Pinktober Profiles: Andrea Duley

Here's the next fantastic profile in our series, collaboratively written by my Brunswick Community College Eng 111 students as part of their service learning "Profile of a Survivor" assignment. Many of these students are still in high school, participating as part of the Early College High School program. They are taking college level courses in addition to their full course load of high school classes, and many are involved in extra-curricular activities as well. In order to raise awareness of what breast cancer is really like right here in our community, these students collaborated to write profiles of 7 incredible survivors from our community. I'll share their writing with you over the next week.

A Healthy Outlet Changed Everything 

Guest Contributors: Bailey Campbell, Mallorie Cole, Skyler Watson  

In 2004 Andrea Duley moved to North Carolina from California never expecting to battle cancer soon after the transition. Her mother had passed away from ovarian cancer, her father had battled lung cancer, and her brother had cancer too.

            That April, Andrea went into the doctor's office for her annual mammogram, which is how she found out that she had a mass in her breast. When Andrea first found out she had cancer she was in shock.  She wanted to know everything she could about the cancer because it was in her nature to work to understand and research. 

Andrea at her heaviest, post-treatment

After the lump was found in her breast, a biopsy, which is when a small amount of tissue is taken from the mass and then examined under the microscope to look for abnormal cells, was done to determine if the mass was cancerous and if so, what kind of cancer it was. After that she had a lumpectomy which removed the lump and some of the tissue that surrounded it. Andrea chose not to have chemotherapy because the recurrence rate was less than 50 percent. After her surgery she endured 35 days of radiation, which targets any cancer cells left in the body.

After completing radiation she started to gain a lot of weight because of the side effects of the medicines. She knew she wasn’t herself, and she felt that there needed to be a change because she did not want to live an unhealthy lifestyle anymore. She knew then that she had to make a change for the better, so she started to watch what she consumed and ate more healthy foods. She also started working out consistently to become fit and strong.

Thoughts of cancer and recurrence can become all-consuming. Working out became Andrea’s way to escape thinking about her cancer all the time.  Exercise was her outlet and what kept her going through this journey. Working out also helped her to become stronger in her fight against cancer. She believes that becoming a healthier person contributed to her speedy recovery. She found out when she made a switch to the healthier lifestyle, it helped her get through cancer with a more positive mindset and outlook on life.

            In May 2015, nearly a decade after her first experience with cancer, she found a black and blue mark under her arm. She was concerned so she went to her doctor.  The strange mark led to testing, which resulted in her second diagnoses of breast cancer. This time around she took the BRCA test, which came back positive, and led to her decision to have double mastectomy which removed both of her breasts. Her healthy lifestyle continued into her second round of cancer. Before she had her surgery she ran a 5K, which really showed her dedication to her healthy lifestyle.

            Andrea had many obstacles that she had to face as she went through treatment and life after cancer. She remained grateful for her family, for life, and for how far medicine has come.   Even though her life was hard she made decisions that not only benefited her mindset through treatment but also her physical health. The decisions she made have impacted her life tremendously, and long-term. Her decision to become healthier not only helped her have a positive outlook but helped her during recovery because she was much stronger and healthier. Andrea learned from cancer that everyone should always have an outlet. She says, “You need to have something that can take your mind off the things when you're going through a rough time.” Andrea stated "You need to have an outlet because without one you constantly think about the cancer.”