Mary's Story
A breast self-exam leads to cancer diagnosis.
“I’m really sorry, but it is cancer” were the words that a 26-year-old Mary Haas heard from Paul Pasarilla, M.D, Surgeon with MMC Comprehensive Breast Center. Mary will tell you that, while she can’t remember everything that was said after, she remembers that sentence as though she heard it yesterday. Mary was diagnosed just before she and her husband, Oren, would celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary and the couple was busy planning their future.
Not many women think about the possibility of breast cancer in their 20s. Mary certainly didn’t. That is, until one of her childhood best friends was diagnosed 11 months prior. After her friend’s diagnosis, Mary began regular self-breast exams. During one of those self-exams, she discovered a lump. Initially, she didn’t think much of it, worried that she might be overly sensitive due to her friend’s cancer diagnosis. But Mary asked her husband, and then her mother. They agreed that it was something that needed to be checked out. Mary reached out to the MMC Obstetrics & Gynecology office, to schedule an appointment with Colleen Bratsch, D.O., her OBGYN, and was able to be seen quickly by Cathy Hogan, WHNP-BC, Nurse Practitioner for MMC OBGYN. The lump was concerning, so Mary was referred to MMC Radiology for an ultrasound. After reviewing the ultrasound, Sadhish Siva, M.D., Radiologist with MMC Radiology, recommended a surgical consult and biopsy. Mary was then set up with Dr. Pasarilla for a biopsy. The cancer was triple positive, aggressive, but caught in the early stages.
Once Mary received her breast cancer diagnosis, things moved very quickly. Mary underwent a double mastectomy in August 2018, and began chemotherapy treatments 2 months later with Tennessee Oncology. She began ovarian suppression treatment and estrogen blockers to try to preserve her chances of having a family. Mary had breast reconstruction with Brad Medling, M.D., Surgeon with MMC Plastic Surgery. With cancer treatment behind them, Mary and Oren focused on their future.
On March 10th of 2023, Mary and her husband Oren welcomed baby Nicholas.
Mary continues to have follow-ups with both Dr. Yanjun Ma with Tennessee Oncology and Dr. Paul Pasarilla with MMC Comprehensive Breast Center. She has a chest x-ray and CT scan every six months as well as blood work.
She just hit her 5-year cancer free mark in August of this year.
Though cancer free, Mary continues to deal with Lymphedema and nerve damage, but is so grateful that the cancer was caught early. She credits those regular self-breast exams and her team: Dr. Pasarilla, Dr. Ma, Dr. Medling, and her husband Oren for providing such outstanding and compassionate care.