Breast cancer survivor shares her story, encouraging women to get annual mammograms
In October of 2017, Denise Dupont was told she had stage II breast cancer. “It was…it took my breath away. It took me a while to figure out what that meant to me. I couldn’t speak the word cancer,” she says.
After accidentally dropping a bar on her chest in a CrossFit class, she noticed bruising on her chest that wasn’t healing. She decided to get a mammogram.
“I caught a glimpse of the screen and I just knew in my heart that something was wrong,” she says, recalling the moment a technician was reviewing her mammogram.
Denise says she allowed herself only a moment to acknowledge that she had cancer, and then she decided to fight: “I decided that, ‘Okay. I’m going to fight this. And I’m going to win. I’m not going to let cancer win. Cancer is just a word.”
She says mental strength is imperative to winning the battle with cancer. Throughout her own battle, she never stopped working and never changed her routine.
“I wasn’t going to let cancer define me. I was going to fight this and I was going to win,” she says.
Dupont says she knew she had to stay strong for her two daughters. As the first woman to be handed a cancer diagnosis in her family, she wanted to set the precedent and example. “I had an end goal. I wanted to celebrate with my girls. I wanted to get a tattoo to represent the end of my journey,” she says, gesturing to the bright pink breast cancer awareness ribbon now tattooed her wrist.
She says she constantly focused on finding the positive in her life. “We made everything fun. I lost all my hair. I lost my eyebrows. I lost my eyelashes. But you know, it was a new experience. I never ever would have had short hair…and I kind of like having short hair,” she says as she laughs.
In April of 2017, Dupont underwent a successful double mastectomy. After her surgery, in addition to chemo and radiation treatments, Dupont was given the news she was cancer free.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Dupont’s purpose in sharing her story: to encourage women to get annual mammograms.
“If you had said to me a year ago that I would be on TV speaking about my personal journey, I would have said you’re crazy. But after going through breast cancer and the treatments, I decided that I wanted to do this because it’s very important for everybody to have a mammogram. Having a mammogram can be the difference between being diagnosed as I was at Stage II…or Stage IV,” she says.
She also says it’s important to understand that breast cancer doesn’t always come with obvious side effects. “Cancer doesn’t hurt. I didn’t feel a lump. I felt wonderful. I felt the best I’d ever felt. You really need that mammogram to be able to tell if there’s something going on with you,” she says.
According to Teresa Whipple, the Executive Director of Desert Regional Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, there will be about 260,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer this year. One in eight women will experience a battle with breast cancer in their lifetime.
“It’s not painful to get a mammogram. And it just takes a few seconds to do,” says Whipple.
And this month, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Desert Regional Medical Center is observing “Mammo Mondays” — to encourage women to get their annual mammograms. Each Monday during the month of October, they are extending their mammogram hours until 6pm to accommodate as many women as possible. Women can call (760) 416-4700 to schedule their appointment.
“Don’t be scared. Knowledge is everything. You can’t fight it unless you know that it’s there,” says Dupont.
Dupont participated in a “Ringing the Bell’ ceremony Monday morning to celebrate her win against cancer. Surrounded by family, friends and her oncology team, she rung the bell, located in Desert Regional’s Cancer Center, three times. Once for herself, twice for her family, and a third time for her medical team.
Her message to others currently in the middle of their own battle: “Keep fighting — look at this bell. Strive to be the next one to ring this bell and complete your journey and move on.”
If you’d like to reach out to Denise Dupont, she has shared her own email address in hopes of helping or encouraging anyone in need. You can reach her here: pinksister2018@gmail.com
Watch her full story tonight on News Channel 3 at 5p.m. For more breast cancer related resources and stories, click here.
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