Dorothy: [00:00:00] Linda Petticrew is one determined woman. She’s worked hard and many long hours to build a stunning career as a professional executive assistant. And she’s worked for some of the top CEOs in the city. But her real strength and tenacity was when she faced breast cancer. Not once, but twice. Diagnosed at a young age, she fought and won her battle, and then 20 years later had to fight it again.
During this episode, Linda talks about her experience and she gets very candid about her treatment in the workplace and the amazing difference an employer can make in the life of someone dealing with treatment. When you subscribe to our show, you help us grow. Someone you know may need to hear this story, so please share with your family and friends. And consider supporting our mission, your donation can help save the life of an uninsured woman.[00:01:00]
Let’s Talk About Your Breast. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, the Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics and you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
Linda, thank you so much for being with us today. I was just amazed at your story and I know our listeners will be too. But I want you to start by telling us, I mean you’ve been in the corporate world for Ages.
Linda: Right.
Dorothy: Yeah. So tell us what you do.
Linda: So I’m an executive assistant. Uh, I’ve worked close to 50 years and I’ve had many different jobs, uh, with many different companies. I think some of my favorites are the seismic company I worked for because it was international and I got to travel with them overseas. And now I work for an oil and gas company and I love [00:02:00] it there and they treat their employees uh, excellent. Great benefits, great people to work with, very diverse, uh, and they treat everybody really good, which I love.
Dorothy: And you know, one thing I’ve learned is that I, for years never had anyone to back me up, you know, I never had an executive assistant. Oh my gosh! You know, you run the world, I mean you know that, no one gets past mine, I’m sure no one gets past yours.
Linda: Right, yep.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Linda: No, one of my, um, one of my, um, Uh, the chairman of the company that I work for with that seismic company, his wife gave me a little, um, figurine and it, it said, you know, secreta— back then that we were called secretaries. Secretaries rule the world.
Dorothy: Oh.
Linda: You know.
Dorothy: Definitely.
Linda: So—
Dorothy: Yeah. I, I don’t think anything has changed in that. So, let’s go back to when you were first diagnosed with breast cancer, and tell us how old you were, what was going on in your world.
Linda: [00:03:00] So, I was 34 years old, I just had my first child, uh, a boy, and, um, the breastfeeding didn’t go so well. It was, uh, I had to breast and bottle feed, and it took forever, and it’s just, just daunting, so I stopped breastfeeding, which I’m so thankful now I did, and my breasts, you know, went down in size because they were too big when I was pregnant. And when they went down, I could feel the lump was, the lump was, I don’t want to say this big.
It was like three, it was large, I could feel it. And so, I immediately went and called my OBGYN and went in for a mammogram. And, I remember that weekend, because I had just gone in for a mammogram. It was my 10th anniversary weekend and my sister’s 30th birthday. And my parents had planned a party for us both.
And, uh, we didn’t tell anybody that weekend. And then Monday we went, [00:04:00] had an appointment with the surgeon, and he told me immediately, you know, he could tell that it was breast cancer because it had the jagged edges. He said if it wasn’t breast cancer, it would be, the edges would be, you know, the circle would be, um, sharp edges, but this was jagged and you could see it had spread to one of my lymph nodes already.
So that meant it had spread. So that was very scary. So he scheduled me for a mastectomy on Friday and this was Monday night. He saw me after like at 6 o’clock at night. And so my husband at the time sold high end cars and he had a lot of doctor customers. So he started calling his customers. Check out this surgeon because we, you know, we didn’t know him and he wanted to check him out.
And he talked to one, one of his doctor customers he was very close to. And he said, this guy said he didn’t know him but, you know, that didn’t mean he wasn’t any good. And, and my husband [00:05:00] was really close. He said, well, what would you do if it was your wife? He said, well, I would have her at M. D. Anderson or Sloan Kettering in New York.
And my husband goes, okay, well how do we do that? Because back in 1990, it took forever to get into M. D. Anderson. It’s not like it is today where you can just call and get yourself an appointment. So, he said, well, my friend runs M. D. Anderson, the doctor said. He said, let me give him a call. So, I was there in two days.
