My Three-Time Survivor Story
- Surviving Breast Cancer
- 18 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Betty Leigh
Hello, my name is Betty Leigh and I am thrilled to tell you that I am a 3-time breast cancer survivor.
I am here to tell you about my non-diagnosis and what happened after that. In 1995, I was living in upstate New York as a single mom with my children, Michael and Katie. I worked at a local radio station as a disc jockey and also as an actress doing TV commercials.
I remember one morning, lifting my left arm to brush my hair in the bathroom mirror and seeing a grayish lump at my underarm. I didn’t think much of it at that time. But after a few weeks I called the local gynecologist. The local gynecologist examined it and told me that it was nothing to worry about and that I should think about taking estrogen, as “I wasn’t getting any younger.”
I left happy to hear the “good” news and didn’t think of it again, until… About a month or so later, it started to hurt and looked more pronounced. I went back to the doctor, who spoke to me like a silly child. “Now, what did I tell you last time?” he crooned.
“OK OK OK,” I thought, and left.
I went back a third time and he scolded me for being overly dramatic. I left his office and went to the emergency room of the local hospital and asked for an X-ray. They refused because I didn’t have a doctor’s note/request. I said strongly that I think I have breast cancer and asked, “Do you want to have turned me away?”
They said, “Um, well, no…” and they proceeded to set me up immediately for a mammogram.
After the mammogram, I waited and waited in a small room and finally the man who had refused me came in and said words I will never forget: “It is more than suspicious.” Yes, I DID have breast cancer.
I made some calls, including one to—of all people—my ex-husband. I asked him for help and mostly recommendations. It was a Friday, so I quickly called and made an appointment with Dr. Daniel Roses, a breast cancer surgeon in New York City.
On Monday, I met with Dr. Roses, along with my ex-husband. I was examined, had a biopsy, and Dr. Roses told me that I needed to have a lumpectomy ASAP. Can it be? Well, yes it can, and the lumpectomy was scheduled for Friday of that week. For my surgery I stayed a week in the hospital, the children stayed at their school principal’s home with his wonderful wife, Laurie, and I stayed with my ex-husband.
After the lumpectomy in 1995, all was well until 2013, when I had a mammogram and ductal carcinoma was diagnosed… OH NO. In those days, the procedure was a lot simpler. I had a lumpectomy at 7:00 a.m., went to a room to relax, and went home at 12:00 p.m.
All was well again… until 2014, when I had another mammogram and was again diagnosed with breast cancer. It was the same kind as the year before, ductal carcinoma. Once again, I had a 7:00 a.m. lumpectomy. My daughter, of course, was there with me.
I was relaxing after the surgery and I got a call on my phone from my agent that I had an audition with Sophia Coppola for a Gap commercial one block from the hospital. “What?!” said my daughter. “Are you serious, Mom?”
Up comes Dr. Roses. “Hello, how are you doing, Betty?” he asked.
“Well, I am fine, I think all went well,” I said, “but Katie, my daughter, is mad at me.”
“Why is she mad at you?” asked Dr. Roses.
“Because I have an audition around the corner in an hour,” I answered.
“What?” said Dr. Roses. “Betty, that IS crazy, you should go home and relax.”
“Well, I just got a call from my agent and I have an audition with Sofia Coppola for a Gap commercial.”
Dr. Roses looks at me for a moment and then turns to my daughter. “Katie, your mom has to go to the audition.”
I DID go to the audition… AND I GOT THE JOB!
Check out the commercial here:
After each of my three diagnoses, my mind was free to face the future however I wanted to. Those thoughts and feelings were completely up to me. If I could choose, my choice was and continues to be positivity. With ourselves, family, and friends we can do the same.
There is a beautiful Buddhist thought I want to share with you:
“Are we planting anger and worry, or are we planting being grateful and kind?”
Read More:
On the Podcast: Breast Cancer Conversations
My Mom and I Were Diagnosed With Breast Cancer In The Same Year
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