Author: Lindsey Ulrich
"I felt a small bump, almost like a little pebble, so when I went to my appointment, I mentioned to my doctor, who decided it should be checked out with an ultrasound."
Two years ago, Emily Lobb, now 35, was getting ready for her appointment with her OB-GYN. She was pregnant with her sixth child, and she had noticed a lump in her left breast.
“I felt a small bump, almost like a little pebble, so when I went to my appointment, I mentioned to my doctor, who decided it should be checked out with an ultrasound,” said Lobb. “We didn’t think much of it and thought it was most likely a cyst.”
Six weeks later, Lobb had a follow-up ultrasound that showed there had been some growth. Lobb met with Suzanne Hanses, DO, surgeon at McLaren Greater Lansing Breast Care Center, and had a procedure done to take a closer look at the tissue. A few days later, Lobb welcomed her sixth daughter.
“I gave birth to our daughter that Monday morning, and the very next day I got a phone call from Dr. Hanses letting me know I needed to come in, so I knew it wasn’t going to be good news,” said Lobb.
Lobb was told she had breast cancer and she was going to have to undergo a lumpectomy and chemotherapy to treat the cancer right away.
“Just going through labor and having a newborn at home, I wasn’t getting a lot of sleep, so getting this news felt so surreal,” said Lobb.
Lobb said she was so surprised by how quickly everyone jumped into action and the great support she had from Dr. Hanses, the oncology team, and staff who worked with her.
“It was a surprising diagnosis, but even with everything she was going through, Emily took the news with such grace and dignity,” said Dr. Hanses. “She is an incredible and courageous person, and no matter what the circumstances were, she continued to stay positive and always had a smile on her face.”
Lobb had to undergo a mastectomy and is now celebrating her survivorship. She said the support she had through her family, the community, and all the staff at McLaren Greater Lansing was instrumental in getting her through this, but Lobb and her family recognized that not everyone has the same resources and help. One of her daughter’s, who was in third grade at the time, was able to get involved through a school project and created seat belt pillows for breast cancer patients, which were provided to McLaren for patients undergoing care.
“We had so much support and understand that not everyone has the support we have, so we felt it was important to get our message out and to do what we can for others,” said Lobb. “We definitely count our blessings.”
Routine health visits and monthly breast self-examinations are important in monitoring your health. If you notice a change in your breasts that seems abnormal, contact your primary care physician. For more information on women’s health services provided at McLaren Greater Lansing, click here.
For a list of providers accepting new patients, click here.