Wendy Wagner Sapetti Wendy's Fight!

First post: Jan 19, 2021 Latest post: Apr 20, 2023
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I have a history of cancer in my family. My father passed away from colon/liver cancer about 18 months ago. My mother had ovarian, colon, and rectal cancer about 17 years ago and she’s in remission. I have always known that I need to be proactive due to my genetics. I had a colonoscopy 2 years ago at my request. I also go to my ob/gyn and dermatologist yearly for check ups.
Back in August, I had my routine dermatology appointment. I’ve been battling psoriasis in my ears, so the dermatologist gave me medication to try out for a few months.
Between August and November, I noticed what appeared to be flesh colored bumps that I could only feel and not see scattered throughout the trunk of my body. There weren’t a lot and they didn’t bother me. When I went to my yearly ob/gyn appointment in November, I had a mammogram, breast exam, and Pap smear. I mentioned the few bumps I had to my doctor and she said they don’t look like anything really and to follow up with the dermatologist. All my tests came back normal.
I made an appointment with my dermatologist for December because my psoriasis medication wasn’t helping and I seemed to be getting more and more of these bumps on the trunk of my body. After discussion with the dermatologist, she didn’t think the bumps were anything and they weren’t bothering me, so we were just going to try to get a handle on the psoriasis with injections thinking that maybe the bumps were just an autoimmune response. Two days later, the nurse from dermatology called me and said the doctor changed her mind and wants to do a biopsy on a couple of bumps just to make sure it was nothing.
I had a biopsy done 12/22 on two bumps on my back. The results were delayed due to the holidays. Two weeks ago, I went to the dermatologist to get the results and she said they came back as malignant and breast cancer. I was in complete shock because other than the bumps, I’ve had no symptoms.
The next step was meeting with the oncologist the next day to figure out the next steps. I felt like a zombie and couldn’t even believe this was happening. The oncologist said I have a sneaky cancer that doesn’t show up on mammograms or cause a big lump in your breast, but grows in a straight line. It is also very hard to detect. 
Last week, I had a bunch of testing done and it was determined that the cancer spread throughout my body. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. I thought I was doing everything right. How is this possible? Breast cancer found from a back biopsy??
The reality of the situation is that it is happening and now I have to clear my head to battle it!! 


Yesterday, January 19, 2021, I was cleared to begin the chemo pills, so that is a positive.  


Today, January 20, 2021, I am having a CT Scan on my ovaries to determine if the cancer has spread there.  Hopefully, it has not, and we can get this cancer slowed down.  

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