Luann Schultz
In 2019 the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation hosted a Kick-Off Breakfast for the Close to the Heart Digital Mammogram Campaign. We invited breast cancer survivors to speak on the importance of early detection and to share their journey with us. Luann Schultz was kind enough to share her story to raise awareness and help in raising funds for a new Digital Mammography Machine.
“For those of you who know me, know that I love to tell a story. You get a letter in the mail and it says “Call at your earliest convenience” since when is having a mammogram convenient? I almost missed my appointment, January 31st, 2018. When I got there the technician was so efficient and her hands were warm, I was sweating and ungrateful for the pressure on my breasts. It was almost finished when she said “Let’s get a better picture of the left side. All done.” I quickly cover up feeling modest. She asks me to wait for a bit, they would look at the pictures before I left. I stared at the walls “come on people I’ve got things to do”, I’m like a racehorse trying to get out of the gate. She came in, she smiled and said that I could get dressed. I thanked her and I left, that was Wednesday around lunch. Back to my life, I had company it was Friday morning, and we went shopping. My phone rang and it was an unfamiliar number and I though telemarketer I answered and a woman with a kind, calm voice told me who she was, and my hands started to feel cold, she asked me if I was alone, and I couldn’t feel my legs. She asked me if I could come to Regina on Thursday and she told me to write some stuff down. Kerri-Ann called her back, the mammogram had shown something on the left breast, I had to go to the breast assessment department. I kept telling myself to be calm, and I prayed to be calm, another mammogram, another ultrasound WOW I thought, they are being thorough. Now they would like to do a biopsy ‘what? Am I awake for this?’ “yes, you better go get Kerri-Ann”. She came, she held my hand and she talked me through it, “Wow a biopsy, this is getting real, really fast”.
They sent me home to wait, and two weeks later I go to see my family doctor who I love and respect. He met my gaze and he said, “You are on a journey” and I don’t remember much after that. Ron and Kerri-Ann asked questions through tears and I let the word ‘Cancer’ enter my protective shell. The word ‘cancer’ impaled me, it tore through all my layers of denial, I prayed for strength. That appointment on January 31st saved my life. A lot happens in a short amount of time; appointments, new faces, new terms, new tests, surgery, new infection but my held close and fast. People would say “I’m so sorry this is happening to you” and I wanted to shout, “It’s happening to Cordel and Janet and Kerri-Ann and Jordan and Jackson and Grace and Violet and Logan, they are all on this rollercoaster with me.”
I was terrified of Chemotherapy, I would wake up in a cold sweat ‘No Chemo, no chemo’. My oncologist told me of a new test, they would send my tumor to California and if it tested at a certain range, no chemo. With all my health issues I knew that chemo would be so damaging, all results said it was early all my prayers were answered, I was fortunate not to have chemotherapy. We wore the highway out between Regina and Swift Current, everything went like clockwork, every appointment, every radiation treatment Ron bless his heart drove me back and forth every day. I could heal in my own bed, still be part of my life and home, we sang rock and roll, and old country and we ate the snacks that I packed for us every day. On my December appointment at the Allen Blair Cancer Clinic the doctor asked me how many times a do I think about cancer? I said, “Everyday”, she said “Everyday?” and I said, “Every time I take that pill for cancer” she said “Luann, when you take that pill every day you tell yourself ‘today I don’t have cancer’”.
I am grateful for my surgeon, my family and the research that had helped people like me be a survivor. Early detection is key, and that’s why I am here today, get checked. Be inconvenienced, be modest, be shy, be mad, be diligent but be grateful. Swift Current will have the proper equipment and trained technicians and that my friends is a game changer. Thank you to my family and friends and thank you for all the prayers, I felt them all. God Bless.
Thank you Luann for sharing you story and helping us raise funds for a new Digital Mammography Machine.