Early mammogram key for Sommerfeld

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There was no breast cancer in Monica Sommerfeld ’s family history. She was only 37. She went to see her nurse practitioner for her regular annual exam toward the end of May 2016.

“My nurse practitioner said ‘If it’s OK with you, let’s just schedule a routine baseline mammogram so we have a baseline. I like my patients to do that between the age of 35 and 40,’” she said. “Something just told me to schedule it that day.”

She went back on June 9 to have her first mammogram at the women’s clinic.

“That is where they discovered that there were some what they thought were probably just some calcifications primarily on my left breast,” Sommerfeld said.

The information caught Sommerfeld off guard. She was only 37.

“Even from that point on, I was just taken back. It was my first mammogram,” she said.

Sommerfeld’s mom was with her for the appointment and reassured her that it would be alright.

The doctors forwarded her to Advanced Medical Imaging in Lincoln to have a more diagnostic mammogram. She had planned to go to Kansas City that weekend with her family for a baseball game.

She went in for the next mammogram the following week. After that, she heard the news.

“I remember getting that phone call,” she said.

That was June 9, 2016.

Sommerfeld was told her diagnosis was ductal carcinoma in situ. She immediately looked online to find out more about it.

“It’s very treatable, but it is breast cancer,” she said. “I remember the nurse telling me, ‘It’s not pre-cancerous. It is breast cancer.’”

She began a series of appointments at Surgical Care in Lincoln where she saw nurse practitioner Kelly Fields. Sommerfeld said she was wonderful and gave information in a straight-forward manner.

Sommerfeld then had a breast MRI and more biopsies. After more tests, doctors found out that the cancer was a little more invasive than what they originally thought.

Doctors completed an additional MRI to look at the borders to see if it had spread out further. The original course of treatment was a lumpectomy or a partial mastectomy and then some radiation. Once she had deeper biopsies, doctors discovered the cancer was more invasive than they thought and recommended a full mastectomy on her left side. Sommerfeld decided to go ahead with a double mastectomy.

“I thought about my age and wanting to feel somewhat symmetrical. Also, I didn’t want to have to worry about going in for additional mammograms and always wondering, is this the year or is this the mammogram that it is going to be on my right side?” she said.

“Each patient is so different, too. Each case, there’s so many different types of breast cancer. It’s just amazing. I’ve learned so much. For me, I was able to do a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction.”

A plastic surgeon came in right after the mastectomy to do reconstruction surgery which included gel implants. Sommerfeld said that while there is an option of doing nipple reconstruction or tattooing of the areola area, her priority has been getting the diseased tissue out and being healthy again.

She began chemotherapy in October 2016. She has gone in every three weeks for chemo treatment for the last year. She will celebrate her last treatment Oct. 12. She also has a port to receive chemo infusions which will be removed a week after her last treatment.

Sommerfeld said family, friends and community support has helped her get through the experience. One of the nurses who helped in her treatment was also going through breast cancer when Sommerfeld began treatment.

“She said no question is off limits. She’s just been a great support system. She gave me a lot of tips,” she said. “She’s just been a blessing.”

Family support has been huge, Sommerfeld said.

“Alex and I at the time, we had only been married 4.5 years when this happened. And that’s not something that you anticipate that you’re going to have to deal with early on in marriage, and at our age too,” she said. “I was diagnosed at 37 and was told early on in this process that if I would have waited until I was 40, this would be a completely different scenario. I would have been in a completely different situation.”

Sommerfeld said she feels very thankful her nurse practitioner was proactive in having her get a mammogram.

“Thankfully, my mom and my sister have always been very regular with mammograms,” she said.

Sommerfeld has always completed monthly self breast exams as recommended.

“But I was told I wouldn’t have found it with just doing self breast exams,” she said.

While Sommerfeld has spent the past year battling breast cancer, it has been her positive attitude and outlook on life that have been most notable.

“I am so proud of Monica and the grace she has exhibited. It is a tough road, physically and emotionally, but she has remained positive and kept a smile on her face. We have all learned a lot and grown closer as a family,” said Melissa Luebbe, Sommerfeld’s sister. “That’s just what you do...step up and love each other.”