Meet Angie, a remarkable soul hailing from Nova Scotia, who has bravely navigated the tumultuous waters of cancer not once, but twice. This time, she is facing the challenges of Inflammatory Breast Cancer. Her journey is a true testament to strength and the unyielding human spirit.
Join us as we stand alongside Angie in her quest to illuminate the path for others! Thank you for sharing your story Angie!
“My name is Angela Reeves and this is my story – so far.
Do you ever feel like your life is on hold? There are so many things I wanted to do and can’t. Right now It’s all about IBC and treatments and surgery, this now is my life.
I am 57 years old and from Truro, Nova Scotia. I was diagnosed with IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) in 2014 and had a mastectomy, chemo, radiation and reconstruction and put on tamoxifen. I was shocked to be diagnosed with breast cancer again 9 years later, even more shocked that it is IBC!
I noticed something different in December 2022 and mentioned it to my doctor. He said it was nothing, I got him to check it again in March as my breast was increasing in size. Still he said it’s nothing. Having an implant on the other side, I thought maybe it was due to weight gain. But it got larger and there were marks and a bit of dimpling. I tried to get a mammogram but couldn’t, so I had to wait until July 31st for my yearly mammogram and I got a call 2 hours later to see the doctor the next day. I was put on an urgent list for a surgeon and had a biopsy a week later.
The results as we now know, was stage 3 IBC HER2 positive and a CT showed lymph node involvement. I did 6 rounds of chemo (FEC-D) which shrunk the tumour a lot! I am now getting Herceptin for a year. My mastectomy was last week on February 13th. It was a more intense surgery than last time, a modified radical mastectomy and there isn’t enough skin for an implant. This upsets me. Asking for a bilateral mastectomy in 2014 and being refused also upsets me. As does my doctor not listening to me. It wouldn’t have got as bad had my doctor listened to me! I had a lot of anger, but I have let it go and am just doing what I have to do now.
All I can do is hope it doesn’t come back as we know IBC has a high risk of returning and that scares me. If you have any questions, please let me know. I am happy to be a part of bringing awareness to IBC. I did not know anyone who had it before and I met a lot of people who had breast cancer in other groups and at the Breast Cancer Retreat in Nova Scotia. Fortunately, I have now found a group for IBC in Canada so I don’t feel so alone.”