Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using this as a way to keep everybody updated as Megan begins this journey against angiosarcoma.
My journey began about 10 months ago in the summer of 2021 when I noticed a lump in my right breast. I didn’t think much of it as many young women have dense breast tissue and I had no additional symptoms. As many of you know, my mom and aunt are both OB-GYN physicians and they recommended an ultrasound. I received my first breast ultrasound in July of 2021. What they found was: dense breast tissue with a small fibroadenoma (a common, benign mass). I was told to follow up in 6 months. In January of 2022, I was scheduled for a second ultrasound. However, I noticed that the cost had almost tripled. I scheduled an appointment at Ohiohealth with a breast oncologist for a second opinion before I paid roughly $2000 for more imaging. Turns out, since I turned 30 between the two imaging sessions, I was automatically scheduled for a diagnostic mammogram, which explains the increase in cost. I met with the breast onc NP March 10th (earliest I was able to get in) and she recommended to continue with the imaging as she noticed the asymmetry and a pretty significant mass. I, too, had noticed a slight increase in size (mainly since January of 2022). From there, my path took a quick acceleration and looked like this:
March 16th – Breast US/ Breast Mammogram – noting a large mass (no longer appearing to be just “dense tissue”. Also noted 4 fibroadenomas in my left breast.
March 17th – Was “squeezed” in for a breast biopsy and second mammogram. They took approximately 11 samples from my right breast, 7 from my left breast and placed coils inside in order to keep track of these areas.
March 18th – left breast biopsies were all noted to be benign fibroadenomas. The right breast had one fibroadenoma (what they saw in July 2022) however, this was embedded in a much larger mass. The biopsies of the larger mass were sent to Cornell in NY for a second opinion. I was told these were either benign or something “super rare”. Obviously, I think to myself, “there is no way this is something THAT rare”.
March 22nd- I received a “mychart” notification for new test results. Of course, I was at work but HAD to look. Normally the physician will try to call before the results are posted but the timing doesn’t always work out. I opened the app and my heart sank. “Angiosarcoma”. I wasn’t exactly sure what this meant but all I knew that it wasn’t good. I have heard of sarcomas many times throughout my professional career but wasn’t too familiar with this type. I immediately called my mom and went home to be with Nick as he was off work because Sammy had gotten neutered that day. Also of note, it was my mom’s birthday. What a day! I was diagnosed with PRIMARY angiosarcoma (de novo) which means it arises randomly. At this time, there is no genetic component. Another type is secondary angiosarcoma which can develop in people that have received radiation previously in their lifetime. We have been told these sarcoma cells behavior unlike any other cancer cells - unpredictable, high recurrence rate. This means that the treatment plan has to be in the correct order in order to obtain clean margins and ensure all cells are removed.
From here, I had the following appointments all within the next two weeks:
- Appointment with plastics for reconstructive surgery discussion – He recommended the DIEP flap method but this would occur months down the line as we have to make sure the cancer is gone. This is still in the plans at some point but probably the absolute last thing that will happen.
- Breast MRI
- Abdominal MRI – they noted small masses on my liver during the first MRI (angiosarcoma commonly goes to the liver and lungs through the blood). Luckily they found that these were benign hemangiomas.
- CT with contrast to check for metastases
- A previously scheduled dentist appointment…. Because why not!
- Genetics counseling
- Wig appointment x 2
- Surgery consultation for mastectomy
- Pre-surgery screening
- Second opinion at OSU with a medical onc
- Second opinion clinic at Ohiohealth
- Reproductive specialist appointment
- Appointment with a surgical onc and radiation onc at OSU
It was a WHIRLWIND. I felt as if I had to make this big decision: a mastectomy up front, or neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery… with limited evidence for either. We had SO MANY people reaching out to various specialists across the country to find out the BEST plan of action. With angiosarcoma being SO rare, there is not a “standard treatment” as there is with many other cancers including breast cancer. My physicians at both Ohiohealth and OSU were reaching out to the big wigs – MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, U of M, U of Miami, etc, etc. It is amazing how many connections were made within that short time frame – friend of friends, my mom’s friends from med school/residency/etc. We kept getting little “God moments” throughout this process, which is what we prayed for. I needed guidance! I ultimately decided to go with The James at OSU as they are specialized in sarcomas and have seen more volume of these cases. I made this decision on March 30th and was admitted to the James on April 7th. My plan moving forward will be ever changing based on how the tumor responds. The course will most likely consist of 2-4 rounds of chemo, radiation, mastectomy, additional chemo. The chemo I am receiving is high dose AIM (Adriamycin, ifosfomide, mesna). I will also be taking monthly shots for ovarian suppression as well as additional shots and medication following each cycle of chemo to help keep my levels from dropping too drastically. I will stay at the James at the beginning of each cycle (21-day cycle) for 5 days for the chemo infusion.
We plan to keep everyone updated on this journey as we can but I wanted to give you all an idea of how crazy this last month has been. And not to mention, we are a few months out from our wedding
Thank you for ALL of your support – we cannot believe how LUCKY we are!
Today's a "milestone" of sorts as it was on this day one year ago that Megan first found out the news/diagnosis. Since then, alot has happened on the medical side of things: 6 inpatient chemo cycles, a full month of radiation, surgery, followed by another 5 rounds of outpatient chemo (1 more to go!!!!!).
Despite all of this, we were able to celebrate our wedding in June 2022 (honeymoon still TBD), continue with home projects/updates as able, as well as create many other happy/positive memories in our first year of marriage.
Today, we are choosing to have a date/dinner night to not allow this "anniversary" to be a negative/sad one but instead something that we can reflect on as we hope to move forward into cancer/treatment free time following April 6th (her last scheduled chemotherapy session).
We cannot thank all of the people enough who have supported us in this journey that we have been on this past year, but know that we are so grateful for it all!
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