Four Minnesota sisters bond through cancer diagnosis, battle

You know, we need to have a serious conversation here for a moment because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is part of a global push to support patients and survivors and to stress self-checks, early screening too. We have four sisters from Minnesota who are sharing their story this October. As our Kelsey Carlson shows us, they hope their case will someday save others. April 3rd, I got the call that I had breast cancer. I had to write it down because I can't ever remember it. Atypical microglandular adenosis. So it's the precursor to the triple negative breast cancer. And it changes into the triple negative. And I read it and I'm like, hey, I have two types of cancer. What? The news rolled in like an avalanche for the Toopee sisters. Four sisters. You have breast cancer. You have, it's called DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ in your left breast. Three cases of breast cancer. You're like, this is all spring of 2020? Yeah, I was diagnosed in April. May. May. May. June. June. Yeah, I was diagnosed in June and had my surgeries. The under shift one. Yeah, May, June, July. How did that hit with the three of you? It was hard because we'd already been through so much together as a family. And then it was just like another blow that we had to take. But we knew we'd get through it. Cassie was the first to find out at 42 with a routine mammogram triggering older sister Mel to get more screening and younger sisters Sam and Kendra in their 30s to get their first mammogram ever. Cassie and Mel early stages. Sam facing the toughest road with two types of invasive ductal carcinoma. They said that like 60 to 70 percent of this breast was cancer with four invasive spots of hormone negative HER2 positive cancer which was like the other one that, according to my research, was something he didn't want. Double mastectomies for three sisters, aggressive treatments for Sam as well. And Kendra is closely monitored, planning a double mastectomy in the next couple years. They want them gone, I think, by 34 for sure. Just because of how- Yeah, and that's where I'm at too. I'm at peace with that at this point, just watching all of this. How has this been for you guys? Heartbreaking. it's hard because you know to hear from one daughter and then to get the multiple calls that there's all this cancer going you know you don't get answers why this is happening but as a parent you just want to know did we do something you know why is this why is this happening but through all the heartache they quickly realized they were doing better being together and Cassie's diagnosis ultimately saved Sam. Us being sisters is what saved each other's lives right because we have each other one one of us had it and we all got checked and figured out but yeah having sisters is we are very candid and open and honest with each other and they want to save others as well what they share is a bit of a medical mystery according to their surgical oncologist Dr. Lisa Hamilton of MN Oncology. All of them had genetic testing. All of them were negative. And that just means to us, negative genetic testing does not mean you have no elevated risk of breast cancer. It just means you do not have a genetic mutation that we currently test for that is known to have an increased cancer risk. It really highlights how breast cancer and sometimes some other what we would consider female cancers, gynecologic cancers, can really affect entire families. And so this is a really good example of that. They said it doesn't happen enough where there's enough young people that are all living still to be able to do the genetic testing to figure out if there's a gene mutation. So with that said, it doesn't mean we don't have a gene mutation. It just means that we don't meet the criteria for their study to look for the gene mutation. But they will keep running our, essentially our DNA to see if they do find more mutations. The sisters would like to be part of a research study eventually, so they can help people beyond their own family. But for the moment, they still need to focus on their own recovery. How are you doing emotionally and physically? Yeah, I think I'm doing well, or I'm still in the survival phase cuz I'm still in treatment. So I don't know which one it is actually. I know that the survivorship once you're you're done with treatment and you're like, okay, go live your life now. I don't know if it'll hit me like a brick, a ton of bricks then, or if it's, I've just been coping along the way. I don't know. But I, most days I do pretty well. Dr. Hamilton said to me, like, this isn't going to kill you, but this is going to be, it's going to be hell. It's going to be hard. This is going to be a long road, Cassie, but you're going to get through this. I'm like more in the place of like, I'm so grateful that I was found. No, because you sent me the key chain that says lifesaver? ****. She gave me a key chain that says, what does it say, like lifesaver, and it has like a life raft on it, and it has like for saving her life. You saved all of our lives. Such an important topic, especially for so many families out there. I lost my own sister-in-law to breast cancer a year ago now, and the importance of early detection is so strong, and the strength of those four sisters, my goodness, going through this, And the message that they're sending out about the importance of early detection is just truly admirable.