Penny Casselman's Early Detection of Breast Cancer: A Journey of Advocacy and Self-Awareness
"Take control of your health and be an advocate: you can beat the odds and outlive cancer."
Here's what I cover with Penny Casselman in this episode:
1. What does the experience of being diagnosed with cancer look like for someone who has already lost their mother to the same disease?
2. How can genetic testing help inform and shape a treatment plan for cancer?
3. What choices did Penny Casselman make to ensure she was on the right side of the ground and to reduce her risk of cancer reoccurrence?
Penny Casselman is a 45-year-old advocate for her own health who has outlived her mother's metastatic breast cancer. She is a doer who has undergone a radical hysterectomy, bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, and a year of Herceptin, as well as a Zometa infusion to lower her risk of recurrence.
"I made the decision to have everything taken out so I would not have a constant worry. I was very happy to step up and let them have it all so that I would not have a constant worry."
Penny Casselman is a 45-year-old advocate for her own health who has outlived her mother's metastatic breast cancer. She is a doer who has gone through a radical hysterectomy, bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, and a year of herceptin, as well as a Zometa infusion to lower her risk of recurrence.
Penny Casselman was a young girl when she tragically lost her mother to metastatic breast cancer. As an adult, she was an advocate for her own health and took early steps for detection. On her 45th birthday, she received a letter for a mammogram and ultrasound. Upon further investigation, Penny found out she was BRCA2 positive and underwent chemo, a lumpectomy, a bilateral mastectomy, and a radical hysterectomy. Despite the intense treatments, she is now at a 1% recurrence rate and is grateful to be alive every morning.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
- What does the experience of being diagnosed with cancer look like for someone who has already lost their mother to the same disease?
- How can genetic testing help inform and shape a treatment plan for cancer?
- What choices did Penny Casselman make to ensure she was on the right side of the ground and to reduce her risk of cancer reoccurrence?
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Penny Casselman is a certified life coach and keynote speaker. After navigating a breast cancer diagnosis, she's passionate about empowering clients. She's also the author of How to Get a Free Boob Job.
I lost my mom to metastatic breast cancer when I was eight years old. I made sure I was on an early track for detection. On my 45th birthday, a mammogram came back. My memoir picks up and starts with my story.
"I knew if I ever had cancer that it had to be linked to something, " she said. Ironically, what she wanted to be as an adult when she was in high school was a genetic counselor. Mine just happens to be defective.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. Her treatment plan went from what she thought would be tiny to this much bigger plan. She tells everybody cancer is like a Jenga game. Everyone's treatment is different.
Do you have siblings? I do. I have a brother. This can also impact men. So I let all my cousins know. Did everyone get tested? Not everyone. Everybody else who chose to get tested was negative, and my dad got tested.
She had a radical hysterectomy and was immediately put into menopause. Now an infusion called Zometa is used for people with bone loss get osteoporosis. Doctors say she's at a 1% recurrence rate.
The worst moment was when she came home with drains. Penny decided to shave all of her hair off before starting chemo. No one cared that she had no hair. The happy thing that came out of all of this was having a good head.
Penny says she wishes she had had noise-canceling headphones when she had chemo. Even if people told her what to expect, it's like Jenga again, she says. You can't possibly experience or have same cancer experience as someone with your exact same profile.
Penny would like to see universal health care in the US. She can't fathom why the richest country in the world has people who are sick and dying. There's got to be other countries that can do it.
Penny Casselman
Penny Casselman is a certified life coach and keynote speaker. After navigating a breast cancer diagnosis, she’s passionate about empowering clients to evolve and create a life that has them jumping out of bed to start their day. She’s also the author of How To Get A Free Boob Job.