Two 'Very Different' Realities
- Four months ago, singer/songwriter Alexis Slifer Butcher had two "very different" realities happening at the same time; one was welcomed news that she and her husband Carson were expecting a daughter. But the other was a cancer diagnosis.
- Most breast cancers are invasive, but there are different types. The two most common are invasive ductal carcinoma and invasive lobular carcinoma; Slifer Butcher is battling invasive ductal carcinoma.
- Slifer Butcher was diagnosed at just 28 years old. Mammogram screenings aren’t generally recommended until age 40. That’s why it’s important to stay in tune with changes in your body at all ages.
"We have had two VERY different realities happening in unison," she posted to Instagram on May 16. "We are pregnant and so close to welcoming our sweetest little baby girl into the world, and we are fighting a diagnosis of breast cancer."
Read MoreHer songwriting has served as a sort of therapy for Slifer Butcher over the years, but her cancer diagnosis left her uninspired. She's now found a renewed sense of hope, she tells People, as she gave birth to a healthy baby girl on May 22 Lila. She was born by an emergency cesarean section two months before her due date while Slifer Butcher underwent chemotherapy treatments for her cancer.
"She is just the best baby," the new mother shares. "She really doesn't even cry. She's just the best, sweet little thing."
Pregnancy and Cancer
As most breast cancers do, Slifer Butcher's started with a lump in her breast.
"When you're pregnant, your body is just always changing, so we didn't specifically realize that the lump was an issue or something problematic until my second trimester," she says. "I called my OB-GYN and she had me immediately rush over because it had grown. I mean, it was the size of an egg, and it was hard and painful."
"We had a biopsy done and within three days, we knew that it was breast cancer," Slifer Butcher adds. "I remember that it was all very bizarre, because before the doctor even called with the results, I already felt like I knew. I believe that the Lord really prepared me for that news, because I just sat on the side of the bed and just took in the moment and just how my life had just changed."
Slifer Butcher now finds herself nearly on the other side; she's just a few weeks away from her last chemo treatment. The tumor she could once feel in her breast is "not there anymore," and there's no sign the cancer has spread to other areas of her body. But the road to the end hasn't been easy for her.
"I've had two different types of chemotherapy, and the first one literally made me feel like I was dying," Slifer Butcher says. "It felt like my whole body was disintegrating, but the second round does not feel that way. It's got some uncomfortable symptoms, but in the grand scheme of things, I can take care of my daughter every day by myself. So we're really thankful for where we are right now."
Around Thanksgiving time, Slifer Butcher will undergo a double mastectomy a surgery to remove the breasts and reconstructive surgery. She'll then have a course of immunotherapy for the next year.
When Should I Get a Mammogram?
The Importance of Breast Cancer Screenings for Young Women
Slifer Butcher is just 28 years old; that's young by anyone's standards, and definitely too young to be battling cancer while learning to be a new mom.
It's unclear if Slifer Butcher ever had a mammogram, but odds are no, considering it’s recommended that women begin getting mammograms at age 45. According to the American Cancer Society, women ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start their annual breast cancer screening if they wish to do so. But women ages 45 to 54 should get a mammogram every year. Once a woman hits 55, she should switch to getting a mammogram every two years.
Dr. Connie Lehman, a director of the breast imaging clinic at Mass General Hospital in Boston, tells SurvivorNet in a previous interview that it's very important for women to get a mammogram every year, especially if you haven't yet gone through menopause.
"We know that cancers grow more rapidly in our younger patients, and having that annual mammogram can be lifesaving," Dr. Lehman says. "After menopause, it may be perfectly acceptable to reduce that frequency to every two years."
"… what I'm most concerned about is the women who haven't been in for a mammogram for two, three, or four years, those women that have never had a mammogram," Lehman says. "We all agree regular screening mammography saves lives."
Related: Can I Have A Baby After Breast Cancer?
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