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Northumberland County resident shares story of cancer diagnosis, treatment

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Teresa Meisinger describes herself as “one of these women that definitely goes for her yearly mammogram.”

The Northumberland County resident went for one of the procedures in November 2020, and “it was fine.”

Five months later, however, something out of the ordinary happened.

“What I noticed was nipple discharge, and I knew that wasn’t normal,” Meisinger said.

“So I went to my family doctor. He immediately scheduled me for a mammogram and ultrasound both. It was probably less than a week. Geisinger got me in pretty quickly,” she recalled.

The examinations did find a small mass.

“Needless to say, this was shocking,” Meisinger said.

An immediate biopsy followed, and Meisinger was diagnosed with cancer.

“They kept telling me, ‘This is manageable, this is quite early,’” Meisinger recalled. “But nobody wants to hear that word, needless to say.”

Meisinger met with a surgeon, “and of course, my stance was, ‘take whatever you have to take, just whatever you gotta do. I’m ready to deal with it. I just wanna move forward,’” she recalled. “I wasn’t concerned what I would look like. I just wanted the cancer gone.”

In the spring of 2021, Meisinger underwent a partial mastectomy.

But as part of her treatment plan she also had to undergo four rounds of chemotherapy, which started in July 2021, followed by 15 rounds of radiation. She also has to take medication for seven years.

“The diagnosis is slim to none chance of the cancer returning,” she added. “We celebrated that.”

There have been a lot of ups and downs, Meisinger said, and she is still healing.

“Chemo is tough,” she added.

During that painful process, Meisinger suffered a family tragedy.

“I lost my husband this past March, suddenly,” she said. “So that, that’s been pretty devastating.”

She credits a strong support system for helping her endure both challenges.

“I was bound and determined to beat this thing, because I’ve got this wonderful family and wonderful friends,” she said. “I was only 63 last year when all this happened. ‘And it’s like, I’ve got too much of my life to live yet. I’ve gotta stay positive and get through this.’”

“I know how important it is to try to stay stress-free and have a positive attitude because it’s important for your health,” she added.

As Meisinger alluded to, the prognosis is good. She had her last yearly mammogram in November 2021, and it was clear.

“I’ve talked to other breast cancer survivors and they, they do say you hold your breath a little bit,” she said of the post-cancer exams.

But Meisinger also has a message for all women.

“We women tend to take care of everyone else. If there’s one thing that I learned through this process, it is that we can’t take care of anybody else or do anything else unless we take care of ourselves first, you know? Going to the doctors on a regular basis, making sure you’re getting a mammogram, pap test, colonoscopy,” she said.

“Medical technology is amazing and it’s changed a lot through the years and, and the things that you’re able to catch now to help you is just astounding.”

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This is the second of a series of interviews with breast cancer patients and survivors we will be publishing for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in conjunction with our news partners at Eyewitness News WBRE/WYOU. Watch for more stories in the paper tomorrow, and on our website at www.timesleader.com/breastcancerawareness. We will also have an upcoming interview with members of Teresa’s medical team.