Amy Fowler: ‘It has been a life-changing experience’
There are things in life that you do not understand why or how, then life-changing events happen to you and you start to see why something happened, or how could that happen.
Those are some of the things I have learned over the past year, but the thing that I learned the most is that the good Lord takes care of all things.
My name is Amy Fowler, and my story starts in January 2017. I went to see my doctor for my annual check-up, and she then sent me to have my first mammogram.
At age 35, you are not thinking about having mammograms. Well, I had my first one on Valentine’s Day and a few days later my surgeon, Dr. Peterson, called me and said that she would like for me to have a biopsy taken. A week later my boyfriend, Billy Powell, and I were sitting in her office and she proceeded to explain to me that I had Stage 3 breast cancer and that the cancer was in the upper left quadrant of my left breast. A lumpectomy was not an option.
One thing I was able to get was a genetic test done, and found out that the cancer was not genetic. A week later, we go to see the oncologist, Dr. Patel, and he suggested that I have six rounds of chemotherapy, which included Carboplatin, Taxotere, Perjeta and Herceptin.
Scared to death, Billy and I decided that we wanted a second opinion, so we went to Baylor Sammons in Dallas. The doctor there was very helpful with my decision to carry on with the chemotherapy here in Texarkana. She told me that she would recommend the same treatment and that it honestly would be easier on me to be closer to home to do my treatments. My cancer was hormone positive, so I had to be taken off any birth control that had hormones, so Billy and I decided to have my tubes clipped.
A few days after that, I had my Mediport placed and started chemo on March 24, 2017. I took chemo every three weeks for six rounds of the four chemo drugs. One of the things that bothered me the most about all of the chemo was when I lost all of my hair. Fourteen days after I started chemo, my hair started to fall out. Chemo took my taste buds for about two weeks after each treatment, everything tasted like dirt. The only thing that tasted good was milk and Honey Nut Cheerios. Billy was there every time I got sick, held my hair, wiped my face with a cold rag and made sure I had everything I needed to feel better.
On July 7, 2017, I had my last round of the heavy chemo. However, I still had to take
Herceptin every three weeks until the following March. On Aug. 8, 2017, I had a double mastectomy and had expanders placed at UAMS in Little Rock.
I can’t begin to explain how personable the doctors at UAMS are. Very seldom did I ever talk to a nurse, the doctors themselves called me. Dr. Rhonda Henry-Tillman, the doctor that did my double mastectomy, was awesome. When I first met with her, she sent me to have an ultrasound done, unexpectedly she came in the room and did the ultrasound herself to see how much the cancer had shrunk and how much of it was still there after chemo. She explained everything to me, how the surgery would go, how long it would be and everything.
After meeting with Dr. Tillman I met with Dr. Keith Wolter, the plastic surgeon. He then explained how all the reconstruction would go. After having the expanders placed, I was having to make weekly trips to Little Rock to have the expanders filled. Dr. Wolter’s nurse practitioner, Stacy Petty, was the one that filled my expanders every week. She is the one of the most caring nurse practitioners I have ever met.
After my expanders were filled to where I desired, Billy and I faced our next major decision, whether or not to have radiation. We did a lot of research on radiation, the side effects, the benefits and the long-term damage it would do. We talked to doctors at UAMS, doctors here in Texarkana and friends and family. We decided that we felt that there just wasn’t enough data to justify if it would help or hinder.
In November 2017, I had my implants placed and saw Dr. Tillman again for a threemonth check up and she said all was healing great. Things were starting to look up, until my doctor found cysts on my ovaries. Billy and I were faced with another decision, and in February 2018 I ended up having a total hysterectomy. In March 2018, I had my last round of Herceptin, and in July 2018, I had the last part of my reconstruction done.
I have to say this—it has been a life-changing experience that brought so many people into my life. Billy introduced me to a couple of ladies that were going through the same thing I was. They helped me so much through everything. If I had questions about how I should feel or if I just wasn’t feeling good and needed someone to talk to, these ladies were always there. Stacy with Dr. Wolter’s office has been an angel.
I remember when I went in for my last surgery she held my hand till I fell asleep. This past year has been full of ups and downs, and with the presence of God and Billy holding my hand through it all, I have made it and survived it all.