By Aimee Zink
For The Corvallis Clinic
At 32 years old, Mara Friddle was too young to be diagnosed with breast cancer. She had no family history of the disease, and testing had revealed none of the genetic markers. Yet when she felt something strange during a self-check in July 2013, she saw a doctor immediately. A few tests later, she was diagnosed with early stage lobular carcinoma.
“It was a real shock,” Friddle said. “The ripples of that shock took a long time to wear off. You go through phases, like grief.”
For Friddle, support from The Corvallis Clinic’s Project H.E.R. (Help, Enlightenment, Resources) was crucial in her journey from diagnosis to treatment to recovery. This program provides free services for breast cancer patients. Now as a mentor for the program, she will share her story at Project H.E.R.’s Education Day 2016 on Saturday, November 12. (To register, go to http://www.project-her.org/register.)
Early Detection is Key
Friddle’s decision to see a doctor immediately made all the difference.
“Early detection is no joke,” Friddle said. “Get to know your body, get your partners to know your body. And if you feel anything, go immediately.”
Friddle explained that when she tells people her story, some women confess that they have felt lumps themselves, but have not gone to a doctor. “I think it’s the ostrich problem, with your head in the sand. If I don’t hear the diagnosis, then I don’t have a problem. But there’s danger in waiting,” she said.
Because they caught it in such an early stage, Friddle had the option of a double mastectomy without chemotherapy or radiation treatment.
Mentors Help Women Who Feel Lost
Deciding on a treatment is one of the aspects that can overwhelm patients the most. Friddle explained that in addition to the terror of cancer, patients must also make stressful and confusing medical decisions. This is where the mentors from Project H.E.R. can help.
“There are so many mentors with every different diagnosis, from every different walk of life. These women will go to doctor’s appointments with you. Sometimes there’s so much information that you get drowned in it and stop listening, so it’s great to have another set of ears,” said Friddle.
Friddle could also rely on Project H.E.R.’s Breast Health Nurse Navigator, Joann Stutzman, for medical information. Her support, combined with the emotional support of her two mentors, helped her navigate her road to recovery. She valued the insight of women who had gone through the same treatment: a double mastectomy.
Reclaiming Your Body
Having a double mastectomy is not an easy choice for any woman, and Friddle was no exception. Many women struggle with their own sense of womanhood when facing the prospect of removing their breasts.
However, though this greatly affects what traditionally defines a woman, Friddle believes that more importantly, “being a warrior defines a woman. Scars can be badges of honor. They show that you have fought and that there’s a heart beating under there.”
An important part of Friddle’s personal healing process was getting a tattoo on her chest. “I wanted something special that was for myself,” she said. “I love tattoos and they make me feel fierce. It was never my intention to hide my scars with them, in fact they don’t. I just wanted something fabulous to come out of it.”
Friddle crowdsourced to raise the funds to travel to Texarkana, Texas and see an artist who specializes in watercolor tattoos. Now she has an extensive design of ferns and pincushion flowers (a nod to the way patients can feel like pincushions). Plants are very important to Friddle, who is a horticulturist at Oregon State University and has been working in greenhouses since she was 14 years old.
Paying it Forward
Now, three years since her diagnosis, Friddle is mentoring women who are going through the same experience. She loves being a mentor.
“When you first start talking, they are terrified. They can’t believe what’s happening to them. My favorite moment is when there’s this flop from terrified to hopeful. I really dig that moment when you hear the fight in them,” she said.
Friddle encourages anyone and everyone to attend Project H.E.R.’s Education Day, as nearly everyone knows someone who has been or will be affected by breast cancer.
“It’s not just a personal journey, it affects everybody. Get wise, get learned, and meet some super fun people,” Friddle said.
