Patient Stories

Margaret Cieprisz | Lisa Holderby | Iveta Gigova

Lisa Holderby

Almost two years ago while undergoing a routine check up for infertility, a polyp was found in my uterus. Typically a small polyp would not be a concern, generally they are benign and nothing to worry about. However, since I was considering invitro fertilization, I was told that it should be removed. The polyp could possibly keep the egg from implanting. So I went in for the polypectomy, had the surgery, the polyp was removed and all was well.

While on a ski trip one week later I got a phone call from the surgeon who removed the polyp saying the cells were atypical and the fertility center where I was being treated wanted to see me. When I went to the center my physician told me that the pathology report came back as metastatic breast cancer, most likely the lobular type. Metastatic breast cancer in a uterine polyp!? My doctor and every physician I asked said this did not make sense. My doctor said in the 30 years that he had been in medicine he had never heard of such a thing.

Well you can imagine the impact of this information. I was completely stunned. I left the office crying that day. Not only would I never have another baby, and I had been waiting a long time to do this, for a breast cancer to metastasize to my uterus, I would have had to have stage three or four cancer. I could possibly die. My thoughts now were of dying and how many body parts I was going to lose before that happened. I considered myself a pretty healthy person. I exercised, I practiced yoga, I ran, I took swimming classes, and I biked. I had a very good appetite; lets just say I ate well, lots of fruits and vegetables. I did not have a family history of breast cancer and above all I didn’t feel sick. The only thing making me sick was everyone telling me that I was sick. Was the diagnosis correct? Was I really sick and just in denial? I needed to find out and find out quickly.

Luckily, I happened to be working for a prestigious Park Avenue plastic surgeon, Dr. Alan Matarasso, and had access to the best medical information available. The fertility center also turned out to be a wonderful resource. The center had an OBGYN oncologist in their practice, Dr. Del Priore. That’s how I found Dr. Del Priore, or maybe he found me. Under Dr. Del Priore’s care, the next few months were a rollercoaster ride. I had just about every test you could imagine. I had PET scans, CAT scans, breast mammograms, sonograms, uterine MRIs and sonograms, a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, a bone scan, 3 breast biopsies, multiple uterine biopsies and numerous blood tests for tumor markers. Each and every time, every test came back negative for a primary cancer. So I went back to the original biopsy, something must have been incorrect. I had the tissue sample re-read at three different labs, all labs came back the same; positive for metastatic breast cancer. I had, 2nd and 3rd opinions, I got checked and re-checked.

Still I continued to fell healthy and had no swollen lymph nodes. Maybe I was watching too much TV but I started thinking “what if it’s not my tissue?” and “what if my tissue sample was switched with another patients in the lab?” I was assured that there was not a mix up, but I decided to find out for myself. The savvy doctor that he is, Dr. Del Priore, found a forensic pathologist in the New York City Coroner’s Office who would conduct a DNA test to confirm that the tissue sample was mine. I remember going to the coroner’s office that day waiting for the pathologists to meet me. It was surreal listening to security direct funeral homes as to where the bodies could be picked up. I started crying. I couldn’t believe this was happening. All I wanted was to have a baby and this was what I got. The pathologists finally arrived two hours late, he of course apologized, but I was just about to lose it. He swiped my mouth and said he should know something in about a week.

At this point it was all that I had to hold on to, a DNA test. I did a lot of soul searching over the next few weeks. Things that were once a concern, like should I or should I not have liposuction, didn’t seem to be important. I was facing losing more than just fat. It’s funny how some things get put in perspective. After waiting for about three weeks I finally got a call from Dr. Del Priore telling me that it was a 100% match. My heart sank. I was again at square one, I didn’t know anything more than I did when I first started this process. I just knew it was my polyp; there were no mix-ups on the tests. I had to face the fact I indeed had breast cancer. The cancer consumed every waking thought; I imagined body parts hurting that never bothered me before. Every little ache or pain would drive me into a frenzy. I just wanted to find it and get it out, it was so frustrating.

After several months of feeling sorry for myself I decided it was time to look at the positive side. Other than the original biopsy there was no evidence of cancer in my body. There were a lot of theories floating out there but nothing was solid. The type of cancer identified in the biopsy responded well to hormone treatment, chemotherapy was not suggested and my treatment was limited to 20mg of tamoxifien daily. During all of this I still remained fit, I had planned a year before to run the New York Marathon so I decided I would do just that; run the marathon. I had never ran a marathon before but decided that 26.2 miles could not be any worse than what I just been through. Besides it was my way of saying “I DO NOT HAVE CANCER”. On November 7, 2004 I ran my first marathon. Every mile behind me was one more step closer to the finish line. When it got tough, I just imagined myself as cancer free and I couldn’t be too sick to run, quitting was not an option. So I finished the race in 5 hrs and 53 minutes.

After the marathon, Dr. Del Priore informed me that I had a whole network of doctors who wanted to help me conceive my dream, a baby. I was really confused at this point because one doctor told me that I could die if I got pregnant. I couldn’t believe that it had come full circle. Wanting to have a child, finding out I had cancer, thinking that I would have my breast removed, a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and possibly die; to… having a baby again. It was a little too much for me. I decided not to go forward with the baby. It was not the end of the world for me because I already had one child. I could see where it could have been the end of the world for someone else.

The good news; I’m still cancer free. I still live with the fact that the cancer could show itself again, but I’m not going worry about that today. I believe things happen for a reason, I do not believe in coincidences. Either I am one of luckiest people on earth or I had an angel sitting on my shoulder. I would like to think it was the latter. One of the positive things of this journey is it has brought me to this wonderful organization “The Cancer and Fertility Society”. If I can help one person who is facing or has faced the issues that I have, then I guess it was worth it. I’m still healthy. So I have had a bunch of tests done and went through some emotional trauma, not the worst thing that can happen to you. I’m here today telling you my story and to let you know I still have a lot of living to do. More importantly, I have another purpose now, helping out The Fertility and Cancer Society. Sometimes things aren’t what they appear to be and something so terrible can turn around and turn into something wonderful.