Julie Bay, 67, of New Lenox said she is “one of the lucky ones” with breast cancer.

Bay was diagnosed in January following a routine screening mammogram.

And now, Bay is currently cancer-free, she said.

“They got everything,” Bay said. “I was in shock when they said, ‘Julie, you do not need chemo or radiation. We got every single bit.’”

Bay said she got the call with the message “The techs saw something” on her mammogram, on a “beautiful sunny day in January.” Ron, her husband of 48 years, had just retired on Dec. 31, she said.

“We had all these plans,” Bay said. “And then breast cancer changed them.”

Bay needed a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound and multiple biopsies because “I didn’t just have cancer in one spot. I had it in multiple spots.”

Bay doesn’t recall fear or anxiety at this point.

“To be honest, I think I was numb,” Bay sad.

Dr. Laura Ragauskaite, a board-certified general surgeon and the medical director for The Breast Center at Silver Cross Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health, said Bay had “at least” three abnormal masses on the left breast with subsequent biopsies on the two most suspicious masses, which confirmed the cancer, Ragauskaite said.

An MRI showed an area of suspicion on the right breast, too, the reason Bay chose a bilaterial mastectomy, Ragauskaite said.

The pathology report showed no cancer on the right breast or in Bay’s sentinel lymph nodes, which were also removed, Ragauskaite said. Bay also had genetic testing, which was negative, she said.

Bay couldn’t have a lumpectomy, where only the tumor is removed, because of the multiple tumors, Ragauskaite said. Bay’s official diagnosis was multifocal breast cancer in the left breast, she said.

“She was stage 2 because of the size of the cancer,” Ragauskaite said.

Ragauskaite said she always recommends patients consult with a plastic surgeon before surgery. That’s because “we have to save a lot more skin” during surgery for patients planning for breast reconstruction, she said.

Bay said she met with the plastic surgeon, but declined breast reconstruction.

“It sounds crazy, but my breasts never defined me,” Bay said. “I was very comfortable with my decision.”

Bay underwent a second surgery two days after her mastectomy to remove a hematoma and then did very well after that, Ragauskaite said.

“I can’t say enough about the staff that took care of me,” Bay said. “I just feel like Silver Cross saved my life. I will love Silver Cross forever with the care I received.”

Bay said she returned home “totally wrapped” and with drains in place.

“Bless my husband’s heart,” Bay said. “Instead of getting home health, he measured, emptied, charted; he took care of all of that. He was a trooper. Each time I went back, I had one drain taken out. It was an exciting day when all the drains were taken out. But I did not find out I was truly cancer-free until I saw Dr. Mohammed, my oncologist.”

‘An excellent prognostic category’

Dr. Tabraiz Mohammed, who specializes in hematology and oncology at UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital., said tests such as the The Oncotype DX test help doctors to “understand the biology of the cancer” and have “good prognostic value.”

The Oncotype DX test looks at a group of 21 genes in the cancer tissue of stage 1 or 2 estrogen-receptor positive and HER2 negative breast cancers, which then assigns a recurrence score based on the findings, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Mohammed said Bay was in “an excellent prognostic category” as her cancer didn’t have high risk features. So chemotherapy and radiation would give Bay no real benefit, he said.

Instead, Bay is taking I eblovie anastrozole to reduce the amount of estrogen in her body, he said. This is a daily pill she will take for five years, he added.

“She’s doing quite well on it,” he said.

Patients like Bay who have “dense breasts” may benefit from additional testing such as ultrasound or MRI, although 3D mammograms do well at picking up abnormalities in dense breasts, Mohammed said.

Dense breasts have more “milk glands, milk ducts and supportive tissue in the breast” than fatty cells, according to Mayo Clinic.

Both dense breast tissue and cancer cells look solid white on a mammogram as opposed to fatty cells, which is transparent, according to Mayo Clinic.

“The concern is about missing tumors and calcifications in dense breasts,” Mohammed said.

Ragauskaite said she recently saw Bay and will see her in six months and then annually, “to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t develop any more masses.” Bay won’t have any more mammograms.

“I did explain from now on we only rely on clinical breast exams,” Ragauskaite said, adding if a mass is found, Bay would need an ultrasound.

Bay said she struggled this summer to find bathing suit that fit well, But otherwise, “life is good,” she said.

“I’m blessed with family, faith and friends,” Bay said. “I just hope it stays that way.”