Sharon Henifin tells us about her estrogen positive breast cancer journey with a lumpectomy and chemotherapy on today’s Cancer Interviews podcast hosted by Bruce Morton. Sharon also shares about cofounding BreastFriends.org, a breast cancer support group.

 

Sharon Henifin has been free of breast cancer since 1993, but her path to cancer survivorship was not an easy one.  She had to undergo chemotherapy treatment and a six-surgery regimen at a time when both were not as advanced as they are today. 

 

Her journey began when self-examination revealed a lump on one of her breasts, then a lumpectomy, followed by a diagnosis of estrogen positive breast cancer.  After achieving cancer survivorship, Sharon went on to become a certified life coach, and in the year 2000, she co-founded the Oregon-based support group, Breast Friends.  She has also shared her journey in detail in her book, “Thriving Beyond Cancer.”

 

Sharon makes her home in Tualitan, Oregon, just outside Portland.  She loves photography, and when at home watching television, she likes to crochet and knit.  When she gets out of the house, she and her husband enjoy traveling in their RV.

 

She thought she was in good health when one day, performing a self-examination of her breasts, she felt this sharp pain and detected a lump.  She called her doctor, and her doctor called a plastic surgeon.  Seven days later, Sharon had a lumpectomy.  It did not have clean margins, so seven days after that she a mastectomy with reconstruction.

 

However, Sharon’s procedure included a chemotherapy regimen, and in 1993, all things chemotherapy were less advanced than they are today.  She had an infusion every two weeks, a drip of chemotherapy.  She also had to take a pill every day.  The first few days were difficult, a problem eased by anti-nausea drugs.  Sharon said she wasn’t physically ill, but for six months, she had a “yucky” feeling every day. 

 

Her chemotherapy experience involved an emotional toll.  Sharon was able to get short- and long-term disability from her job and stay home while she recovered; but when her husband was at work and her kids at school and being away from her co-workers made her very lonely.

 

Sharon also experienced many of the cognitive issues experienced by those on chemotherapy.  This really manifested itself post-procedure when she returned to work.  She didn’t confide in supervisors or co-workers but said doing her job required an effort she never encountered pre-diagnosis because her brain just wasn’t functioning the way it had in the past.

 

Not long after her final surgery, because it had gone so well, her surgeon asked Sharon if she would speak with some of his patients at a restaurant or coffee shop to talk about the treatment of breast cancer.

 

This led to her becoming certified as a life coach, then co-founding the support group, Breast Friends.  The whole point of Breast Friends is to teach family and friends how to care for the woman going through a breast cancer journey.  From there it grew into many programs specifically designed for the patient, family and friends, and from there grew a website, https://www.breastfriends.org, extending the organization’s reach worldwide.

 

Sharon Henifin has learned there are many women who want to hear her story.  The fact she has been free of breast cancer since 1993 all by itself is an inspiration of gigantic proportions.

 

 

Additional Resources:

 

Support Group:

Breast Friends https://www.breastfriends.org

 

Book by Sharon Henifin:

Thriving Beyond Cancer, available on Amazon