Devon’s Story

In June 2022, Devon was diagnosed with IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) breast cancer. She underwent a successful lumpectomy with clear margins and no spread to her lymph nodes. She was extremely lucky to have caught and acted upon being seen for the lump that she had found, and was staged as 1c.

Devon has a history of breast cancer in her family, so she decided to undergo genetic testing at the time of her surgery. In July, her suspicion was confirmed and she received a positive result for the BRCA1 genetic mutation. With this mutation her chances of recurrence of breast cancer are around 80%, lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is around 60%, and lifetime risk of pancreatic cancer is around 3%.

With all of this new information, Devon decided she would act surgically to have all possible parts affected removed so she could “attempt” to eliminate her genetic risks as best she could.

Her treatment plan included 8 rounds of chemotherapy over 16 weeks. She started on Sept 13 and finished on Dec 20. She worked up until Oct 27 when she decided her treatments were taking a toll on her physically.

Now that chemotherapy over she is physically recovering while awaiting surgeries to address her BRCA1 mutation and to prevent cancer recurrence. A bilateral mastectomy is planned for the near future in Moncton which will have a recovery period of 6-8 weeks.

Devon and Andy have two little girls at home. They want to keep life as normal and as routine as possible for them as they face this life challenge. Andy is a self employed plumber and will need to be taking time off work to care for his family as well.

Devon and her family are hopeful that with this treatment plan, she will never have to face cancer again, knowing she gave it her all the first time!