Gillian Lichota had to juggle the daunting combination of pregnancy and a mastectomy with Stage III breast cancer.  Gillian dealt with both, achieved survivorship and went on to establish a foundation designed to aid young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

 

Gillian and her husband, from Washington, DC, had tried for three years to conceive a child without success, so they turned to invitro fertilization in order to conceive.  After immediately after starting on IVF, Gillian noticed a lump on her right breast.  When in the shower, she did a self-exam, felt the lump and noticed a burning sensation.  She was concerned, but as told while going through IVF that breast tissue can become dense and can become painful, so she shouldn’t be surprised by either condition; but when the IVF stopped, the pain continued.

 

Gillian Lichota made an appointment with an OBGYN and at the time they were going to test whether the embryo had transferred, but learned through an ultrasound that she had all the characteristics of breast cancer.  She was then sent for a biopsy, which confirmed she had Stage III breast cancer.  Because the cancer was estrogen-driven and Gillian was now pregnant, there was a great concern for her life.

 

Gillian was in a state of shock.  However, she was encouraged knowing she had a topnotch care team, helping to sort out a very difficult.  Armed with their expertise and information, she chose to move forward with a mastectomy while pregnant. 

 

Such a decision posed a significant risk for Gillian Lichota.  She had a history of miscarriages.  As a result, her team had to get creative in terms of all aspects of her care, including anesthization so that it didn’t present a risk to the fetus.

 

She was presented with three choices.  Gillian could go forward with the pregnancy and wait until after her baby was born to address the cancer, but because the estrogen was going to increase over time, it created a huge possibility of death with the prospect of the cancer spreading.  She could have aborted the pregnancy, but after years of trying to get pregnant, she didn’t like that option.  That’s why she went with the mastectomy, then starting with chemotherapy after 20 weeks once the chemicals cannot pass the placenta.  

 

She had to go through two phases of chemotherapy, one during her pregnancy, and another about three weeks after her son was born.  She chose to be focused on her pregnancy, but that was a challenge, trying to nurture this life inside of her body at the same time the medication is trying to kill cells.  Once her baby arrived, things really became difficult.  She was experiencing acute pain while trying to be a new mother.  In addition to the pain, there were the side effects.  She experienced hair loss and cognitive issues.

 

Eventually the surgeries and treatments ended and Gillian Lichota wanted to get back to feeling good about life, physically, mentally and from a wellness perspective.  There were residual side effects from the chemo and the surgeries, but she worked to get past them.  One who loves the outdoors, she joined friends and scaled Mt. Kilimanjaro.

 

Gillian’s experience made an impression.  It left her wanting to help other young women diagnosed with breast cancer.

 

She founded the iRise Above Foundation.  The advent of COVID reduced the amount of face-to-face interaction, but that accelerated the development of the Foundation’s website.

 

Additional Resources:

 

iRise Above Foundation: https://wwwiRiseAboveFoundation.org