Feature on Reesa Burgstrum

Breast cancer is one of the many types of cancers people are diagnosed with. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of your breasts. There are different stages of breast cancer that you can have; the stages are stage 0, stage 1, stage 2, stage 3A, stage 3B, stage 3C, and stage 4. As of now, hundred thousands of women have been diagnosed with breast cancer. And so was Reesa Burgstrum. Here’s her story.

Reesa Burgstrum was 30 years old when she was first diagnosed on June 2008. She was in her seven-month pregnancy with a baby girl named Brianna, and already had another child named Danielle. Reese had found the tumor herself. So she went and got it checked only to found out she had Stage 1 breast cancer. The tumor was removed while she was still pregnant with Brianna. They watched the baby carefully and everything was fine. Two weeks later, baby Brianna was born a healthy child. After Brianna was born, Reese had to have a bilateral mastectomy, which means she had to get both of her breasts removed. Two weeks later after the surgery, she started chemo therapy–which caused all her hair to fall out. With all this going on, her husband Anthony Burgstrum was in the army and was diploid to Afghanistan a week after the surgery. Anthony said, “I felt bad she had to deal with it without me. She had her family and I went anyways to show cancer wasn’t going to take over our lives.” At this time, Danielle was four years old and Brianna was three months. Reesa said, “I’d stay for my battle with cancer and let him go to fight his for us.”
Reesa went through seven surgeries to fix everything and dealt with a lot of recovery time. She was put on medicine to reduce the hormones the cancer fed on. This lasted a year. Anthony had come home safely from Afghanistan and they moved to Illinois. Reesa had route follow ups with her doctor. What were done were pep scans to check if she had breast cancer again. However, in one of her checkups in March 2011, they found a spot on her back. Reesa had a bone biopsy and they had determined breast cancer had spread. She was then diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. The cancer had started growing before she had started radiation. The cancer had fractured her L3 and broke it. Reesa was then put in the hospital and had surgery. She started new medicines for the hormones. They had finally removed her ovaries which is the source the hormones the cancer fed off of.
In August 2011, another tumor had showed up in Reesa’s right hip. She went through more radiation and was started on new hormone medications. She had gone in November for a follow up pep scan and nothing had showed up. “The girls kept me going every day,” said Reesa. Even though some thought it was gone it wasn’t. February 2012, the doctors had found a tumor in Reese’s liver. Reesa is now starting chemo therapy. “She shouldn’t have to deal with this. At least she is still fighting. She’s herself and it used to be Reesa but now its Reesa plus cancer.”
With all this going on, Reesa has done so much for everyone to know her story. In May 2011, family and friends had a benefit for Reesa. Also, Reesa has done Relay for Life and has been on T.V. She has done many things for Breast Cancer awareness. She talked with the U of I girls basketball team and was asked to give the game ball out. Reese’s story has gone nationwide and she was asked to give a testimony. Reesa is still standing strong and fighting cancer with the love and help from her friends and family. Reesa said, “Women need to know their bodies. It’s up to us.”

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Kimberly

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