34-year-old mom diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy spreads hope

When Jessica Storm was 28 weeks pregnant, she felt a lump in her upper chest. She thought her breast ducts were likely clogged, but called her doctor. Her mom, Joan Berg, had breast cancer at ages 32 and 41, and Storm had no chance.

“Breast cancer would have always come to my mind,” Storm, 34, account executive at an employee support program in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said today. “I’ve never really heard of someone who gets cancer when I’m pregnant.”

She had an ultrasound and biopsy. Shortly thereafter, she received her diagnosis: Triple Negative Breast Cancer and the doctors at the UW Hellscan Scan Center at ProHealth Care wanted the storm to begin chemotherapy immediately. After experiencing two miscarriages, Arashi worried about the baby.

“I had two miscarriages, so the whole pregnancy was terrifying,” she said. “When I was diagnosed, I wondered to myself, “Why can this happen?” “

Her doctor, Dr. Christopher Hake, said cancer diagnosis during pregnancy is rare.

Relation:

“Women rarely get cancer during pregnancy. When they get cancer during pregnancy, breast cancer is the most common cancer,” said a hematologist and oncologist at ProHealth Care today. “It has nothing to do with pregnancy itself. Pregnancy does not increase the risk of breast cancer.”

However, finding it early usually leads to better results.

“Cancers are always curable if found early. Breast cancers are very curable and most breast cancers are cured. This is due to early detection,” he said. “Early detection of all cancers is our goal, and obviously cancer prevention.”

In the case of a storm, this will be the first of three cancer diagnoses. She is still treated but optimistic.

“No matter how bad your life is, it’ll be better. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “I have a very healthy baby. I have a beautiful life. Yeah, it has some twists, but I overcome them every day.”

The story continues

Chemotherapy during pregnancy, followed by melanoma and brain tumors

Doctors knew they couldn’t wait for the start of chemotherapy until July 18, 2018, when the introduction of the storm was scheduled. However, few in Storm’s life followed her plans, including her birth. She experienced stomach ache while attending a baby shower. After all, she was pregnant for only 37 weeks, so she thought she was thirsty.

“I was dehydrated because it was really hot,” she recalls. “My mother said, “You will have a baby.” “No, this is not a plan,” I began to cry. “

But she thought to her, “Go to God,” and when she went to the hospital, she found that it had expanded by 4 centimeters.

“I took a deep breath and put faith in my medical team, my body and God, and I had to go with it,” she said.

She gave birth to a healthy girl, Joslyn, on July 1, resumed chemotherapy less than two weeks ago, and completed 11 rounds. Many new parents are resentful of late night feeding and diapers, but Storm has a unique perspective on them.

Relation:

“I was alive, so I didn’t complain about what would happen at midnight,” she said. “I’m so grateful to sit with Joslyn and rock her like 2 in the morning.”

After chemotherapy, she underwent surgery in November and knew there were no signs of illness.

“Everything was going really well and I was picking up the parts again,” she said. “And in August that’s what I diagnosed melanoma.. “

The doctor unaware of a small area on her back and found it to be cancerous.

“Sure enough, it’s melanoma, you get stage 1 back,” she said.

She used her tan bed occasionally at college, but didn’t keep her bad habits. She tested positive for the BRCA gene, which made her more likely to develop other cancers, she said. Hake agreed.

“It puts you at a higher risk of developing the cancers she developed. So it is a higher risk of breast cancer, and a higher risk of melanoma as well as other cancers such as ovarian cancer.” There is,” he explained.

Shortly after getting rid of the melanoma, she began to experience headaches that painkillers did not cure. She thought the additional tension made her feel pain.

“I would wake up with (a headache). They were always there,” Storm explained. “(I thought) it was because of stress, because I was balancing so many different things.”

The doctor recommended MRI as a precaution. The results were incredible: Storm had a golf ball-sized tumor in her cerebellum and she needed surgery. The doctor then diagnosed her with stage 4 cancer: the brain tumor was triple-negative breast cancer.

“How did that happen? How did you go from Stage 2 to Stage 4 in a blink of an eye?” “I’m still used to saying I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.”

“I did it together”

After surgery, Storm will begin targeted and oral chemotherapy and will finish in September 2020. Being almost two years old Joslyn’s mother helped her.

“I used to think I was patient, but now I am very patient,” she said. “I learned the difficult way how you visualize your life may not work that way. I’m ready for a sharp turn.”

She and her husband, David Storm, 38, are renovating their new home and staying as active as possible. She gets tired easily, but finds support from David and her mother, who we call the “Role Model,” underpins her strength.

“I constantly said this whole journey. Instead of killing cancer, we killed it,” she said. “We did it together.”

Storm repeats his motto. It helps her feel tough when everything feels overwhelmed, “Gun is not a storm. I am a storm.” And she continues to celebrate life and find joy in the little things.

“If you can live one life, you can make the most of it,” Storm said. “I like being at that moment and thank you for all these little things.”