Breast cancer was not on Adrienne Ridgeway's mind as she was dressing to go out for a run one morning in May 2014. A healthy 34-year-old who was training for the challenging Ragnar Relay Chicago race, she did not exactly fit the at-risk profile. So when she felt a small, tender lump in her right breast, it was more of a "Huh?" moment. "My intuition thought it shouldn't be there, but I didn't necessarily think I had breast cancer," she said.
Nevertheless, Adrienne went to see her OB/GYN right away. A mammogram was negative. "It was when they did the ultrasound that they could see a small mass," Adrienne said. That same day, a biopsy was taken.
"Two days later I knew I had cancer," she said. "I was blown away. You think that's not possible based on family history, being a healthy person, an avid runner, and never a smoker."
Adrienne sprinted into action. "I had a 2-year-old at the time. 'I want to be here for my kid, I need to get in there and get treatment,'" she recalled telling herself. Coincidentally, the captain of her relay team was a Froedtert & MCW physician, who suggested getting a second opinion through the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network.
Adrienne saw Tina Yen, MD, MS, surgical oncologist. "From a surgical standpoint she was a candidate for both lumpectomy and radiation therapy, or mastectomy," Dr. Yen said. "I opted for a double mastectomy," she said.
Her decision was based on the fact that her cancer was "triple negative," meaning that its growth was not stimulated by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, or excessive levels of the HER2 receptor. It can be an aggressive cancer affecting younger people, and is more prevalent among African-Americans like Adrienne. Testing for genetic factors came back negative, so the cause of Adrienne's cancer was unknown.
"Some younger women opt to have the other breast removed," Dr. Yen said. "It is a 'peace of mind' thought process."
Two rounds of chemotherapy preceded Adrienne's surgery. An associate athletic director for academic support services and student programs at Marquette University, she worked throughout her treatment. "For me, work was an outlet, the one time I got to be normal," she said.
According to Dr. Yen, by the time she performed Adrienne's surgery in December 2014, there was no residual disease. Adrienne also chose breast reconstruction, which was completed in July 2015. "So far I've been good and haven't had a lot of residual effects," Adrienne said. "I'm running and moving on."
Adrienne credits her team at the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network for recognizing that few people, regardless of their intelligence, are ready for the diagnosis of cancer. "They're really good about understanding that this is something you can't prepare for and taking those extra moments to explain things," she said.
Adrienne also appreciated the compassion she experienced during her treatment. "They cared about me, not only as a person with cancer, but as a whole person. When they asked, 'How are you feeling?' they didn't necessarily mean about my treatment, but as a human, more about who I am and how cancer was impacting me as a person," she said. "The smallest things can make you feel whole again — people accommodating you, showing kindness. 'Yes, I may have cancer, but I still matter,' was the feeling."
Adrienne said the empathy she felt reaffirmed her choice of the Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network. "First, being in a place tied to education, there's a sense of confidence," she said. "The second part, beyond the awesome medical care was the personal care — the people were nice, the facility was beautiful. All of that went into my decision that this was the best place to be."
