Tanner News

When Missi Pence was diagnosed with breast cancer, she had the perfect idea for a custom T-shirt to wear to her treatments.

She wanted the design to say something funny, something lighthearted, something that would bring a little humor to the 21 treatments of radiation she was scheduled to receive over the winter holidays in 2020 — treatments that were necessary to fight off the breast cancer she’d found only weeks before.

“The T-shirt read, ‘You light up my life!’” said Pence, 56. “It was a pun about radiation. I had it made before I started treatment, and I wore it to just about every appointment. Everyone liked it.”

While it started as a joke to lighten a heavy situation, Pence found that her T-shirt design took on a bigger meaning.

“One day, I was talking to some of the nurses during my treatment, and I was telling them how much they’ve lightened up my life with how they cared for me every time I walked through that door,” she said.

An early discovery

It was October when Pence discovered a small lump on her breast during a self-exam while showering.

She knew what the lump could be. But to find out for sure, she scheduled an appointment at the Comprehensive Breast Care Center in Carrollton with Raul Zunzunegui, MD, a board-certified, Susan G. Komen Fellowship-trained breast care surgeon.

Dr. Z, as he’s often called, set up an exam to test the lump for cancer.

“I know Dr. Z has been doing this for a long time,” Pence said. “During the exam, I could almost tell from his demeanor that something was wrong. So, while waiting for the results, I wasn’t trying to be pessimistic. I wanted to be realistic.”

When Dr. Z called with the results, he confirmed what she’d been thinking.

A cancer diagnosis

With her husband, Frank Pence, MD, who specializes in non-surgical spine care and pain management, on the medical staff at Tanner, she was well aware of Dr. Z’s reputation.

“That call, I tell people it’s like a punch in the gut,” Pence said. “Everything Dr. Z was trying to tell me was kind of running together, and I didn’t really hear anything he said after he told me that it was cancer.”

Pence said not even an hour had passed after Dr. Z called when she received a phone call from Nicolle Rooks, RN.

Rooks is a breast health nurse navigator for Tanner Cancer Care. Tanner’s navigators support patients in navigating the rounds of appointments and treatments that come after a breast cancer diagnosis.

“I appreciated that Dr. Z called me himself with the results and that Nicolle called me immediately after to start setting up my next appointments,” said Pence. “To have Nicolle there was very reassuring. She was so supportive and encouraging every step of the way.”

A treatment plan

After her initial calls with Dr. Z and Rooks, Pence said it started to feel like alarms sounded at Tanner calling for the cancer care team to assemble and begin working on her treatment plan right away — and with the Tanner Cancer Care Promise, it isn’t that far from what happens after someone is diagnosed.

The Tanner Cancer Care Promise assures that patients have a treatment plan within the first three days following their diagnosis.

“The 3-day promise was wonderful,” said Pence. “There was no waiting around, and that’s another reason I appreciated receiving those phone calls from Dr. Z and Nicolle — because when you’re sitting there reeling with this kind of news, your mind can wander and conjure up all kinds of things when you’re waiting.”

Pence was diagnosed on Oct. 29. Fortunately, she found the cancer in the early stages, and the first step in her plan with Dr. Z included a lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy.

A lumpectomy is a surgery used to remove the lump from her breast tissue, and a sentinel lymph node biopsy is a procedure often recommended for women with early-stage breast cancer because it can help determine if it has spread to other areas of the breast or beyond.

The procedure with Dr. Z determined that the cancer hadn’t spread, giving the cancer care team insight into developing the most effective treatment plan.

Since her case was caught early, she did not need chemotherapy. Instead, her treatment plan included hormone-blocking medication and 21 rounds of radiation, received daily over the Christmas holidays.

And because cancer care at Tanner is a team-based program, Dr. Z’s office coordinated seamlessly with Tanner Radiation Oncology and radiation oncologist Anil Dhople, MD, and with Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers’ oncologist Randall Pierce, MD. Dr. Dhople and Dr. Pierce handled the next steps and her radiation treatments, which helped remove any remaining cancer cells from her breast tissue.

A source of light

Of course, humor was the initial inspiration for Pence’s “You light up my life!” T-shirt design, but she’s thankful for what it grew to represent: The people who were there to support her throughout her journey.

“Going through this, it was nice to have my family and friends there for me so I didn’t feel like I was alone. I was fortunate to have my husband, Frank, and two daughters, Jordan and Kendall, who were a constant source of strength and encouragement. I also had many friends who were there and wanted to help or take me to an appointment,” said Pence.

“I remember some days, Nicolle would call me to check in and ask if I was doing OK, or she’d share some advice or encouragement. Whenever I went in for an appointment or spoke with anyone from any of the doctors’ offices, everyone was so nice, caring and compassionate — every day, at every appointment. That meant a lot to me.”

A new perspective

With the tougher days behind her, Pence says she feels like she can breathe easier.

“It feels like every time I have a mammogram, and Dr. Z confirms that the results still look good, I feel like I can exhale again,” she said.

And if there’s anything she can impart to others about her experience, it’s this: