by Kathy LeClair
When I was 39, I was very unexpectedly diagnosed with breast cancer after my first mammogram. I had no symptoms and no family history. After surgery, I underwent 38 treatments of radiation on my left side.
Fast forward to 20 years later and these were my symptoms. I would feel my heart race then get dizzy out of the blue; a couple of times it happened while I was driving, once while I was merging in Boston traffic coming back from a business meeting, I was petrified I was going to pass out. It only got worse, I started thinking I had an ear infection, so I went to my doctor and told him my symptoms, but he found nothing.
A year goes by, and it was still happening but now even more frequently. One day I almost fell down a flight of stairs at work as I felt like I was going to pass out. I stepped backwards away from the stairs, then I felt better. It was so strange.
I asked a client of mine who had recently had a heart procedure done what she had felt like and told her my symptoms. She called her cardiologist and he personally called me back within hours. I was scheduled for an exam within a few weeks. That’s when I was first diagnosed with arrythmias known as premature ventricular contractions (or PVCs) which are premature beats that start in the lower chambers of your heart. After much testing, I was referred to an electrophysiologist and within a couple months I was scheduled for an ablation.
I was never so excited for a medical procedure! Finally, I knew what was wrong and could get some relief.
However, when I was there, I noticed a large team gathered for my procedure and then the news, I would be awake for it! WHAT?! That’s when I freaked!
They were amazing, during the procedure I was thinking this is easy, I just lay here. However, I started not feeling well and I felt like a firecracker went off in my heart. Then I heard these words, “she’s crashing”. Then someone yelled “bag her now!” That’s when the lights went out. I flatlined and I later learned I was paddled a few times. They finished the procedure, but instead of taking three hours, it took eight. My doctor came to see me after and said he had not realized how bad my PVCs had become and had fixed everything.
What I learned: all the radiation I had received back in 2000 affected my heart. I hope women will listen to their bodies and will not push off their health because they are too busy. If my doctor had not made that baseline mammogram appointment because I was soon turning 40, I probably would be telling a different story as my cancer was very aggressive however had not metastasized at that time. Lastly, build a team of doctors that communicate with each other and advocate for you!