Kaneesha N. made sure to get her annual mammograms each June.
But in October 2017, after getting a clear mammogram four months earlier, she felt a lump on her breast.
"It grew that fast," says Kaneesha, 49, from Coraopolis, Pa.
Kaneesha, who worked for UPMC's billing department at the time, was concerned enough to call her doctor the next day.
"I swear, if I was younger, I probably wouldn’t have called my doctor the next day," she says. "They rushed me in, and my gynecologist said, ‘I need you to get a biopsy done.’”
The biopsy revealed breast cancer.
Kaneesha says telling her two children about her diagnosis was the hardest thing she had to do. Her son was a senior in college at the time, and her daughter was working as a nurse.
Kaneesha knew she wanted to go to UPMC for her cancer treatment. She met with hematologist/oncologist Jennifer Osborn, MD, at UPMC Passavant.
"We are the best of family," Kaneesha says of her relationship with Dr. Osborn.
Because of the aggressiveness of her cancer, Kaneesha's treatment also needed to be aggressive. She did 16 chemotherapy treatments, including four treatments of doxorubicin — which is nicknamed "The Red Devil."
“Without the grace of God and my family and friends, I don't know if I'd be here talking to you right now," Kaneesha says. "It’s very, very hard at times because I know what I’ve been through."
After her chemotherapy, Kaneesha underwent a double mastectomy. She later had breast reconstruction surgery.
She also underwent genetic testing, which showed she had a mutation in the BRCA gene. BRCA mutations put people at higher risk for breast and other cancers.
“I still get overwhelmed because of things I went through, but it made me stronger in my whole life circle," she says.
Today, Kaneesha has been cancer-free for six years. As the president of the Carol Faulkner Williams Cancer Support Group in Coraopolis, she now helps others with cancer. Her role includes talking with people and their caregivers, praying with them, and even accompanying them to chemotherapy sessions.
“I think God put me through this to help other people," she says. "I swear that's my calling, to do that. It could be 11:00 at night. If somebody calls me, I’m talking. Because I know how I needed people when I was going through it.”
Kaneesha says she kept a journal of her experiences during her cancer treatment. She uses it as a reference when people ask her about their cancer journeys. She also returns to it sometimes to remind herself of everything she's been through.
In addition to helping others with cancer, Kaneesha is an advocate for cancer screenings. Her own awareness about her breast health helped her catch her cancer early enough for treatment. She encourages women to get their annual mammograms.
“I always really, really get on women about getting their mammograms," she says. "I tell them, even though I got my mammograms every year in the same month, look what happened to me four months later. So, I preach and preach to get that done.
“I'm constantly voicing to people about how important it is to go get checked and to go to your PCP and get your yearly checkups," she adds. "Because anything could happen. Because cancer doesn’t discriminate for anybody."
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