal she received from her radiation oncologist when she finished radiation, which declared her a breast cancer survivor. 

“What they say is, the day you’re diagnosed you’re a breast cancer survivor,” Mosier said.

Both her radiation and chemotherapy oncologists gave her a clean bill of health in September, and that is what Mosier is counting on.

Her latest prognosis was perfect timing – right before National Breast Cancer Awareness month — October — which is something Mosier feels very strongly about, especially since her self breast exam led to her diagnosis.

She is also a strong proponent of people becoming informed about breast cancer education, the importance of self breast exams and mammograms, following through with health concerns and getting support.

She intends to form another, bigger Race for the Cure team for next year’s race and continue to raise awareness for the disease.

She also will attend a TVCC women’s volleyball match this week that is in honor of breast cancer awareness month, and, yes, she will wear pink.

“I like pink now,” she said. “It’s a badge of honor, I guess you can call it.”