Early detection can save your life

That’s why two local survivors agreed to share their stories. Both said, “If telling our stories can help just one person, it will be worth it.”

Janelle’s discovery

Janelle McMillin, of rural Gatzke, was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer almost exactly 6 years ago, in October of 2009. A month prior to her diagnosis, she was laying in bed and simply had an itch on her chest. Something didn’t feel right; it was something she had never felt before. A crescent-shaped lump was underneath her skin and in her words, “It’s like it popped up over night…of course it didn’t, though.”

Having just had a mammogram the April before, the results showed nothing. Just five months later, what felt like a cashew, in her words, a lump had shown up in her breast. “44 years old is too young for breast cancer,” she recalls thinking.

Carter’s circumstances

Carter Torgerson, of Grygla, was 52 years old at the time he was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. “It’s something I had never even thought about before…something I knew nothing about because you don’t hear about men getting this,” Carter shared. It was March of 2008 when Carter received the news that he had breast cancer. He had been lifting weights and every time the weight had touched his chest, he felt a painful, needle-like sensation in his chest. Every time he touched the spot, it felt like he was being stuck with pins. He kept rubbing the area and could feel a lump, but thought he had simply been lifting too much and backed off a bit. When the condition didn’t improve, Carter made a trip in to see his doctor, who thought the lump was quite possibly just a muscle mass.

Janelle receives the news

When Janelle made her doctor appointment, the doctor confirmed there was a lump and scheduled another mammogram for that same day. She remembers the physician telling her not to worry about anything until there was something to worry about. 

It turns out, there was a need to worry. After her mammogram, Janelle had to have an ultra-sound, which made her start to suspect things. The ultra-sound tech wouldn’t look at or speak to Janelle, causing her to wonder what was being seen. A couple of days later, she was called in to the clinic. Before even seeing her doctor, the nurse, upon checking her in and greeting her, basically came right out and said, “You have cancer.”

Janelle didn’t have time to even prepare herself for the news. She had been hit with the terrible ‘C’ word.

Carter’s doctors move fast

The day of Carter’s appointment, his doctor moved fast, but not necessarily out of worry. He simply suggested they go in, cut the lump out that day and get it over with. He was free to go home and wait for the results. A short time later, it was a Friday, and Carter was driving the school bus to Fargo for a track meet. His cell phone rang and it was his doctor. “You’ve got cancer, Carter, and I need to see you right away Monday morning,” the doctor stated. To which he replied, “Wow! I’m driving a school bus right now.” The doctor apologized but said he needed to see him right away. For a man, breast cancer spreads faster due to the lack of tissue. His doctor met him in Fargo that following Monday, and surgery was already set for that coming Wednesday morning. “My doctor was so efficient. It all happened so fast that I didn’t even have time to worry about it…that’s just the way I wanted it, too,” he added.

Janelle’s treatment process

Janelle agrees with Carter, saying, “They move and they move NOW.” Janelle doctored between Thief River Falls and Bemidji in the beginning. She had a lumpectomy done first, which means the doctors went in and took the entire lump out, including some of the tissue around it. Her cancer had spread to one lymph node, so she had to have that removed, as well. Traveling to the Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, she then met with her team of doctors; by this time it was almost Thanksgiving. Together, they set up a chemotherapy plan, which Janelle would start right after Christmas, in Thief River Falls. Her plan included four treatments over the course of 12 weeks. Every 3 weeks, she’d go in and sit through the 6-hour chemo session.

“The first treatment goes by and you think it’s not so bad. The second one comes and you are more tired. By the time the third one comes, you start losing your hair,” Janelle voiced. “I was in the shower and I had clumps of hair coming out and I just started bawling,” she recalls. Janelle went in, and with the help of her stylist, she got a short new hairstyle, to make the transition a little easier.

Having her last chemotherapy on March 3rd, Janelle got a short rest period. On March 22nd, she had a checkup to make sure her body was ok to start radiation, which she began on April 7th. Every day, except the weekends, Janelle would get a radiation treatment in Grand Forks; she did this for 7 weeks. When explaining the treatment process, she says the doctors tattoo where they need to do the radiation. The ink dots are very, very small but it allows them to line up the laser to these dots so they can pint point exactly where the cancer is. The entire process only takes a minute or two and Janelle compares it to having a bad sunburn.

Carter’s treatment process

For Carter, he had found out on a Friday that he had breast cancer. By that next Wednesday morning, he had already undergone surgery to remove the entire side of his chest tissue. Because he overworked himself, too soon after surgery, Carter had some slight complications. A lot of fluid was building up in the chest cavity, where he had his tumor removed, and he had to go in every few days to have it sucked out with a needle. His doctor was upset with him for rushing the healing process so quickly after surgery, so after the 16th time of shoving the needle into his chest, without pain medication, Carter’s doctor demanded him to stop working and allow his body to heal. 

Once his body had finally recovered from the surgery, it was time to start chemotherapy.

Every two weeks for 20 weeks, Carter endured 10 treatments total. “I had what’s referred to as the ‘Red Devil’ chemo…it’s like your whole insides are on fire…it really burned,” he shared. “I was so tired after the 6-hour sessions, I’d go home and just fall asleep. I’d try really hard not to have a pity party for myself, though, and keep my spirits up.”

Carter never had to do radiation, however, he did still have to do some doctoring. He suffered a serious side effect from the chemo that made his heart almost explode. The day he finally went into the ER for his irregular heartbeat, the doctor’s rushed him to the ER because his heart rate was at 280 beats per minute. The chemo had made one of his heart valves open, in which a surgery had to soon follow to fix. To this day, Carter is advised not to have anything with MSG or caffeine in it or it will affect his heart rhythm and kick it into gear. 

Stories of a survivor

Through their breast cancer diagnosis, Janelle and Carter both learned they had a small family history of the disease. Janelle’s was on her dad’s side and Carter’s was on his mom’s side of the family.

Both of them are cancer-free today and were asked in closing what they would like to share with community members as breast cancer survivors.

“If anyone learns anything from this, it’s not to wait too long,” says Carter. “You never think it’ll happen to you, but it does. If you have a lump of any kind, demand it out and have it tested. And know that breast cancer can happen to men, too.”

Janelle adds, “It’s so important to be aware of it. Younger women are getting it, too. Just don’t wait; go in at the sign of the first symptom.”

Both had an incredible support system throughout their journey. Not only did they have their family and friends to lean on, they both received an outpouring of support from the community, as well. And both would like to return the favor to anyone in need.

“Call us. If anybody has questions, we don’t mind talking about it at all. Once you go through it, you want to pay it forward some day,” Janelle offered.