That was my first appointment was in two days. And, And then eight days later, I started my first chemo. So I was there almost every day. And the doctor, and the doctor, they did a needle aspiration biopsy, which, um, the surgeon told me that he didn’t do those because it would spread the cancer. Well, You know, he wasn’t an oncologist and he didn’t know, because they, at MD [00:06:00] Anderson, they told me no.
You could, you could take a bite out of a cancerous tumor and it would not, it would not spread. So, they did the, uh, the needle aspiration and, um, you know. They found out what we already knew, and so they started me with chemo right away. So, within eight days, I had my first round of chemo, because they wanted to see how the chemo, uh, reacted to, you know, on the tumor.
And after the first, uh, The first and the second, uh, round, you could tell it started, started to shrink. So I had four rounds of chemo and then the week after, I remember that year, Thanksgiving, I went in and had, back, back then, um, they didn’t, they just did a lumpectomy. They didn’t do the mastectomies as often.
So they did a lumpectomy and they removed all my lymph nodes and it was all clear. So the, the chemo had, [00:07:00] had killed the cancer and it wasn’t there, you know, it was, all the tissue was clear.
Dorothy: Wow, what a relief.
Linda: That they took out. So, and then I had to do five more rounds of chemo and then six weeks of radiation. So it was about a year of treatment.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Linda: Um, and I, you know, like I said, I had a new baby. But I think he helped me, and, and when I talk about him, I always tear up. But he helped me get through it.
Dorothy: In what way?
Linda: I, I, I couldn’t worry about myself. I was a new mom. I had to take care of him. Um, I had a great support system. My mother and my mother in law helped me take care of him because my husband worked too. Uh, so when I was going through chemo, I would, I would work, um, three, three weeks out of the month and then the week I had chemo, I would take off, but they still helped me every day with him because I had to take him out of daycare. He couldn’t go to daycare because if he was in daycare and got sick [00:08:00] and got, then he could get me sick.
And we did have one week where my, my mom was, had, had to go out of town. And so the daycare where I had had him in took him for that week. So we, and they were so nice about it. And, but he got sick. He got me sick, which landed me in the hospital for five days.
I wasn’t sick those five days. I mean, after giving me medicine after one day, I felt great, but they wouldn’t let me out until my blood level got to, I remember to a thousand and it took five days for it to get there. So I just had to, you know, sit in the hospital. And, uh, anyway, but I just, I told the doctors at MD Anderson that, they told me they didn’t know if I could have any more children.
And I said, well, if I can, I can, but I have to be here for my one. He needs a mother, so I just need to be here for him. And I have to tell you, I kept a positive [00:09:00] attitude always, which I think helped. And I just, you know. dying was not an option. So I never thought about that. I just, I knew I was going to be okay.
Dorothy: That is amazing. Cause that’s—
Linda: Which might’ve been, you know, naive, but that’s how I got through it. I think, uh, I just, I was going to be okay. I’ll get through, you know.
Dorothy: But Linda, you, you just went right over, you know, here you are 34 years old, a very young woman with a brand new baby. And, you go to the doctor and all of a sudden you’re facing mastectomy.
I mean, that had to be a huge jolt.
Linda: Right.
Dorothy: I, I can’t imagine wondering if this is going to be what you’re going to have to do. And then to go into a whole different area that actually you didn’t have it. You had a lumpectomy and you had chemo. But you had to be on a rollercoaster of emotions during that time.
Linda: [00:10:00] I was. And my husband. I have to tell you, I have to give him, uh, lots of credit. He, he helped me. He was there, you know, he took me to all my, all my chemo treatments. Uh, he was there for all the appointments and, you know, he was my rock. He had to change. Back then, um, your, my catheter, uh, Now they put it underneath the skin.
Back then they didn’t. So he had to change, you know, the dressing once a week. And so we had a system where we would do it at 10 o’clock uh, while the news was on and we knew my son Garrett, who was a baby then, he’d be well asleep and usually between 10, 10:30. He never woke up at that time. So we knew, because once you start the process you have to finish it.
So, um So we had a system and he was—
Dorothy: So he certainly learned a lot during that time.
Linda: He did. And he was, he was great. He was there for me all, the whole way. And, uh—
Dorothy: Did, was he worried about you? [00:11:00]
Linda: He never said, but I think he was. And I, I, years later, some of my friends, um, told me how, how scared they were. I had one, I had one girlfriend who, one Sunday, she actually, um, you know, cut my hair off because, you know, it’s, it started to, I was on the Adriamycin and it started falling out. And I didn’t want, wanted to get on everywhere and get on Garrett. And it was falling out in the shower, so I just said, just cut it off. And so she cut it real short, and then the following week when I was at MD Anderson, I went down to have a, like a beauty shop, and I had them shave my head, uh, so, um.
Dorothy: What was your reaction when you first saw yourself?
Linda: Well, I had a pretty good shaped head, you know, so that was okay. And I, you know, I had a wig, but I didn’t really like it, it wasn’t comfortable. So I learned how to, you know, tie [00:12:00] scarves and I would use two scarves. I would use one for the base and then I would roll one and make like a, um, kind of like a headband over it. And then in the back you would roll it where, and it looked like a bun. And I remember one day, you know, back then it was Foley’s. I went into Foley’s and I was makeup department to get something and lady looked at me and she said— it was raining that day. She said that’s a great way to wear your hair on a day like today. She had no idea, but I mostly wore what I call the turbans and um, you know, I got scarves. I’m a match person, so I always have to match. So I got scarves. I had scarves for every outfit.
Dorothy: Well, and so many women talk about many times the wigs are just not comfortable. No matter how expensive, or how fancy they are, they, it’s just, you’re very sensitive, you know, during that time.
Linda: And [00:13:00] back then, I didn’t think, at least the one I got, I look, you know, I didn’t, it didn’t look, it didn’t really look good, that good, didn’t look real to me.
So, um, I, I thought the, the turbans were better. And now when I, it’s funny now, uh, the other day, when I washed my hair, I, I put my hair in, in like a, a wrap and, uh, it start drying. And my husband the other day told me, he said, I really hate seeing you in that. And I said, what? Why? And he said, because it reminds me back when you didn’t have hair.
And I went, oh.
Dorothy: How sweet. Yeah.
Linda: Yeah.
Dorothy: Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah. So now, you went through a year or so of treatment, and fast forward, how many years later when you had a lot of surveillance during that time, right?
Linda: Yes. I was, uh, I was, well, first you start with six months and then a year. I never, ever, [00:14:00] uh, in the 31 years I, you know, was going there, I never, and still going there.
I never was. I never was longer than a year, so I have yearly appointments. My doctor then started telling me about the, the gene testing. My sister, my sister, uh, developed breast cancer ten years after me, and she’s five years younger. So, like I told you that, that it was, I found mine about when she was 30, she had it when she was 40.
And so, at that time, she had a double mastectomy, because then, they were doing more, more of that. And, um, her doctor, too, was telling her about the gene testing. So she actually got the, she went and got it done first.
Dorothy: So both of y’all were very young.
Linda: Yes. So she, yes, she was, I was 34. She was 40.
Dorothy: Had she had children?
Linda: Uh, yes, she had two, uh, she had two, she has two, but, uh, yeah, she, [00:15:00] yeah, she had had two, so she had toddlers then. She had small children then at 40. They were probably older than toddlers, but they were small, you know, but she had already had her children by then. And, uh, her, her doctor, too, was do, talking to her about the gene testing.
So she got tested first, found out, uh, was BRCA1, which is the, uh, breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Linda: And then I got tested, and I tested positive also.
Dorothy: For BRCA1.
Linda: BRCA1. Yep. Same thing. And so, my doctor at MD Anderson told me that I should have, you know, double mastectomy. And, um But you know, when you don’t have cancer, that’s a big surgery.
