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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY,OCT.22,2015 | VOLUME 130 ISSUE 17
NEWS ROUNDUP »
YOU NEED TO KNOW
KANSAN FOR THE
KANSAN FOR THE CURE. Fifty percent of ad revenue for today's pink paper is going to benefit local breast cancer research groups. Any money that is raised on Thursday at our table on Wescoe beach from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. will also go toward these groups.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
COLUMN:
LEARNING TO
LOVE PINK. Editor-in-chief Katie
Kutsko writes: For the past 21 years, I wrote off all the pink. It seemed like a flashy way to deal with something serious. Then my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
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How a 3D breast scan changed the life of Suzanne Hofmann
VICKY DIAZ-CAMACHO
@vickyd_c
About two weeks ago, 51-year-old Suzanne Hofmann.
Suzanne Hofmann, an art teacher at Spring Hill Middle School and "KU mom," was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"Had I not had [the 3D mammography scan], they would not have found this," she said. "Most insurance companies don't cover it, [but] it was the best $60 that I spent."
Hoffmann has had routine mammograms from the time she was 24 years old, and each year the scans were clean. This year, however, the mammogram picked up on "strange tissue" so she opted for a $60 3D scan that her insurance didn't cover.
The tests came back positive for stage 1 breast cancer. However, Suzanne said that after further testing it's looking like stage 2.
ly mammogram picked up some strange tissue," he said. "My immediate thought was that it was caught early — this is as early as it gets." Suzanne agreed. She said that once doctors did the MRI, they discovered it was larger than they previously thought. The MRI also revealed she had three other masses.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, according to 2015 reports by the American Cancer Society. The disparity between breast cancer in women is staggeringly high compared with breast cancer occurrences in men. The 2015 report reflects an estimated 2,350 new cases in
When Suzanne found out
Austin said that though the news wasn't easy to receive, his mom had mentioned the possibility of the diagnosis before.
"My husband's first response — he just broke down," she said. "But the nice thing is we're together. We're doing this together." Suzanne is adopted. She said she had found and met her birth mother, who has a history of cancer and deaths from cancer on her side of the family. Her birth mother and aunt died from cancer.
"Id be a liar if I didn't have thoughts of losing my mother, but all I could think about was how fortunate she was to catch it so early," said her son, Austin Hoffmann, a senior from Spring Hill.
she had breast cancer, she called her husband, who is a deputy sheriff in Spring Hill, at work. She said the conversation couldn't wait.
"It wasn't out of the blue. My mom had told me a few weeks prior that her year-
"I do have that fear because they said with their latest findings it could be elsewhere in the body," Suzanne said. "Those things kind of scare me, but knowing that information has definitely made us proactive."
SEE CANCER
Suzanne Hoffman is an art teacher at Spring Hill Middle School who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
% OF WOMEN WHO GET BREAST EXAMS
INSURED
UNINSURED
KU (SELF EXAM)
STATS VIA AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY/
KU HEALTH EDUCATION RESOURCE OFFER
NO COLLEGE
Survivor shares her story at University Jewish center's "pink Shabbat" dinner
COURTNEY BIERMAN
@KansanNews
In September 2007, Kansas City resident Julie Levine found a lump in her breast. She immediately went to a doctor but was told there was nothing to worry about after a biopsy concluded the lump was benign. Levine continued to see multiple doctors, all of whom told her she was healthy.
But Levine knew something was wrong.
In May 2008, her diagnosis arrived, and it confirmed her worst fears: stage 3 breast cancer.
"I knew my body, and it was failing me," she said.
To spread awareness of the disease, Levine told her story at the Chabad Center for Jewish Life at KU's first pink Shabbat dinner Oct.16.
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is observed every October, Chabad at KU went pink this month: pink tablecloths, pink quinoa salad, pink chalah (braided bread traditionally eaten on the Sabbath) with
Jewish communities around the country have hosted "pink Shabbats" to raise awareness for breast cancer. Sharseret, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Jewish women diagnosed with breast cancer, started the event soon after the organization was founded in 2001. Instructions for proper hosting can be found on the Sharseret website, including a recipe for pink challah.
pink sprinkles, pink cake and cookies.
Levine visited the University with her family to give her speech, which Rabbi Zalman Teichtel called "captivating."
Levine is an Ashkenazi Jew, meaning she has a Central or Eastern European background. According to Sharsheret, 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jews carry a mutation in one of the BRCA genes, putting them at a risk of cancer development 10 times the rate of the general population. Breast cancer is one of the more common cancers the mutation causes, both in men and women.
"I was so moved by her," he said. "She spoke from the depth of her heart. She meant every word. I think that what she said is what every student needs to hear."
Soon after her diagnosis, ge-
Julie Levine, a breast cancer survivor, spoke at the Pink Shabbat event on Friday, Oct. 16.
KELCIE MATOUSEK/KANSAN
"She spoke from the depth of her heart. She meant every word. I think that what she said is what every student needs to hear."
ZALMAN TEICHTEL Rabbi
neticists confirmed Levine was a carrier of the BRCA2 mutation. There is no history of cancer in her family. She underwent aggressive chemotherapy and major surgery. Today, Levine is breast-cancer-free but is being treated for a malignancy in her lungs.
Levine has three children: Adam, Samantha and Elliot. Adam and Samantha are University graduates, and Elliot is currently a junior. All three
were tested for the BRCA mutation a few years ago, but only Samantha tested positive. Simply carrying the mutation doesn't guarantee that one will develop cancer, but Samantha will have to watch her health very closely.
Although she has been there for her mother throughout her illness, Samantha said she still appreciates hearing her story, especially when it is told to others.
"It's important for me to hear her speak and hear her words of wisdom," Samantha said. Julie said she has a sense of duty to her family and her
community to tell her story. She had no knowledge of the gene before her diagnosis, and she said she thinks everyone should at least be aware of its existence.
"The thing about this event — this wasn't an event to share nitty-gritty details of my illness," she said. "It was to inspire people who face adversity." Julie added: "I'm here to support any young girls who are worried or scared."
- Edited by Colleen Hagan
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