My Name is Traci Rampton. I am Management Consultant for Deloitte and live just outside Washington, DC. I am a wife, a mother of four children, and, as of August 2021, I am a breast cancer survivor. My experience with cancer was like a grease fire in a hot kitchen, an unexpected burst of flames in a few furious months, and complete eradication by the swift actions and skilled hands of cancer specialists, compassionate nurses, and knowledgeable surgeons.
My battle began in June 2021, when I went in for an annual mammogram. An unusual spot showed up on my films and the doctors ordered biopsies. Two days after my biopsy, I vividly remember sitting at my desk on a zoom call at 8:00 am when I my cell phone rang. I saw the number from my nurse and knew that she had the results. She left a voice message that started like this...Hi Mrs. Rampton, this is Shannon Wise, the nurse from your OBGYN office. It's my day off but I wanted to catch you first thing in the morning to talk about the results from your biopsy.
Do you know how you can say something without actually saying it? Her message was clear. I called nurse Wise back, on her day off, and this was the first time I heard the words, you have breast cancer. Overwhelming dread, panic, and stress were just a few of the emotions that crashed over me like relentless waves and time stood still. I took many deep breaths, steadied my mind, and tried to focus on what she was saying--it was an early diagnosis, it hadn't spread, and there was an optimistic prognosis. Right then I adopted the mantra that, I am not going to panic until someone tells me it's time to panic.
My next two months were filled with three more mammograms, two biopsies, two ultrasound scans, and an MRI. I remember my second diagnosis. It came at 5 p.m. on a Thursday night, while we were packing for a family trip. This time the call came directly from my doctor. Like a nurse calling on her day off, doctors never call their patients directly with good news. The myriad of tests revealed a second more invasive kind of cancer on the opposite side. Now it was time to panic.
All follow-up appointments got expedited and within two weeks I was in the operating room for a double mastectomy. Recovery from surgery was about a month spent in my bed--sleeping a good portion of the day as family and friends took over for me, bringing meals, entertaining my kids, and dropping off chocolate (which fixes a lot of things in my book) They sent sweet cards, care packages, flowers to brighten my room, and text messages to check on me.
Cancer teaches many lessons-- patience in the process and timing, humility, and gratitude for so many who give service. I know cancer can be different for everyone but one lesson I learned is that cancer, like many struggles in life, cannot be taken away by others. It was one burden I had to carry myself with my faith in God and with an eternal perspective of all things. When others showed compassion, love, and support, it strengthened me to carry it. I am grateful for this lesson and if it took breast cancer to learn it, it was worth it.
1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. I hope you will help me to spread awareness and, through your donation, support the life-saving diagnosis and treatment advances Georgetown is working to achieve.
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