By Lindsay Larin
Bellevue Reporter
Growing up, Michele Trumbull always hated the color pink. Now, she wears it proudly from head to toe.
At first, Trumbull, then 25, shrugged off the small lump she discovered in her breast while showering. She was young and had no cancer history in her family. After ignoring it for a month, she finally made her way to the doctors office for a visit that would change her life. Following an examination and several tests, the doctor informed Trumbull that she had stage III breast cancer.
By the time of her visit in 1998, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. In shock, Trumbull underwent a mastectomy followed by bouts of chemotherapy and reconstructive surgery. The Overlake Hospital Radiation Oncology facility became her home away from home.
Four years down the road, Trumbull welcomed her son, Nathan into the world and continued her routine checkups. In 2003, just shy of the five year mark of being cancer free, she had a reoccurrence. Having gone through the treatment program before, Trumbull kept a positive outlook and brought her son along during the hours of chemotherapy and radiation.
She evidentially lost all of her hair.
“My son will point out the photo of me with no hair and a bandana in our home and say, That’s when mommy was a pirate.”
During her visits to Overlake, Trumbull became close friends with Lavelle Austin, the Radiation Oncology supervisor. Austin would often take Nathan under her wing and watch over him while Trumbull underwent treatment.
“It was hard to go through radiation the second time and bring my son to the appointments, but my mother would often meet me and Lavelle was so good with Nathan,” Trumbull explained. “It made the process a little more bearable.”
Today, Trumbull sits in a small office at Overlake Hospital wearing a light pink vest proudly. She is nearing her five-year mark of being cancer free, a milestone she hopes to soon celebrate. Nathan, now 6, is in kindergarten and has begun to join his mother in walks against cancer such as the recent Relay for Life. At a recent walk, Trumbull handed her son a styrofoam sword and now he walks around fighting cancer, she joked.
“It helps to participate in the walks and to be around people who have been through the same experience as I was,” she explained. “I joined in the fundraising for selfish reasons – I want the money to go towards finally finding a cure to cancer.”
Through it all, Trumbull remains optimistic about the future: her own and the others battling cancer.
Overlake Hospital sees about 250 cases of breast cancer each year. Together, a team of doctors have formed the Multidisciplinary Breast Conference that meets every week to proactively examine every patient’s case, saving both time and assuring the best possible outcome.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, Overlake Hospital (www.overlakehospital.org) will host the Breast Cancer Seminar: Bad Genes or Bad Luck? starting at 6 p.m at the PACCAR Education Center. The seminar will cover topics such as who’s at risk for breast cancer, screening and detection, types of treatment, genetic testing and prevention. To sign up contact Kathleen Craig at 425-688 5816.
Lindsay Larin can be reached at llarin@bellevuereporter.com or at 425-453-4602.
