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22-year-old cancer survivor goes back to YSU
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
Photo
Breanna Rohrman
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Breanna Rohrman was a 20-year-old Youngstown State University student when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had no family history, and there was no lump. Pain prompted her to schedule a doctor’s visit in early 2008, but an ultrasound showed nothing and the doctor told her she was fine.
“It went away, but then a year later it came back,” said Rohrman, of Struthers, now 22, who talked about her experience, marking October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “I told my mom I really think I need to go back to the doctor.”
This time she had a mammogram that showed an area that looked suspicious. Another ultrasound was followed by a biopsy.
“It showed that it was cancerous,” she said.
It’s a thought that never had entered her mind.
“I don’t know what I thought,” Rohrman said.
She scheduled surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in July 2009 but says the ordeal didn’t seem real to her until that day.
Although cancer was in only one breast, Rohrman chose to have a bilateral mastectomy — removal of both breasts.
“It was a very difficult decision,” she said. “Being 20 years old, I want to have kids someday, and, obviously, breast feeding is part of that.”
But she would worry about getting cancer in the other breast, so she opted for removal.
About a month after her initial surgery, she returned to have more of her lymph nodes removed. She now wears a compression sleeve on her arm to prevent swelling.
She endured chemotherapy every other week for two months and experienced some fatigue, but medication prescribed by doctors at the Cleveland Clinic staved off any nausea. Her hair fell out, but Rohrman opted not to wear a wig.
She took a year off from school because of her treatment but continued to work part time as she was able.
Dr. G. Thomas Budd of the Solid Tumor Oncology Department at the Cleveland Clinic was Rohrman’s oncologist. It’s very uncommon to see the disease in someone so young, he said.
“Breanna has been a very brave young lady,” Dr. Budd said. “She was able to continue to work throughout her treatment period, and now she’s returned to school and she’s getting on with her life.”
Rohrman, who is studying civil engineering at YSU, said her battle was probably more difficult for her mother.
“I was better off than she was,” she said. “She thought, ‘Why is my daughter going through this?’ I have a great family, a great support system.”
It’s just hard for a parent to watch their child go through something such as cancer, Rohrman said.
The disease is now in remission, Rohrman returned to YSU this fall and says she’s feeling well.
She continues to go to the Cleveland Clinic every three months for exams. Unlike most cancers, though, that typically don’t return after five years have passed, breast cancer can recur after as long as 20 years, Dr. Budd said.
Rohrman will have to do self-examinations to monitor if any lumps develop on the chest wall, he said.
Rohrman urges others regardless of their age to seek help from a physician if they experience a problem.
“Don’t be scared to go to the doctor; they’re there to help you,” she said.