Young woman battles breast cancer with the desire to help others

By Nicole Kleinsteuber

When Melinda Jackson was told she had breast cancer at age 24 she said it was like a living in nightmare she could not wake up from.

“I kept thinking why me,” said Jackson, 25, who grew up in Prince Edward County and lives in Belleville now.  “My husband and I had been married just over a year and then we were hit by a brick wall.”

Almost a year ago Jackson and her husband Mark were newlyweds.  They were anticipating Jackson’s upcoming graduation from the business administration program at Loyalist College.

Before graduation Jackson learned that she was pregnant.

“On Valentine’s Day I was blessed to find out Mark and I were expecting,” Jackson said.

The excitement did not last for long.  During a routine check up Jackson found a lump in her right breast.

“Everyone insisted it was just my milk ducts filling up,” said Jackson.  “But I insisted it was more than that.”

An ultrasound followed by a biopsy concluded the lump was in fact cancer.  On April 18, Jackson was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.   A tumor had grown larger than 5 cm.  The cancer spread to the lymph nodes and Jackson feared it could spread to nearby tissues such as the muscle or skin.

Shortly after Melinda miscarried.

“When the doctors told me I had breast cancer I broke down crying.  My mom broke down and the doctors broke down,” said Jackson.  “We couldn’t believe this was happening to me.  I was in denial and so was Mark.”

“This just doesn’t happen,” said Jackson.  “Even the doctors were confused as to why anyone at 24 would be diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Her doctors sent her for genetic testing to try and determine how she developed cancer so early in life.  The testing concluded Jackson carries the BRCA1 gene and she is at high risk for developing other cancers as well.

“I have a 50 to 85 percent change of developing ovarian cancer,” Jackson.  “The doctors are trying to talk me into having my ovaries removed to prevent cancer from developing.”

Jackson said she doesn’t want to have her ovaries removed because she wants to have children one day and she’s hopeful a cure will be discovered in the near future.

Jackson began chemotherapy treatments right away causing her to lose her hair.

“Losing my hair at first really bothered me,” Jackson.  “I would never walk out of the house without something covering my head to try and hide it.”

Jackson said she didn’t want to accept what was happening to her and went through six rounds of chemotherapy treatments in denial.  But reality started to set in when Jackson’s doctors informed her they had to perform a mastectomy.

“The lump in my right breast was too big to remove so they had to remove the whole breast,” Jackson.  “That was really hard to take in.  I had a higher risk of developing cancer in my left breast if it wasn’t removed.  I didn’t want to go through this all over again so I decided right then and there I wanted both breasts removed.

She said the surgery was scary because it was her first time in the operating room.

“It pretty much hit me the when I woke up from my surgery and realized it’s reality,” Jackson.  “Both of my breasts have been removed now.  That’s when it hit the most.  For weeks I cried myself to sleep thinking why me.

“I feel unattractive with no breasts and short hair. I look more like a man. So appearance wise it really bothers me,” Jackson.  Now losing both breasts, it’s terrible.”

She has lost a few friends along the way because they do not know how to cope with her having cancer.

“It’s been a horrible year but it’s getting better,” Jackson.  I used to take things for granted, especially family but after my diagnosis my mom and I have grown a lot closer.”

Her friends and family help out by taking her to her radiation treatments in Kingston every day.

Jackson’s Employment Insurance Benefits ran out and the rising gas prices are becoming a burden.

The Cancer Society pays for Jackson to stay in a hotel when she needs to stay over night in Kingston.  But Jackson is responsible for gas and parking costs.

“One income is not enough to pay for my and Marks bills plus travelling to Kingston everyday.” Jackson.

Jackson’s family is hosting a benefit dance to help raise money for the added costs.  The benefit dance is November 18 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Ramada Inn in Belleville.  Tickets can be bought in advance or at the door.  Funds raised will also go towards the purchase of prosthetic breasts for Jackson.

Jackson wants to help other young people who are battling cancer like her.  She has signed up to be a peer supporter through the Cancer Society.  Jackson has had difficulty finding someone her age to counsel her and she feels her experiences might be useful to someone else.

“Having cancer has changed my perception on life,” Jackson.  “I see the trees, the world, pain and suffering differently.

“I’d really like to help save someone’s life,” said Jackson.  “Either by showing them how to do a breast exam through my pamphlets or by just being there when they need someone to talk to.”