So I just, okay. You know, but he, then he, he kept me on six months. I went every six months. So one time I would have a breast mammogram and then six months later they would do a breast MRI. And so, and he never stopped. It was [00:16:00] always, you know, because I was the BRCA1 positive. Uh, he, uh, kept me on six months.
Now my sister. She had a doctor that had had a lot of patients that had died of ovarian cancer. So he encouraged her to get a, a, a, a hysterectomy. And then she started, after she got hers, she started, telling me and telling, you know, her doctor kept saying, you got to push your sister. She’s got to get one.
You know, I’ve lost so many patients. I don’t want to hear about another one. So, I, I went ahead and, and had the hysterectomy. And the doctor, that did my surgery. She, she found pre cancerous cells in my fallopium tubes. And she had eight patients after me that had the same thing.
Dorothy: Oh my Gosh.
Linda: So I’m thinking that’s probably where it starts and then it moves down to your, uh, to your [00:17:00] ovaries. And I know, um, I think now, um, That now they just remove your fallopian tubes. I think don’t quote me, but I think you know somebody’s told me that. So I and I and they were gonna with my hysterectomy they were gonna leave something. They asked me about one— one— I think it was your uterus— We’re gonna leave that and I said no. My because my My father’s mother died of uterine cancer. So I said, no, I don’t want to have that chance.
Dorothy: Wow.
Linda: Do I need it? No.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Linda: Take it out, so.
Dorothy: So you’d already had another child at this point.
Linda: I had. So I was, yep. So, uh, you know, even though they told me I might not, uh, I could never go on birth control again. So. We just left it in God’s hands and, you know, if it was meant to be, it would be, I always thought. And we wanted a second child, because I never wanted my kids to, you know, only have, to, after we were [00:18:00] gone, not to have anybody. So yep, we were blessed with a little girl, three years after my son, three years, three months after my son was born. So, so it was, you know, a couple years after I had, had been on the chemo, so, yep. And she was healthy.
Dorothy: And so during an MRI exam, was that when they found the second cancer?
Linda: It is, and it was very small. And they even, they had, so, And they wanted to do the needle aspiration biopsy. And they actually had to do it twice. Because the first time they had really trouble. They had to do it while they were doing an MRI.
Because that’s the only way they could see it. It was so small. And they had really trouble getting to it. So, uh, the first crew couldn’t get it. And so I came back a couple days later. They did another one. And, uh, it was positive. But it was very early. So, which I’m so thankful for, because the second time I, so, [00:19:00] I went ahead and did the double mastectomy and reconstruction, um, I was able to, they took, they took my, my, my tummy fat, which I had plenty of, and, you know, built, built my new breasts with that.
And so I was able to do it all in one surgery. Which was nice.
Dorothy: But it’s a long surgery.
Linda: Yes. It was 12 hours.
Dorothy: Yes.
Linda: And I think my doctor said why she thought it took a little longer because I had had radiation to my left side and those blood vessels in there she said were a little harder to um, I think reattach or something to, so that why it took, it took a little longer but they did a great job.
Dorothy: Were you, were you, did you feel differently the second time? Were you as concerned? More concerned? Not as concerned?
Linda: Well, you know, they saved me once. Well, twice, because I feel like they saved me when I had my hysterectomy, too. [00:20:00] So, they saved me twice, and we caught it so early. So that, that, to me, was a huge. And, um—
Dorothy: No matter what, it’s still cancer.
Linda: I know. So, I just, I couldn’t go there. So, I guess, I don’t, I guess I don’t let myself think that way.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Linda: So, uh, no, I just.
Dorothy: Well, that’s a huge message.
Linda: Yeah.
Dorothy: For our listeners. You know, sometimes you just can’t go there.
Linda: Right.
Dorothy: You can’t think about it.
Linda: And you just have to, um, Keep a positive attitude. Something, something in your life has got to be positive. You got to, you got to pull something positive. Because I think that’s what really helped me. Is, is of course my family, my friends, and to stay positive.
