Woman battles back
Knowing your ‘norm’ is key to early detection
EASTON, Maine — In August 2006, Danielle Brewer of Easton had recently given birth to her second child and was at her four-month postnatal visit with her provider, Mary Hamilton, a certified nurse midwife at The Aroostook Medical Center’s Women’s Health Center. Hamilton noticed a lump in Brewer’s neck and began asking some important questions.
Hamilton asked Brewer if she had been overly tired lately; she admitted that she had attributed her fatigue to motherhood.
“I had a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old,” she said. “I was back to work full-time; I believed [being tired] was the new norm. There were times where I was in a complete fog and focusing on daily activities was a lot more difficult.”
Hamilton wanted to rule out thyroid cancer, so she suggested a biopsy. Two weeks later Brewer had another appointment, and then a biopsy a month after that and discovered that it was, indeed, cancerous and had moved into five lymph nodes. In October of that year, Brewer had her full thyroid removed and endured radiation treatment.
She is now considered cancer free.
Hamilton said, “I think it’s easy to dismiss symptoms like that because you assume that it has to be something else; there has to be another reason for the way you’re feeling. New baby, you’re healthy, too young to have problems. But recognizing that this is not your normal and taking those appropriate steps, to see your provider and get the proper treatment, is a huge factor.”
Brewer is thankful for her long-standing patient-provider relationship with Hamilton. “I wasn’t showing any symptoms that I knew of,” said Brewer, “I thought it was the norm, but she knew otherwise. If it wasn’t for her expertise and knowing what to look for during these visits it may have been a different outcome.”
Brewer now lives with hypothyroidism and will take medication for the rest of her life, but she’s happy to do it considering the alternative. She said, “I didn’t realize how strong I was, until being strong was the only choice I had.”
Brewer was featured as May’s Courage in The County profile, a series that spotlights local individuals and families who have shown great courage in fighting cancer.
The effort promotes early detection and activities that support local cancer patients. Courage in The County is a collaboration of TAMC, Northern Maine Medical Center, Clukey’s Auto Supply, NorState Federal Credit Union and WAGM-TV.
