When the lump was still there three weeks later, though, Christine scheduled a mammogram, which was several months overdue. The screening and subsequent testing showed that Christine had breast cancer. Dr. Peter Deckers performed a mastectomy on December 30, 2011, and Christine began chemotherapy under the care of medical oncologist Dr. Susan Tannenbaum. Plastic surgeon Dr. Rajiv Chandawarkar performed reconstructive surgery.
Christine would have chemotherapy for a year, beginning with weekly treatments. A UConn Health employee since 2008, she would have chemo every Monday morning, then go to her job in Health Care Administration. “I tried very hard to live a normal life,” Christine says. “If you stay home, you tell yourself you’re sick. If you’re at work, you can feel as if you’re not sick.” She felt as if keeping up her normal routines also made things easier on her family. While her children are grown and on their own, her elderly mother lives with her, and Christine tried to spare her from worry.
Still, the treatments that were saving her life also took their toll. She struggled with nausea and fatigue—and the loss of her hair. “The first time I cried was the morning I shaved my head,” Christine says. “But then I said, ‘OK, Christine, this is just hair. Get over it.’”
Christine drew strength from her faith and her personal relationship with God. She knew that her family and people all across the country were praying for her recovery. “I believe that the Lord asked me to take this walk as a testimony to His care and love. He put these doctors in my life for a reason. They took care of me, and I’m fine,” she says, adding, “I truly feel blessed to have gone through this trial.”
Christine worked on the committee that planned the UConn Health’s July 14, 2013, Cancer Survivors Day at the Rock Cats Stadium in New Britain. She and nearly all of her children attended. She was especially excited to be part of it because her son was tapped to sing “America the Beautiful” at the start of the baseball game.
More than 18 months after discovering that lump, Christine has a new perspective on the care provided at UConn’s Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. “I would never go anywhere else but UConn,” Christine says. “They’ve taken such amazing care of me. If anyone comes to UConn Health for care, they’re in the best place they could be.”
Her experience has given her a new perspective on life, as well. “I know now that I can do more and handle more than I thought I could,” Christine says. “I never thought I could handle cancer, but I did.”
