Â鶹ӳ»­

As Rebecca Stedman has learned firsthand, breast cancer treatment doesn¡¯t always go as planned. That¡¯s why she¡¯s glad that she started her journey with the right mindset.

¡°Honestly, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me, ¡®Don¡¯t run ahead and don¡¯t lag behind -- just say in the moment and take it one step at a time,¡¯¡± she says.

Rebecca was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer on Aug. 12, 2015, after she discovered a lump on her left breast. She decided to seek help at MD Anderson in The Woodlands because it was near her home in Splendora, Texas.

¡°I did not want to drive in Houston traffic if I could avoid it. I felt that it would¡¯ve added to my stress level,¡± she says.

Rebecca¡¯s breast cancer treatment plan

During her first visit to MD Anderson in The Woodlands, she met with breast surgeon , and oncologist Together, they developed her treatment plan: surgery, then chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy, and finally breast reconstruction.

¡°They were very encouraging, and they were very hopeful,¡± she says.

And they supported Rebecca¡¯s decision to take a family vacation to Disney World? that October.

¡°That really made me feel like I picked a great team. They really cared for me, for my emotional wellbeing as well as the physical,¡± she says.

Three days after Rebecca returned from her trip, FitzSullivan performed surgery on her left breast.

¡°They opened me up like a flower, took the cancer and about 25 lymph nodes out and put me back together with a tissue expander, which preserved that space and kept the skin stretched and supple throughout radiation and chemo until I was ready for my breast reconstruction surgery,¡± she says.  

Treating infection after breast cancer surgery

In December, Rebecca started her five-month-long journey with chemotherapy, but just as she neared the end of it, she developed an infection at the site of her tissue expander.

¡°Basically what we discovered is that my body was treating the fluid around the tissue expander as a foreign object,¡± she says.

Radiation oncologist , said Rebecca couldn¡¯t start radiation therapy under those circumstances. So on May 19, she had another surgery to remove the tissue expander and the skin she¡¯d hoped to preserve.

¡°I ended up being flat on one side, where all this time I¡¯d looked normal. That in some sense was even harder for me,¡± she says. ¡°I was looking at myself in the mirror, and I didn¡¯t like the way I looked. I felt I looked like the bride of Frankenstein.¡±

Completing breast cancer treatment despite setbacks

The surgery set her treatment schedule back by more than month, which amplified her need for emotional support. Her husband¡¯s kind words eventually helped her re-discover her beauty.

¡°He said that I was the most beautiful thing that he¡¯s ever seen, even with one breast,¡± she says, tearfully. ¡°He made me feel beautiful through everything, even when I had no eyelashes, no eyebrows.¡±

In June 2016, Rebecca finally started radiation therapy, which she received five days a week for six weeks. Six months later, she had her initial breast reconstruction surgery, followed by a surgery to make her right breast symmetrical with her new left breast and a separate procedure to create a nipple for her left breast. She¡¯ll have one last procedure ¨C to create a new areola ¨C in June.

¡°And then I¡¯m done!¡± she quips.

As she nears the end of her treatment, Rebecca wants patients who are just beginning theirs to know it¡¯s possible to overcome every step, every obstacle and every setback.

¡°You are a survivor, you¡¯re loved and you are priceless,¡± she says. ¡°Cancer doesn¡¯t get the last word.¡±

or by calling 1-877-632-6789.