Joy Hollar
My name is Joy Hollar. I’m currently 29 years old (about to be
the BIG 3-0 on July 7th). I’m a recruiter for a large public accounting firm
here in Charlotte. I’m married…with two dogs…an English Bulldog named Tackle and
a chocolate Lab named Georgia. Yes, my husband and I are BIG SEC Football
fans! HA! No kids just yet…but my husband and I are looking forward to starting
a family in the future.
 I was 28 at diagnosis. However, I found the lump when I was
27. As soon as I found it, I went to my OBGYN for a physical. He told me “It’s
nothing…put it out of your head. You’re too young for it to be anything
serious.” SO…I did just that…I forgot about it. Which was easy to do b/c I was
engaged at the time and in the middle of planning our wedding. So…the wedding
and honeymoon came and went, over a year had passed…and it was one month after
our honeymoon that I decided to have it looked at again. This time, I went to my
general practitioner. She said the scary words “I’m not sure what it is…but I
want you to know that I can’t rule out cancer.” It then started…a million tests.
I first went to a good friend of mine who is an OBGYN…she examined me, then sent
me to have a mammogram. When the mammogram was inconclusive…she sent me in for a
biopsy. She then called me the next day…”it’s cancer, sweetie…I’m so sorry…but
it’s highly treatable. You will win this.” The next day I was in to meet with my
oncologist and breast surgeon…two of the most talented men in the ENTIRE medical
community…Dr. Frenette and Dr. White. Amazing men, both God sent.
I started chemotherapy immediately. Dr. Frenette put me on a
clinical trial…6 rounds of Taxotere and Navelbine…followed by 4 rounds of A/C. I
breezed through the treatments…with minimal side effects. Hair loss being the
hardest part for me…but I managed with the help of MANY gorgeous scarves. After
that…I went in for my first surgery. Dr. White removed the “house” that the
cancer was in (the chemo did it’s job…all clean. And with the genetic testing, I
found that I am not a carrier of the breast cancer genes…allowing for the small
surgery) and my sentinel nodes. From the pathology…one node was positive for a
micro-scopic trace of cancer. So…one more surgery…the removal of 21 more
nodes…ALL negative! My clean report was finally here. I then started radiation,
34 treatments…and am now on Tamoxifen and will be for the next 2 years. I did
not get any sort of reconstruction, but am not ruling it out for the future.
My best piece of advice for the newly diagnosed is…”do not let
anyone or anything steal your joy”. Keep that smile on your face at all
times…and lean on others…let them help you. But remain positive…your mind is a
powerful thing…what you think is what you are.
Joy Hollar
|
