‘Don’t put it off ’
Sisters beat breast cancer, urge screenings
Melinda Rollans of Dardanelle found her breast cancer in its early stages in 2012 because she said she was vigilant about getting mammograms after her sister was diagnosed with the disease.
Rollans, 54, said her sister, Debbie Fisher, 64, of Texas saved her life. But Fisher said it’s Rollans who saved hers.
Rollans said, “When my sister (Fisher) found out she had cancer, … I started having mammograms when I was in my 40s because of her having the cancer. I wanted to stay on top of mine.”
Fisher was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and underwent a mastectomy on the affected breast; Rollans found out she had the disease in 2012, when she was 46. She chose to have a double mastectomy for peace of mind.
Inspired by her sister’s bravery, Fisher also decided to have a second mastectomy in 2012.
Rollans, who had been getting yearly mammograms, said a scan showed “a gray area” on the X-ray, which might have been ignored, but the radiologist knew about her family history and took a closer look. Rollans had a needle biopsy, followed by a lumpectomy.
The news was worse than expected.
The doctor told Rollans and her husband, Tim, that she had a kind of cancer that would likely replicate in the other breast.
She said that when the doctor told them the news, “I dropped my head. I said, ‘I don’t want to worry about this the rest of my life.’”
Rollans opted for a double mastectomy, which she had in April 2012. She also underwent a hysterectomy in July 2012.
“The next kicker to this story is — my sister said, ‘Melinda, you were brave enough to have a double mastectomy; I’m going to go have my other breast removed,’” Rollans said. “She had cancer in that breast and did not know it.”
Despite the fact that their 83-year-old mother, Margaret Edwards of Dardanelle, had been diagnosed in her 50s with a rare cancerous fibroid, Fisher said, she and Rollans didn’t consider it a factor in their risks.
About one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, according to breastcancer.org. It also states that about 85 percent of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of the disease.
Fisher, a retired math teacher, moved from Dardanelle in 1982 and lives in Lucas, Texas. She said her first breast cancer was caught early through a routine mammogram.
“My husband (Craig) insisted that I go. I would have put it off forever,” she said. It was cancer in the milk ducts, which had spread but was caught “very, very early.”
When Fisher was diagnosed, she had a mastectomy on the right breast and underwent chemotherapy.
After Rollans underwent a double mastectomy, Fisher took action.
“My sister credits me with hers being found so early, but I’m going to credit her,” Fisher said. “Because of my baby sister going through what she did, it got me to thinking — if she was brave enough to tackle that, [I could do it, too].”
Fisher had been on a daily regimen of a chemotherapy pill and was getting mammograms, which showed no evidence of cancer.
“There was no reason for me to be concerned, but I was,” Fisher said. “I told my husband, ‘I think I would like to have the other breast removed,’” and he supported her.
Fisher said that decision may have saved her life.
She said she had more than 8 inches of cancerous area in the lobules of her breast.
It didn’t show up in the mammogram, either.
“It was a time bomb waiting to happen,” she said.
Fisher underwent radiation after this mastectomy.
Neither woman opted for reconstructive surgery. Fisher said she and her husband had known women who got infections after reconstruction.
Rollans said that at the time she had her mastectomy, her husband knew someone whose wife had undergone breast reconstruction after surgery and later died of undetected breast cancer.
“Tim begged me not to have the reconstruction,” she said. “You have your fears and your worries because you don’t really feel that womanly anymore. Even though the double mastectomy was a shock, and it was really hard to get over when you look in the mirror …, but, you know, I don’t regret it because I didn’t have to go through all those treatments.”
Rollans said she takes a chemotherapy pill daily.
“I always feel bad talking about somebody about having breast cancer. I didn’t have to have any treatments because they did extensive testing. They caught mine so early, it hadn’t had time to spread,” Rollans said.
Although she said she knows it sounds strange, “I owe it to my sister for having cancer,” Rollans said.
Rollans said she was tested for the mutation of the breast cancer susceptibility gene, BRCA, and does not have it. Fisher said her daughter was tested, and her test was negative as well.
Cancer has hit their family hard, though. Their only other sibling, brother Ray Edwards of Dardanelle, was diagnosed early this year with four types of cancer, but he is doing well, Rollans said. Fisher said a cousin recently was diagnosed with breast cancer, too.
Fisher and Rollans each have one daughter, and they worry about their daughters’ chances of getting breast cancer. Fisher said her daughter, who will turn 30 this year, got a baseline mammogram and gets sonograms every year.
Rollans, who is a vice president at River Town Bank in Dardanelle, said her advice to all women is, “Mammograms, for sure. Don’t put it off; just go do it. The sooner you can have [cancer] caught, the less likelihood you have to go through all the treatments,” she said.
Fisher, who serves on the City Council in her small Texas community, said that during the group’s first meeting each October — national Breast Cancer Awareness Month — she makes an announcement: “Women, take care of yourselves; men, if you love a woman in your life, make sure she gets her mammogram.”
Rollans said she had a great support network when she went through her surgery, including her co-workers at the bank, her family and her church, Ard Church of Christ, as well as other churches in Dardanelle.
She said having cancer made her look at life differently.
“I just have learned that you take things one day at a time. Enjoy what you’re given that day, and then it’s just humbling to know, and it’s sad to see people around me having to go through the treatments they have to go through. I’m very blessed.”
Fisher echoed her sister’s sentiments.
“Cancer can be a blessing because you realize what is important in your life. My daughter was about to turn 15 when I was diagnosed. I wasn’t going to give up that fight. I had one [child] in college and one at home. You learned to prioritize. Your faith in God is strengthened,” Fisher said.
“Growing up, the big C was a death sentence; it’s not that way anymore. Mammograms have come a long way in just the past few years.
“I’m thankful for the advances every day,” Fisher said.
And she’s thankful for a brave younger sister.