LAKELAND - It's been nearly one year since Angela Potts lost her sister, Becky, to cancer, and in that time she's been faced with her own battle.
After her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 26 years old, the disease was something that was on Potts' radar. She started getting screened about six years ago as a precaution. Then, after noticing a lump, her physician suggested they check things out, as a precaution.
Following that ultrasound, she went for regular check-ups every six months for the next five years due to cysts or fibroadenomas that doctors wanted follow up on.
"I was going for my usual scan at the end of May," recalls Potts. "Following the scan, I started having pain and then proceeded to feel a lump. I then called my physician's office to see what the results of my ultrasound were."
She was told there was nothing concerning, but they would book her in for a mammogram, since it had been a year since her last one. While the pain continued to get worse, the results of both an ultrasound and mammogram showed there was nothing to worry about, and actually downgraded her BI-RADS score from previous ultrasounds.
Still, something didn’t feel right. So, Potts requested to be sent to a surgeon who had done a previous biopsy on her.
"I was able to see him in June and he examined me as well and looked at the report and again he thought it was likely nothing, but agreed to remove it as it was causing me pain. I was booked towards the end of July for a biopsy and had a phone appointment a couple weeks later for results."
On Aug. 2, 2022, Potts received the news that the entire lump they removed was in fact cancer. She would have to go back for more surgery and was faced with some tough choices.
"My next surgery was on Aug. 26, and they biopsied my lymph nodes and one of the two removed was positive for cancer. The grade of my cancer cells was three, which made it fast growing and my prognosis could have been very different had I waited for my next ultrasound in December," explains Potts. "I had to have bone scans, CT of chest, abdomen, and brain to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread beyond the lymph nodes."
Those scans all came back clear, and Potts was diagnosed with Stage 2B breast cancer.
"I then met with an oncologist and was given the option of chemo, followed by radiation and hormone therapy for five years. All treatment options are given as percentages of surviving rates with each treatment to 10 years. I opted to do chemo, radiation and hormone therapy. I have done six rounds of chemo starting Oct. 11... Three weeks after I completed chemo I started radiation. I did 20 treatments in Edmonton daily Monday to Friday, which I just completed on March 28."
In order to keep on top of her mental health and continue to have a sense of normalcy in her life with her young family, Potts continued to work a couple days a week during her chemotherapy treatments.
"I felt it was good for my mind to keep busy and gave me some normalcy during treatments as well," says Potts. She also decided to continue to volunteer with the St. Paul Desna Ukrainian dance club board because she felt it was important.
Other than her sister's diagnosis, Potts did not have any other immediate family members with breast cancer. And through both her own diagnosis and her sister's battle, Potts has learned that it is crucial to advocate for yourself.
"My advice to others would be to follow your instincts and listen to your intuition. You also need to advocate for yourself," says Potts. Tests are not perfect, and you need to "trust your gut and fight for yourself."
"My sister Becky was diagnosed at the age of 26 and was also told that it was not likely that she had breast cancer due to age, but she trusted her instincts and pushed for a biopsy and was diagnosed with breast cancer," explains Potts. Ultimately, Becky would be diagnosed with metastisis in her bones five years after her original diagnosis.
"She continued to fight and lived another five years and ended up passing on May 6, 2022."
As her sister battled cancer, Becky followed an alkaline diet and avoided food that would cause inflammation and stress. Potts says her family also worked to improve their own diets by limiting refined sugars and flour.
"We also switched to more natural beauty and cleaning products. I have continued these practices over the last six years. I have followed the diet that she was using since my diagnosis. I tried to stay active and eat healthy and avoid harmful chemicals as much as possible in my everyday life. I limit my alcohol intake as it is a known cause of breast cancer," explains Potts.
Now fighting the disease herself, Potts has learned more than ever to never take anything for granted in life, and to "try to live life to the fullest and do all those things you’ve been wanting to do as time and health are not guaranteed."
Potts is thankful she's had family and friends to rely on throughout her treatments, helping by driving her to appointments, taking her kids to their activities when needed, helping with stuff around the house and just checking in to see how she was doing.
"I was also grateful for the support I received from Haying in the 30’s and from so many family and friends and co-workers. It made some of the financial stressers considerably less," says Potts.
"My sister was a true inspiration to me. She handled her diagnosis and being sick with such grace and positivity and never wanted anyone to feel sorry for her, most people never even realized she was still sick and I only hope to live my life with the grace that she showed all of us in her toughest times."
