An oncologist was shocked to learn she had breast cancer. She had no symptoms and thought she was low-risk.

• Oncologist Sue Hwang was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 46, despite having no symptoms.

• She said treatment is challenging, but finding a new normal as a survivor is even harder.

• Being more open and vulnerable helps her connect with her patients and take care of herself.

Dr. Sue Hwang knew something was wrong as soon as she saw the scan results.

As an oncologist for more than a decade, she helped thousands of patients navigate mammogram results to screen for breast cancer.

Her own diagnosis was still shocking – although all her previous scans had been clear, this time five associated lumps were found on her right breast, as well as an abnormal lymph node.

“It was like, this has to be a joke. There’s no way I’m going to get five tumors in one year,” she told Business Insider. “That’s impossible. And I don’t feel it.”

Before her diagnosis, Huang told Business Insider she had no symptoms and no reason to think she was at risk for breast cancer.

She is in good health, plays tennis every day, and balances a busy career and raising three sons as a single mother.

In January 2024, when Ms. Huang was 46 years old, the diagnosis brought a series of bad news for her, as she learned that treatment would be much more difficult than she had hoped.

After multiple surgeries, including a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy, Hwang is now in remission.

The 48-year-old is preparing to publish her new memoir, “Behind the Scenes: Lessons and Reflections from an Oncologist’s Journey with Breast Cancer,” which will be released on January 20.

She said being a patient pushed her to embrace vulnerability and made her a better doctor along the way.

“Being more open to others about my struggles helped me heal because I realized I was not alone. Everyone struggles, and acknowledging that makes you more human. Patients were able to relate to me better,” she said.

From doctor to patient

Huang said her first reaction to the diagnosis was fear of breaking the news to her three sons – who were 15, 13 and 11 at the time.

“I was just thinking about my kids, ‘Oh my God, what would happen if this killed me?'” she said.

Unlike most patients, Huang knew what to expect from treatment and how to understand her prognosis. Breast cancer cases are on the rise, but it is a very treatable disease, especially if caught early. She considers breast cancer patients to be “straight-A students” on the cancer ward, with a success rate of 95% for patients with early-stage disease.

This is in stark contrast to other forms of cancer: pancreatic cancer, for example, has a five-year survival rate of about 12 percent.

Follow-up imaging showed Hwang’s cancer was more extensive than expected. Her doctor, who was also her friend and colleague, gave her a survival rate of 85%. In the abstract, this is an encouraging number. But all Mr. Huang could think of was a 15% chance that something would go wrong.

“It’s a big number, but I heard that number and I think it’s the first time I’ve ever been in a doctor’s office and completely lost it,” she said. “I do all this and you’re just going to give me a B. That’s how I look at it as a patient.”

The lingering toll of cancer

Despite the anxiety and side effects of treatment, Huang said the biggest challenge was coming to terms with her identity as a cancer survivor.

She had hoped to return to her old life. Her job as a doctor was to treat the disease, but her training didn’t prepare her for how things would change once she was diagnosed.

“You’re not the same person physically. When I finished treatment, my breasts were gone, my ovaries were gone, my uterus was gone, my hair was gone, and it was a huge emotional toll,” she said.

Huang said she’s still figuring out what her new role as a survivor means to her.

Before her diagnosis, Huang said she was proud of keeping her personal struggles private.

People will say ‘I don’t know how you do that,’ and I’ll let them think I’ve got it all,” Huang said. “I never tell people that sometimes it sucks and I come home and I’m exhausted and I want to cry because it’s so lonely. “

She began talking about her struggles and asking her patients for advice: how they could recover and how they could come to terms with major changes in their bodies and lives.

For now, her strategy is to work less, focus more on family, and prioritize her health in the face of uncertainty.

Most importantly, she hopes sharing her experience can provide support to patients and one day push the health care industry to provide more structure after treatment.

“I really want people to know they’re not alone,” Huang said. “It’s okay not to know. It’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to be anxious. That’s the nature of the disease.”

Read the original article on Business Insider