27/09/2023
One of this years honorees!
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Wendy Chenworth Sworen
My story starts on April 1, 2014 when I received a call from my OB/GYN that my mammogram had come back with two questionable areas. Unlike most strange things that occur on that day, I knew this was no joke and began the process of scheduling testing to determine exactly what was going on.
I found out I had two small (like a grain of rice) size tumors in my right breast, but due to the placement, I wasn’t a candidate for a lumpectomy. I was given the option to remove one breast or both and then proceed with reconstruction if I so chose.
My choice was to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction and so the journey began. After surgery, the healing in my right breast was hampered by an infection and the spacer needed to be removed, but I found out I only needed radiation on the right side and was thankful. I counted myself blessed compared to so many others who had to suffer through chemo and other serious complications.
I finished my radiation and breathed a sigh of relief. Over the course of almost nine years, I had no issues until just before New Years of 2022. I had always worn a prosthetic on my right side and felt a small lump which I attributed to a cyst or rubbing of the prosthetic against my skin. Very quickly, however, I found the small lump had grown exponentially and went to the emergency room expecting them to drain it.
Without going into too much detail, the ER recommended me to have more testing. The additional testing led me to find out I had a stage 3 sarcoma after radiation in my right chest. The plan was to remove my right chest wall and undergo 4-6 rounds of chemo treatments which included two different chemo agents. Due to the inclusion of the agent called ifosfamide, I would need to be hospitalized for all treatments. The surgery would be tricky due to the overwhelming size of the tumor at that point…it was huge and leaking.
The surgery to my right chest wall was very successful and far less painful than expected thanks to a spinal block, but the recovery from such an invasive surgery which fileted my lat muscle and pulled it forward from my back onto my chest wall in addition to removing skin from my leg to create a layer of skin over that muscle was full of healing issues which delayed moving forward with treatment.
Once healed, I started chemo treatments and thought after round one, I thought I was going to handle everything without a problem. Round 2 proved me very wrong when the ifosfamide got to be too much and I ended up with something called neuro toxicity which made my feet go numb (I fell and injured my nose) and my mind became scrambled. I couldn’t answer simple questions, became incontinent and lost almost 48 hours of time due to the inability to think.
For the next round, we developed a plan to lower the dose, lengthen the time administered of the ifosfamide and start me on an antidote called mythalene blue from the start to avoid further brain issues. Unfortunately, none of those measures worked and once again, I fell into neuro toxicity.
It was determined for my final two rounds to eliminate the ifosfamide altogether and just move forward with doxorubicin alone. My fourth round was a success and I’m preparing for my last round now. Provided all scans are clear after that, I’ll be in the clear.
I know I’ve lost my hair, gone through some pretty traumatic changes, feared for myself and family and children, but I continue to think brightly about the future. I know my circumstance is rare, but believe behind me is a long list of people who can benefit from my experience and story…some of them don’t even know they’re in that line yet. I want to get through this and then help others who find themselves on this journey. There is such strength is support, I want to give back to those who need it.
