The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

My mother, the survivor

Anaiah Liserio, communications senior

By Anaiah Liserio

This month, in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are inviting the campus community to share their stories — or connection with —  breast cancer. I’ll begin with my own.

On May 10, 2007, my mother, Rachel Perez Vallejo, was diagnosed with stage II invasive ductal carcinoma, or breast cancer. Her diagnosis was delivered the day after her birthday.

I was sitting on the couch when my parents came home from the doctor’s office. I knew something was wrong as soon as they walked through the door. I couldn’t have predicted from that day forward that everything would change.

At the kitchen table, my dad looked like he was about to unhinge. As he explained to my brother and I through pauses and deep breaths, the word cancer was lost in translation. I had only seen my dad cry once before, and I knew that when he did, it was because his heart was breaking. He held out his hand to describe the small size of the tumor, but nevertheless, it was there. His head fell in his hands as he broke down and wept. He could say no more.

Rachel Perez Vallejo at the 2011 Race for the Cure. Photo by Anaiah LIsero

I wanted to scream, run away, cry and curse. I’d rather have been anywhere but there at that precise moment. I took over the situation after that, by calling my sister to come home, my younger brothers, family members, and sat there for each phone call as she cried, and they cried. But I could not cry.

In a procedure to have her lymph nodes scanned, a needle was injected into her left breast nipple releasing a dye which lights up the cancerous cells.

“I lit up like a Christmas tree,” my mother said.

After her biopsy, where the malignant tumor was found, my mom was scheduled to have a lumpectomy. Her pathologist later discovered more cancer cells and it was determined she would she have to undergo an additional surgery to remove more lymph nodes.

Recently, when I asked my mom how much they removed she said, “Till this day, when I ask my doctor, ‘How much did you remove the second time?’ he always says, ‘You don’t want to know.’”

Believe it or not, her surgeries were actually the easy part. Everything else was a walk in the park compared to chemotherapy.

Photo of my dad, brother David, mom and me celebrating her last day of chemotherapy.

My mother received both chemotherapy and radiation. One after the other, these treatments  killed something inside her that she never fully regained. My mom used to wake me up in the middle of the night to watch TV. Now, even though she fights it, we try and make sure she’s in bed by 9 p.m. The lack of rest beats her down, and although we see it in her eyes that she’s in pain, she’ll never admit how much.

The Perez women are known for their strong hearts and delicate souls. My mother was the first person in our family to be diagnosed with breast cancer. After her diagnosis in 2007, my tía Esther was diagnosed in 2008 with stage 0 breast cancer. Then in 2009, my tía Alice was diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer, and then passed away six months later in 2010.

This was not suppose to happen. From one year to the next it seemed as if the disease was putting a hit on my family. My mother needed to fight; I needed to fight. And more than anything, we all needed to be there for each other.

I’m proud to say that my mother is a survivor. Although, she went through hell to be here today, May 2012 marks her 5-year anniversary in which she can say she is cancer free. The 5-year mark is a huge milestone because, according to physicians, you can add 15 percent to your survival rate depending on whether or not a relapse occurs.

Today, my mother is an advocate for women living with and fighting cancer, and has reached out to many who felt they had no one to talk to at a time when they needed someone the most. She is here for them, for our family and for me.

This month I’m here to remind you that early detection saves lives, especially if you know the gene may be in your family.

For more information visit http://www.cancer.org/ or the Susan G. Komen website at http://ww5.komen.org/.

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