Although October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we offer cancer care all year long. Perham Health is delighted to share Cindy Olson’s remarkable story.

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Early detection was key

“Thank goodness for annual mammograms because it caught my cancer early,” says Cindy Olson.

Even though there is no history of breast cancer in her family, Cindy makes it a point to get her annual mammogram. “My philosophy with healthcare is to be proactive. I follow the recommended screenings and that has led to catching some other health issues,” Cindy explains.

After her annual mammogram this year, Cindy got a phone call from her primary care provider Mindy Anderson, DNP. She told Cindy that they found something suspicious on the mammogram and asked her to come in for an ultrasound.

Cindy was in good hands with sonographer Melissa Alsgaard, RDMS, RVT. Melissa carefully explained everything that would happen. She took images of the area and sent them to a radiologist in Fargo. The radiologist took a look at the images and compared them to Cindy’s previous mammograms looking for changes.

“It was amazing to me that Melissa was on the phone with the radiologist in Fargo. And then she put me on the phone and he was able to tell me that he could see something and wanted me to come in for further testing,” says Cindy.

“It is awesome that we have that coordination with Sanford in Fargo. Our patients find out immediately if there is something suspicious on the ultrasound. They don’t have to wait days and be worried. I like that they leave here knowing what their next step is,” explains Melissa.

The next step for Cindy was a core biopsy which would tell her whether or not she had cancer. For this procedure both the radiologist and Melissa were with Cindy. “It was comforting to have Melissa there with me again,” says Cindy. The radiologist numbed the area and took some tissue samples of the suspicious area and sent them to the lab. She also placed a marker in the area so that if Cindy needed a lumpectomy they would know what area to remove.

Cindy remembers clearly that she was in Fergus Falls when she got the call that it was cancer. “Mindy called to tell me they had found cancer and that someone would be calling me from Sanford. Needless to say, I was in shock,” Cindy recalls.

That afternoon, she received a call from a nurse navigator at Sanford’s Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo. The nurse navigator already had all of her appointments set up with radiology and oncology in Fargo and the surgeon in Perham. She explained everything that was going to happen.

Cancer care close to home

After going to Perham Health for years, Cindy knew the surgeons here were good, and she wanted to be close to home.

I’m really glad there was the option to have my surgery done in Perham. I knew they worked closely with Roger Maris and I felt confident that I would get great care,” Cindy says.

After meeting with the oncologist and radiologist in Fargo, it was decided that she should have a lumpectomy. During a lumpectomy, the radiologist guides the surgeon to where the tumor is and the surgeon removes the tumor. Both the surgeon and the radiologist needed to be in Perham on the same day and the next available day happened to be the day before Cindy’s birthday.

During Cindy’s appointment with the surgeon, he realized he would be on vacation. He highly recommended the new general surgeon, Dr. Steininger and had him come in to meet Cindy. “He came in and was so kind and thoughtful. I had heard good things about him. He made me feel confident,” Cindy remembers.

On the day of the surgery, Cindy was ready. During the first part of the procedure, the radiologist locates the tumor with a wire. “I envisioned myself on a table for whatever reason, but I was sitting up and in the mammogram room. They used the mammogram machine to guide the wire to the tumor and then they took a variety of pictures of it. Then they took me back to the prep room for surgery,” Cindy says.

Using the guide wire, Dr. Steininger performed a lumpectomy removing both the tumor and the lymph nodes under her arm pit to make sure the cancer hadn’t spread. He was able to get everything and send it in for testing to make sure they got all the cancer. The surgery went off without any complications.

After the surgery, Cindy got the call she had been hoping for. The oncologist called to tell her that they had gotten all of the cancer. “I can’t think of a better birthday gift than getting that phone call telling me they got all the cancer,” she remembers.

After she healed, she met with the oncologist to find out what her next steps would be. Lucky for her, she did not need to do radiation. Her next steps would be to have follow up mammograms and to take a five-year anti-estrogen medication because the type of breast cancer Cindy has is an estrogen fed cancer.

“I was incredibly grateful that they found it so early. My mantra for friends and family is to make sure you get your annual mammogram because it was a total surprise to me having no history of breast cancer in the family and never having anything show up on previous mammograms.”

“Early detection was certainly wonderful and being able to take care of all of it, including the surgery, right here in Perham made everything easier,” she says gratefully.