Her Story: Dawn Dalcour - Life Beyond Breast Cancer

In the spring of 2019, I was having my routine well woman’s exam and thought I’d share with my doctor that I’d been having some blood leakage from my left nipple.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t worried or concerned at all, but did want to know why something like that could be happening. I wasn’t in any pain, overall health was just fine, and had no physical trauma to my chest recently.

He wondered the same and suggested I get a mammogram.

At only 29 years old, I had to have doctor’s orders for it because insurance would not begin to cover mammograms until I was 35.

Fast forward, the day I get the mammogram is the day I finally started to worry.

Seeing blood shoot out of my left breast like a water gun scared me to tears.

Obviously, the results came back abnormal and after a couple tests were ran, eventually I received the devastating call that I had ductal carcinoma in situ.

Hearing the word, I immediately began to panic and was consumed by fear.

It was my mother that kept me grounded though.

The first thing she told me was:

“Cancer is not a death sentence.”

Hearing that, along with my doctors telling me that DCIS was highly curable and had an almost 100% survival rate, gave me so much peace.

Things moved fairly quickly after that.

Dr. Trent Baker, who’d performed a surgery on my mom just months prior, shared with her that if it were his daughter, he’d opt for the double mastectomy.

We trusted him so, that’s what I did, along with removal of that left nipple which had those tiny cancer cells in my milk ducts.

I didn’t have to do chemo, but did have radiation treatments every day, except weekends, for several weeks.

Rebuilding My Confidence

After I finally rang the bell my last treatment day, it was time to start rebuilding my confidence.

Radiation had changed my skin from a caramel brown to almost black. I was missing a nipple, and the medicine I was supposed to stay on for the next few years had completely messed up my monthly cycles, mood, and libido.

I was 30 now and started to think about whether or not I would still be attractive to men.

Would I be able to have kids still…etc.

So, it took me a while to get back out on the dating scene.

A few surgeries, amazing support from family and friends, prayer, and 7 years later, I praise God that I’m able to share my testimony.

Going through this allowed me to see that everyone’s story is different and diseases can affect people more than just physically.

For me, although my body is permanently changed forever, I think the fight was harder for me mentally and emotionally.

But, it allowed me to rebuild my faith and get closer to God.

Beyond Grateful

I’m blessed that He gave me a sign at 29 and I didn’t have to wait until 35 for a mammogram because who knows how things would have looked by then.

I am beyond grateful.