From ‘Broken’ to ‘Proud’ of Her Scars: Amy’s Journey Through Breast Cancer

Amy French tackles her problems head on.

“My approach was to tell myself to put on my ‘big girl pants’ and just go,” Amy said.

Amy, 61, works at Walmart and is one of the most dedicated employees anyone could meet. Her straightforward, simple manner makes her easy to talk with.

That problem-solving style was put to the test in October 2024 when she felt lumps in one of her breasts. She went in for a previously scheduled mammogram and was called back for an ultrasound and biopsies.

Amy got the call telling her that her breast biopsy was positive for breast cancer while she was on her shift at Walmart. She was able to finish the call, but after hanging up, lost control and began sobbing. Her manager and HR staff tried to comfort her and offered to let her go home, but she told them she wanted to stay and finish her shift.

Amy’s Walmart supervisors and coworkers were immensely supportive, donating their time off to her and providing her with medical leave so she could recover and undergo treatment. Her sister, who lives with her, went to all her appointments with her. Her daughter would come by frequently to care for her and help however she could.

Even with that support network of friends and family rallying around her, Amy said she was still struggling.

“I had long hair and I cut it really short just to feel something. I couldn’t control the cancer, but I could control my hair,” Amy said. “I felt broken and defective.”

Talking about the emotional struggles of cancer

After receiving her breast cancer diagnosis, Amy met with her breast surgeon, Kelly Krupa, MD, to discuss her treatment options and recommendations. Amy decided to undergo a unilateral mastectomy with breast reconstruction. She met with plastic surgeon Mandy Flor, MD, to finalize her reconstruction plan. She was recommended staged reconstruction, starting with a tissue expander. Following her mastectomy, she completed several rounds of saline injections into the tissue expander to prepare her breast for an implant.

At one of their pre-operative appointments, Amy told Dr. Krupa about her struggles with her emotions and sense of self. She suggested that Amy talk with a therapist through the Behavioral Health Integrated Care program, to which Amy agreed.

Within a few days, Amy sat down for the first time with Alicia Quartaro, MHC-LP, and began to unpack the mental and emotional burdens she was carrying with her.

“She was phenomenal. She told me that I wasn’t broken or defective,” Amy said. “She helped me to see that this was a new normal.”

The two talked a lot about Amy’s thoughts and emotions around her identity and her fears.

“We talked about who she is going to be now and who she is going to be after her surgery,” Alicia said. “With acceptance and commitment therapy, it allows the patient to acknowledge their own pain and fear and anxiety and grief without judgement.”

In the weeks following their initial meeting, Amy returned to talk with Alicia every couple weeks, checking in about her treatment and her day-to-day life. Amy began to accept Alicia’s suggestion on how to look at her cancer journey as a ‘new normal.’

“I started to get a grasp on things and accept that this is what it is,” Amy said. “I have to fight and I have to do what I have to do.”

“Therapy can be a place for people to see themselves outside of their challenge and build resilience,” Alicia said. “Especially with cancer patients, resilience is a key factor of how they go through their journey and survive what they are going through.”

Accepting a new normal

In July, Amy had her final reconstructive procedure where Dr. Flor performed a breast reduction for symmetry and tissue expander exchange with an implant.

She did not require any additional treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy, and was able to start adjusting to life after cancer treatment.

“I am proud of these scars,” Amy said. “I earned these scars.”

As Amy began to accept her new normal, she found an unexpected kinship with customers she encountered at work. On multiple occasions, breast cancer patients would be walking through Walmart in search of new apparel after a diagnosis or surgery – giving Amy an opportunity to connect with them about her own journey and listen to their experience.

“I felt alone and I felt scared at first,” Amy said. “But then when I realized that I wasn’t alone and scared, that I had support, if I could help someone, I would do it.”

Helping others also includes her family, especially her three daughters. Amy underwent genetic testing to determine whether she had a hereditary risk for breast cancer – she was negative – and encouraged her oldest daughter to get a mammogram as soon as she reached her 40^th birthday.

Amy will be one of the thousands of people walking with the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk on Sunday, October 19 at Innovative Field in Rochester.