Breast cancer survivor shares story as C95 Radio Marathon kicks off

As C95 kicks off its 25th annual Radio Marathon for Breast Cancer Research, a cancer survivor is sharing her personal story.

This year’s C95 Radio Marathon for Breast Cancer Research started at 6 a.m. on Thursday at Lawson Heights Mall. C95 – sister station to 650 CKOM – will be broadcasting live until 6 p.m., sharing stories from cancer patients, survivors and medical professionals raising funds for the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan, in support of local breast cancer research projects.

The 2023 marathon set a record of $425,937, and since its inception the annual event has brought in more than $6.3 million in donations.

On Wednesday, breast cancer survivor Teri Peters joined The Evan Bray Show to tell us more about her own journey and how her cancer diagnosis changed her life and her outlook.

Listen to Teri Peters on The Evan Bray Show:

BRAY: let’s talk a little bit about this journey that you’ve been on with breast cancer. Let’s start with with when you knew something was wrong. Did it come at diagnosis?

PETERS: Well, it started back in February. I guess I had just turned 49 the month before, and I’d been having regular mammograms just preventatively, out of precaution. My sister had had a scare, so I was trying to be cautious. And they’d been clear, but then I noticed something odd, when my breasts just visually. I thought something didn’t look quite right. And so, you know, when, when something like that happens, it scared me. I didn’t want to go in right away. I kind of put it off a little, but then there was this voice in my head saying, ‘You need to look into this. This isn’t normal.’ I went in for a doctor’s checkup. I asked for an ultrasound, just because my my mammogram wasn’t due for another couple of months, and this was concerning me, and so I went ahead and had the ultrasound, and within a few hours she was calling me, saying ‘This is a concern. Your results show there was a mass. You need to get to the surgeon right away.’ And I was floored. I couldn’t believe it.

BRAY: I could only imagine. You, in your head, you knew something wasn’t right, but yet, hearing those words come from a professional sends you in a whole different direction.

Yeah, you never think it’s going to happen to you. And for me, I work in healthcare and I work as a dietitian and I’ve always really prioritized healthy lifestyle. Didn’t have a lot of risk factors, you know. some of the common risk factors, I didn’t have them. And, you know, I’m 49. I just didn’t think this was going to happen to me. But yeah, to hear those words, it was just a shock.

BRAY: So what changed for you, Teri, in your life? Whether it’s how you thought or things that you did after that diagnosis came?

Well, that’s a good question, Evan. How I approach people is different, I would say. Throughout my journey I have had so many people reach out to me and support me and just be there for me. And I know in life, we get busy. We all have jobs and priorities and kids and things and I felt like I was somewhat of a people person. And I would, you know, express concern to people, but these people went to a different level and, you know, it just opened my eyes up to the fact that there’s so many people that are going through things that you have no idea. I had people reach out to me that I had no idea that they had cancer in their family, or that they had had cancer themselves, and so it’s kind of changed my priorities or my perspectives in that I’m just trying to be a little bit more mindful of other what other people might be going through, and that if I think they might be going through a hard time that I want to reach out to them and just truly be there for them. So it’s kind of changed my outlook. It’s changed me in phase two, you know, in terms of, like, I’m not somebody that likes a lot of medical procedures and a bit of a warrior, but after all of this, oh my goodness, I know I can do hard things.

BRAY: That’s a good way to put it. “I know I could do hard things.” And you really do learn a lot about your family and friends, too. How they step up, how they love and care for you and communicate sometimes. And I’ve had some personal experience with this myself. Out of terrible news can come some blessings in life.

Oh absolutely. And, you know, I had people texting me. They would make a mental note of when each of my procedures was happening. I had four rounds of chemo, and I had surgery and everything, and I had people texting me, you know, almost every day, and especially before my procedures with encouragement and dropping off meals. And it just was such a help, and it just carried me through.

