Finding Strength in Life-Changing Moments
Life is not always easy, but the opportunity to live is a blessing beyond comprehension. In the process of living, we face struggles, many of which will cause us to suffer, laugh, cry, and shout. The bravest will overcome obstacles they did not know they were strong enough to do. No one understands that better than someone who has received a cancer diagnosis. Aimee Mullins, 37, of Texarkana, Texas, received a cancer diagnosis that forever changed her life.
Aimee is married to Colton Mullins, and they met at Southern Arkansas University (SAU) in Magnolia, Arkansas, during the Fall 2007 semester. Aimee was Colton’s freshman orientation leader and a resident assistant in his dorm building. The two soon fell in love and were married on the SAU campus 14 years ago. The couple share a son, Connor, a Pleasant Grove Intermediate School student. Aimee enjoys her occupation as a school counselor at Pleasant Grove High School, and when not at work, she loves to travel, read, bake, and hang out in the pool with her family. She also loves cheering on her son at his baseball games.
Aimee is full of life, and although she would encounter a significant obstacle, she definitely has more life to live.
There is no history of breast cancer in Aimee’s immediate family, but that diagnosis would be handed down to her in 2022. She was 34 years old when she received the news that she was in Stage Two of Triple Positive Breast Cancer. “I had weight loss surgery in November 2021 and lost a total of 100 pounds due to the surgery and pre-op diet. After losing so much weight, I was able to feel a lump in my left breast. Sometimes, I would feel a twinge of pain, but nothing too major. I went to the doctor for something unrelated and asked him to look at the lump while I was there,” Aimee says.
Although her doctor did not think it was anything major, he suggested getting a baseline mammogram to monitor changes. “At my mammogram appointment, they immediately spotted a mass and called for orders to get a sonogram for a closer look. Right after the sonogram, they ordered a biopsy to be done two days later on not one, but three masses, that were found on my mammogram,” Aimee says.
A life-changing diagnosis like breast cancer can dig up many emotions. It’s not uncommon to have depression, anxiety, uncertainty, fear, loneliness, and body image issues, among others. One day, you are just going about your life, and the next minute, you are scrambling to get tests and scans as you try to make sense of complex medical information and your fast-changing reality. Aimee reflects and explains, “Before I had the mammogram, I wasn’t really worried because even my doctor didn’t think it was really anything. After the mammogram, however, I was a nervous wreck, especially when they called my doctor’s office to request immediate orders to take a closer look at what they found on the sonogram. Waiting on the biopsy results was the worst part, though. I had to wait for the results to be sent to Dr. Bowen and then for him to meet with me to tell me what was going on. Those few days were so bad. I would just go home and cry because I was so scared.”
Aimee describes her initial reaction on July 12, 2022, when she received her news: “I was shocked. I was told that I had breast cancer just two days before my 35th birthday. I was angry, sad, and worried about what was going to happen,” Aimee stated. “My husband was with me when I found out. My parents live a little over an hour away, so I just called my mom. She knew I was going in to get the results and was waiting for the phone call. I didn’t want to make any more phone calls, so I just let my mom tell the rest of my family.” Aimee and Colton still had to deliver the tragic news to their son, Connor. “I just didn’t know what to say. Unfortunately, Colton had been on the receiving end of the ‘your parent has cancer’ conversation. Although Colton did not know what he could say to the couple’s son, he could certainly empathize while breaking the news,” Aimee says.
After delivering news to friends and family, it was time to devise a plan to treat Aimee’s triple positive breast cancer. After working with Dr. Bowen at Family Medical Group in Texarkana, a fantastic doctor through her entire journey, Aimee traveled to CARTI Cancer Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. There, she met the most kind, caring, and patient doctors, Dr. Diane Wilder (former Texarkana native) and Dr. Jerri Fant. In fact, CARTI Cancer Center and Aimee’s doctors worked to get her first dose of treatment donated while their health insurance was still being processed. “I was both fearful and hopeful. When I first met my surgical oncologist, she was very confident that I would be cancer-free in about a year. The treatment is so specific for triple positive breast cancer, and she expected me to have a good response to chemo,” Aimee says.
“I had 18 rounds of treatment total: six rounds of chemotherapy (Taxotere, Carboplatin, Herceptin, and Perjeta) and then additional rounds of immunotherapy (Herceptin and Perjeta). I had to travel to Little Rock every three weeks for treatment,” Aimee states. Although Aimee’s nausea was not too bad from the medical treatments, she would not feel her best and be exhausted for several days afterward. “Honestly, one of the hardest things to endure was losing my hair. I had long, beautiful hair, and it was very difficult to lose that part of my identity.” Aimee also had a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgeries. She mentions that losing her breasts at the young age of 35 years old was extremely difficult. Aimee says, “I really struggled with my self-image after losing my hair and my breasts. I felt like I lost everything that made me feel feminine.”
Despite these difficulties, Aimee stood on her strong faith in God and His providence. “I trusted that God would see me through everything. Even though I was afraid, I knew His timing was perfect. I was diagnosed after moving into counseling instead of teaching, which allowed me to miss when I had to and not have to worry about a sub covering my classes. It was a bad situation, but I knew God was taking care of me,” Aimee says.
Undergoing treatment for any cancer can be physically and mentally exhausting, however Aimee had a support network worth noting. “In addition to my family, my work family and church family really showed support and love throughout my entire battle. My church family would provide meals and gift cards after surgeries,” Aimee says. “The administration team at Pleasant Grove High School had shirts made that said ‘No Hawk Fights Alone’ with the pink breast cancer ribbon for me and another staff member, Stephanie Knowles, who had breast cancer at the same time. They sold them to staff members and donated all the proceeds back to the two of us to help with expenses.” Stephanie Knowles would become more than a co-worker to Aimee as they both battled their journey in the trenches together. Aimee describes Stephanie as “a constant source of encouragement and information.”
Most of all, Aimee looked forward to hearing the words “I’m praying for you” more than anything. These simple spoken words allowed Aimee to feel supported, firm in her foundation, and loved, knowing that someone was interceding on her behalf for her body to be healed.
In the trenches of treatment, Aimee tried not to let her diagnoses and treatment affect her daily life as she says, “I worked as much as I could without missing too many days. I felt like if I could keep my daily routine, I would feel ‘normal.’” Aimee would keep her daily routine by attending football games, school plays, work, and family activities. However, cancer does seem to have an effect even after the body has been healed; this time, mentally. “I now always have a thought in the back of my head that any little thing could be the cancer coming back somewhere else,” Aimee says.
Throughout her entire journey, Aimee learned two critical lessons. “I learned that it’s important to really listen to my body. And I learned that hair is, indeed, just hair. It grows back,” says Aimee. Even though Aimee’s cancer was caught in the early stages and gone within a year, it was still a terrifying thing to go through for her and her family. “I know my battle was easier than some, but it was still a battle,” Aimee says.
Today, Aimee cheerfully reports she has clear scans!