When it comes to fighting breast cancer, you don’t have to go it alone

When Vanessa Jenkins showed up for her appointment to go over the results of her diagnostic mammogram, she just knew she didn’t have cancer.

Her primary care physician, the one who’d referred her to Sentara for a mammogram in the first place, told her she’d seen the results and the mass in her right breast was benign. Vanessa considered canceling the results appointment but figured it couldn’t hurt to go. But when she got there, she started to get the feeling that maybe everything wasn’t okay.

“At the appointment, everyone seemed sad. I was wondering why,” says Vanessa Jenkins. “They told me I had breast cancer. I said, ‘You must have the wrong person!’”

A devastating mistake

As the executive director of health and wellness at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Va., Vanessa was no stranger to the health guidelines around breast cancer screening. In fact, NSU was working on getting CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, so she’d recently been learning a lot about cancer.

For decades she’d been diligent about getting her annual mammogram, and since every year it came back negative for cancer, Vanessa figured this year would be the same. Even when she received a call saying she’d have to come back in for a diagnostic mammogram, she wasn’t concerned.

“I went for my mammogram on January 16th, as I have done yearly for 20 or 30 years,” Vanessa explains. “I received a call that they saw something suspicious, but I wasn’t worried.”

The subsequent diagnostic mammogram didn’t worry her too much either, especially when her doctor told her that the results were negative for cancer.

But, as it turns out, her physician had made an error.

Understanding what you’re up against

Vanessa did indeed have breast cancer, and the news was devastating. Fortunately for her, Ebony Merriweather-Bryant, an oncology nurse navigator at the Sentara Princess Anne Comprehensive Breast Center, had been assigned to her and was at this meeting. She was there to help Vanessa cope with her new reality.

“All I saw were caskets in my head. I wouldn’t see my grandkids graduate. It was going to be the end,” says Vanessa. “When you try to think about the future you start getting anxious. Ebony told me, ‘Just focus on today.’”

So that’s what she did. Merriweather-Bryant explained what would happen next, which included additional testing and consultations with a surgeon to discuss treatment options.

“It’s very important to understand what you’re dealing with as far as your diagnoses. When you have that education and know what you’re dealing with it makes it easier and less scary,” says Merriweather-Bryant.

Vanessa never did find out how her primary care physician – who is not affiliated with Sentara – ended up giving her the wrong diagnosis, but she realized that forgiving and moving on was the only choice if she wanted to focus on getting better.

“It was just a human error, but it could have cost me my life,” Vanessa says. “If you don’t forgive you can’t heal. From that point on my healing started.”

The road to recovery

After finding out that she had cancer, Vanessa discovered that the biggest challenge she faced was the anxiety and stress that comes with dealing with a problem when the outcome isn’t certain. She credits Merriweather-Bryant with helping her understand that focusing on the present – on what she could do right then to help herself – was the best way to handle the situation.

“I was looking at wigs, thinking for sure that I’d need chemo, that I’d lose my hair. Ebony just listened to me and said, ‘That just may not be your story,’” says Vanessa.

Jenkins met her surgeon, Jennifer Reed, MD, who walked her through the possible outcomes of each test and the options she’d have. Dr. Reed encouraged her to continue to eat right, exercise, and generally take care of herself while waiting for the results, and to stay positive, an attitude that she modeled in her examination room.

“When you walk into [Dr. Reed’s] room, it’s not gloomy, it’s very positive. I didn’t need to sit there like we’re at a funeral,” says Vanessa. “She gives you the feeling that, whatever the outcome is, you’ll get through it.”

Eventually, tests determined that her cancer was HER2 negative – which generally suggests a lower likelihood of spreading or recurring after treatment – and that it hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes. With this encouraging news, surgery to perform a partial right mastectomy was scheduled just 50 days after her initial screening mammogram.

Ringing the bell

Vanessa was nervous about her surgery, but with her support network of friends, she felt like she was as prepared as she could be.

“I was a little anxious but I had a whole team of people from my church and sorority, we prayed the night before. I slept well. I had peace with this,” says Vanessa. “When I arrived the next morning, everyone at Sentara Leigh Hospital was so warm, so welcoming. Their spirit kept me going. I felt special, really special.”

The surgery went as planned and the cancer was successfully removed. Vanessa spent one night in the hospital and was discharged to recover at home. Her support network was able to help take care of her so she could focus on recovering, and within a few days she was going out for walks, which turned into brisk walks, and finally, she was able to get back into the gym.

Vanessa found out that she’d be getting radiation treatment but wouldn’t need chemo, or any of the wigs that she’d been looking at.

“When they told me no chemo, I did a somersault,” says Vanessa.

Vanessa started radiation therapy a few weeks later, and a month after that she made one of the most important transitions of her life – from cancer patient to cancer survivor. Like many survivors before her, Vanessa got to ring a bell at the Sentara Brock Cancer Center to celebrate being officially cancer-free.

Vanessa credits the team at Sentara, including her nurse navigator, with providing her with a level of support and care that allowed her to get through her ordeal. In fact, when she rang the bell to announce the end of her treatment, it felt a little bittersweet to also say goodbye to the people who’d been helping her along the way.

“It was the worst diagnosis, but the best experience I’ve ever had,” says Vanessa. “I had my follow-up last week, and it’s like I didn’t want to leave.”

Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself

Vanessa is the first to acknowledge that her story could very easily have had a different ending. Her physician had initially told her that she didn’t have cancer. If she had skipped her results appointment she might not have found out that she had cancer until much later. But even without such special circumstances, many women put themselves at risk by not getting annual mammograms.

Merriweather-Bryant, Vanessa’s nurse navigator, encourages all women to advocate for themselves and to get screened annually, even if the idea of having cancer can be scary.

“Knowledge is power,” says Merriweather-Bryant. “Once you know – good or bad – you can move forward and take care of yourself. Just know there are people here to support you through whatever you're facing.”

After surviving cancer, Vanessa wants to use her story to help other women.

“To the survivors among us – you are living proof that breast cancer can be beaten. Your journey, your resilience, and your courage light the way for other women who may be struggling or afraid,” says Vanessa. “Let's stand up, speak out, and empower one another to stay vigilant, stay healthy, and keep fighting.”