It started as a routine test for Lacey Jones. It turned into a battle with breast cancer.
"I didn't detect anything until I went in last year for a mammogram," said Jones. "I got a call saying the results were abnormal, and they wanted me to come back in for another mammogram, as well as an ultrasound. They were also abnormal. I was told I would need a biopsy," said Jones.
The news got worse.
"My biopsy came in during the week of Thanksgiving last year. My doctor told me the result of my biopsy was malignant. It was probably one of the worst days of my life," said Jones. "Breast cancer hits one in eight women, and you never think that you're going to be one of the eight."
The 46-year-old woman’s surgeon outlined the options. They could do a lumpectomy to remove the tumor and the area around it. Or, they could do a mastectomy.
Last December, she went to the Los Robles Regional Center in Thousand Oaks and had the procedure.
"A couple of days later, I got a phone call from my doctor, and she said they were not able to get the clear margins in the lumpectomy," said Jones. "I was devastated, because I wasn't expecting the breast cancer diagnosis, and lumpectomy was my first surgery."
In January, she underwent a second lumpectomy. The plan was to follow it up with 30 rounds of radiation. But as they were preparing her treatment plan, another mammogram showed more suspicious spots. It meant more surgery would be needed.
She decided the double mastectomy gave her the best chance of finally beating the cancer. It also meant she wouldn't have to undergo cancer treatment.
"Regardless of the fact that I was terrified to have the double mastectomy, that's the decision I made," said Jones. "They were able to do it all at once."
Nearly a year after her ordeal started, Jones said she’s cancer-free. She credits her doctors and medical team at Los Robles with helping her through the crisis. She feels like she’s finally getting her life back on track.
"I'm doing pretty well overall," said Jones. "I am several months out from my surgery. I'm returning to the hobbies that I enjoy, like cycling."
Jones is speaking out to remind people to get regular mammograms. She said it saved her life.
"Getting a mammogram isn't fun, but I would have never known that I had breast cancer had I not had my mammogram."
Los Robles Regional Medical Center is sponsoring a mammogram event on Wednesday, October 2, to help reduce the stigma around the important procedure.
Mammograms, Massages, and Martinis is from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Los Robles Imaging Center in Moorpark.