BRAY: Such beautiful news to hear. So I’m curious, because Teri, a lot of people, sadly, go through these challenges, but not everyone says, ‘You know what? I’m going to be part of a radio marathon. I’m going to go on the radio and talk about it.’ What was it for you, Teri, that was important to take this next step?

I just wanted to… bring some good out of it, I guess. I wanted to raise awareness for some things, obviously for the radiothon. There were some things about my treatment and things that I didn’t know about. I didn’t know about something called cold capping that I thought I would mention as well. That’s something that I that I did during my chemotherapy regime to help save my hair. That was something that you. Just on the side.

BRAY: So what is that, Teri? If you don’t mind me asking.

I’m glad you asked. So it’s a cooling system. It’s a scalp cooling system to preserve your hair while you’re on chemo. So, you know, a lot of chemo regimes, you lose your hair within the first couple of weeks. So you wear a tightly fitting sort of cap that’s got a cold gel pack in it, and what it does is it frees it freezes the blood vessels. It shrinks them down beneath the scalp, so you cool the scalp down to a very cool temperature. I think it’s the caps are set at -34 C to -37 C, so it’s cold, but the chemo can’t penetrate the hair shaft and so you’re less likely to lose your hair. And my chemo had the risk of permanent loss, so I wanted to try it, and I didn’t think it was a really well-known treatment, and it worked really well for me.

BRAY: Thank you for sharing that. Speaking of of connecting with with others through this process, you were part of some gorgeous photos that were taken with other survivors. What was that experience like?

It was so special to me. I was honored. I’d had finished my chemo, I’d had my my surgery about a week and a half before the shoot, and I hadn’t left the house much. I was so worried about getting sick while I was going through treatment and prior to my surgery, so this was the first time that I had been in a group of people and women that had been through the same thing that I had. I didn’t know that many people with breast cancer, and just to see all these beautiful women share their experiences and just to see them looking so strong and resilient and courageous and just coping so well, it was it was inspiring for me.

BRAY: So how was your family doing? How were they through this? Because it can be pretty tough on a family.

Oh, absolutely. So my children are older. My son had been home for the summer. He played hockey, and he was home during the summer and he saw everything that I was going through and he was such a support. He was there. We played a million games of Scrabble. My first chemo treatment was actually on his birthday, and we came home and had birthday cake after. He was just such a rock. And your children shouldn’t have to be a rock, but he was such a positive support. And my daughter, she lives in Ontario actually, and you know, just spending time with her over the summer I got to see, maybe talk with her more while I was going through treatment, because I had more time I wasn’t working. We were able to face time quite a bit. And she was home for the summer too. And yeah, she was just always wondering how I was doing. And they’re doing well. They’re strong, resilient, children themselves – young adults, I guess I should say – and know that they’re doing well. But it does affect the whole family for sure.

BRAY: Speaking from my experience, it also gives you an opportunity to and encourages you to say important things so you communicate in a way where you want to ensure they they know that you love them and that you’re proud of them. And I know all of those types of discussions are important as well.

Absolutely, yeah. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They’re two of the strongest human beings that that I know, aside from my husband, who’s also a major support.

BRAY: Teri, before I let you go, there’s lots of women that are listening to this that maybe are experiencing something very similar to what you went through. Some of them maybe not even yet at the diagnosis stage. What would you say to them?

I would say – for sure – get screened. Don’t wait. Don’t procrastinate. I would say if you have dense breasts, ask for additional screening, because it doesn’t always show up on a regular mammogram. I would say if the news is not favorable, if it does turn out to be cancer, it isn’t the end of the world. And what we see portrayed on the media, that’s not always how it plays out in for you. There’s there’s so many advances in treatment and even symptom management control that that you can get through this, and like I said, you can do hard things. It’s just one step at a time.

BRAY: Such a great message. Teri, it’s been so awesome to talk to you. Thank you for giving me some time today.

Thank you so much, Evan, for letting me chat with you.

Editor’s note: This transcript has been edited for clarity.