Decades after losing her mother to cancer, Daphne McCleery overcame her own frightening diagnosis with the support of The Breast Center at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.
“I credit Methodist Mansfield with helping me conquer my worst fear and teaching me that I am stronger than I thought I was,” Daphne says.
That fear arose when breast cancer stole her mother away when she was just 50 years old.
“It was so hard to watch her battle breast cancer and then lose her when I was just a young woman,” says Daphne, a writer who also quilts and donates her creations to survivors like her. “It created this well of fear.”
So when she was diagnosed last summer, she had been diligent about getting her annual screenings and found the treatment she needed at her hometown hospital.
“I was blessed to have that support in addition to the best care, close to home,” Daphne says.
EARLY DETECTION SAVES LIVES
That dedication to yearly screenings meant that when a suspicious spot was found in Daphne’s right breast, it was found early. After further testing, she was diagnosed with one of the earliest stages of breast cancer: stage 1A.
“My husband, Rick, immediately went to work looking for the best breast care in our area,” says Daphne, who calls her husband the family researcher. “He was the one who found The Breast Center at Methodist Mansfield.”
Daphne knew she had found the right place for her cancer treatment and made an appointment with Katrina Birdwell, MD, FACS, breast surgeon on the medical staff at Methodist Mansfield.
“As a breast surgeon, my goal is to educate patients about their disease and treatment options with accurate pros and cons,” Dr. Birdwell explains. “Then I walk alongside them as they decide what is right for them now and for their future.”
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CHOOSING A LUMPECTOMY
For Daphne, that meant taking hereditary risk factors into account, including her mother’s diagnosis at an early age and breast cancer on her father’s side of the family.
“Given her family history, Daphne was willing to undertake my suggestion of having genetic testing for gene mutations,” says Dr. Birdwell. “When those results came back negative, we discussed her treatment options.”
Dr. Birdwell also considered Daphne’s excellent health and lack of other risk factors, alongside her family history, when suggesting the right treatment options.
In September 2023, Daphne chose to have a lumpectomy, a breast-conserving surgery that would remove the cancer and a small amount of tissue surrounding it.
Quilting and writing are Daphne’s two favorite pastimes.
SURROUNDED BY SUPPORT
While Daphne acknowledges having lived in fear of cancer, she conquered that fear by keeping up with her mammograms and following through with her treatment “without falling apart.”
“I credit much of that strength to the people who surrounded me during the journey,” she says, “especially my team of breast specialists and my nurse navigator at The Breast Center.”
During that battle, Daphne held on to two things she loves dearly: writing mystery/adventure books for young readers and quilting, a hobby she picked up 15 years ago.
“I felt moved to donate my collection of quilts to the hospital in hopes that they would bring comfort to women going through their own breast cancer journey,” she says.
Daphne is also working on her fourth novel, an adult mystery book that she says will feature a character named Katrina Birdwell as a thank-you to her surgeon.
“I encourage anyone facing a health battle to surround yourself with people who can lift you up and see you through the hardest parts,” Daphne says.
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