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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. All month long, INTEGRIS Health will share inspiring survivor stories. We start with Kendi Wampler, who lives in Duke, Oklahoma, just outside of Altus. She is the proud owner of a dance studio in Weatherford, where she has taught for 32 years. “I’ve taught some of these kids ballet, tap and jazz since they were three years old,” Wampler beams. “I’ve literally watched them grow up.” But what Wampler didn’t plan on, was that she would end up teaching them far more than dance.

“I was considered high risk for breast cancer because the disease is on both sides of my family,” she shares. “So I was very diligent about getting my yearly mammograms. Still, it comes as a shock when it happens to you.”

In January of 2021, Wampler had a regular mammogram that came back clear. Being in the high-risk category, it was recommended that she have a breast MRI in six months. Magnetic resonance imaging uses radio waves and strong magnets to make detailed pictures of the inside of the breast. She had the MRI in August, which revealed a suspicious spot on both her right and left breast. After doing a biopsy on each, the spot on the right breast was benign but the spot on the left breast was cancerous.

“I was about to go teach a dance class when I got the news,” Wampler remembers. “I didn’t have time for it to sink in. I had a room full of kids counting on me.”

While the tumor itself was small, Wampler was diagnosed with triple-positive HER2-positive breast cancer, which is an aggressive cancer that can spread quickly. “If I had not done the extra screening and only had an annual mammogram the following year, the diagnosis would have been totally different. The Her2-positive is so aggressive, the cancer would have definitely spread within a year’s time.” 

“It was fortunate that Kendi understood the importance of regular mammograms and heeded advice when further screenings were suggested,” says Lara Theobald, M.D., a medical oncologist at INTEGRIS Health Cancer Institute. “The cancer was discovered early in her case, which made a favorable outcome far more likely.”

Within two weeks of her diagnosis, consultations with the breast surgeon and oncologist were complete and treatment began in September. She began with twelve weeks of chemotherapy, before having a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy. “By getting her high-risk breast imaging with mammograms and breast MRI, Kendi was able to diagnose her cancer at an early, more treatable stage. She had a great response to chemotherapy and became a wonderful candidate for lumpectomy,” says Nicole Sharp Cottrell, M.D., FACS, a surgical oncologist at INTEGRIS Health Breast Surgery in Oklahoma City.  

A lumpectomy is a surgical operation in which a lump is removed from the breast, typically when cancer is present but has not spread. Patients who have a lumpectomy may choose to involve a plastic surgeon.

“An oncoplastics procedure applies breast reduction principles to the lumpectomy planning, to preserve (and improve) breast shape, which is often considered if the tumor is large relative to breast size, or if the patient has a large breast,” explains Nabil Habash, M.D., a plastic surgeon affiliated with the INTEGRIS Health network. 
“During this procedure we typically lift or reduce the other breast to maintain symmetry.”

Surgery was followed with sixteen rounds of radiation, and a full year’s worth of Herceptin infusions. Her final infusion was Aug. 31 of this year. After finishing both the chemotherapy and the year of adjuvant Herceptin, Wampler has an excellent prognosis. She will have regular check-ups and breast imaging, including both a mammogram and breast MRI for high-risk surveillance. She will take oral medication for at least five years.

“When I look back, I realize it has been a very long year,” Wampler reflects. “But going through it, you just do what needs to be done.” She adds, “I know I’m incredibly lucky and that many women don’t survive this awful disease. That’s why I tell my dance students, their families, and really anyone who will listen to me – to get your mammograms! Stay on schedule, get additional screenings if you need to because catching breast cancer early can make all the difference. I’m living proof of that.”

To schedule a mammogram, please call 1-855-MY-MAMMO, that’s 1-855-696-2666.