Dorothy: And you had quite a period in there where you were cancer free.
Linda: Yep.
Dorothy: And yet, here you were again with a hysterectomy. Potential cancer, a second diagnosis. Did cancer ever define you as a person? [00:21:00]
Linda: Well, I was always, I was always afraid of it coming back, you know, before I had the second. Uh, that’s always in the back of your mind, so when you have your checkup, you know, at least for a while, you feel the relief. Okay, I’m fine now. I’m still cancer free. No, I don’t think I let it define me.
Dorothy: And when you have, and this is something that a lot of women will not postpone, but having those, those mammograms and MRIs are hard. I mean, it’s, you spend some time thinking I hope nothing comes up. And did you find yourself ever having, like, anxiety attacks, or?
Oh, really?
Linda: Oh, yeah. You, you, you know, until you get the results, yeah. You’re, you’re scared. I was scared every time, you know, in the back of my mind. Now, I might not have told anybody around me. Because I’m, you know. You know, like, if I told my husband, then he would be [00:22:00] scared, you know, he might be scared, too, and I didn’t want to, but yeah, it’s always in the back of your mind, always, which is awful, so I kind of, you kind of just push it, push it away, like, you know, let’s not think that way, let’s stay positive, it’ll make you feel better.
Dorothy: Still hard.
Linda: It is.
Dorothy: To, you know. Control your mind and your emotions at the same time.
Linda: Yes, it definitely is.
Dorothy: What changed in your life? Did you find yourself having different priorities? You were still very active in work. You were still a career woman.
Linda: Right. Yeah, but it’s my family. I just, you know, always, I got to be there for my family. Um, because I, you know, wished for one day I’d have grandkids, which I have one now, and about to have a second one.
So, I, I just wanted, I wanted to see where my kids would go in life, and I wanted to be there for them, be there for my whole family, for my parents as I aged. So, I just Yeah, I [00:23:00] always thought about it, but I just pushed it away, I think. I just pushed it away. I didn’t want, because I didn’t want to have those thoughts, so.
Dorothy: So your second child was a, was a girl.
Linda: Mm hmm.
Dorothy: And were you particularly concerned about her having inherited?
Linda: Oh, yes. And then you, and you have some guilt.
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Linda: Because, you know, I gave it to her.
Dorothy: Yeah. Of course.
Linda: I know, I know it wasn’t my fault that I have it. But you still think, oh, gosh, I gave it to her. So, you know, I always prayed that, you know, there’s a 50/50 chance. I always prayed that she wouldn’t have it.
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Linda: And I’m going to have a granddaughter soon. And I’m proud. I already started praying that it skips her.
Dorothy: So, what, what is your wish for your granddaughter? In her lifetime, what do you hope for her?
Linda: Well, first that she doesn’t have the gene. I know there’s still, if she doesn’t, there’s still a chance that she could, you know, develop breast cancer later in life. Because I have [00:24:00] many friends that have had breast cancer that don’t have the gene.
Dorothy: Don’t have the gene, that’s true.
Linda: And, uh, I just hope she can live a happy, healthy life. Um, I pray that, um, You know, maybe in her life, I know it’s not gonna happen in my lifetime, but maybe in my daughter or my granddaughter’s lifetime, they’ll find a cure or find some, you know, somehow to, uh, There won’t be any more cancer or breast cancer.
Dorothy: Oh, that’s a wish we all have. We would love for that to happen. Well, so now we’re going to have a chance to interview your daughter because she had to make some tough decisions too, in her early childhood, her early womanhood.
Linda: Right. Yes.
Dorothy: And, uh, I so appreciate you sharing your story because you know, it’s tough to share some of these things and you’ve certainly had the whole gamut, especially being such a young woman with it. So thank you, Linda, for being with us today, and we look forward to [00:25:00] interviewing you again with your daughter, Rachel.
Linda: You’re welcome. Thanks for having me.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast, share episodes with friends, and join the conversation on social media using #Let’sTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.
