Some people just do not like roller coasters — especially when they are figuratively strapped in and compelled to take the ride.

Such is the case with Newtown resident Alissa Heizler Mendoza, who despite an ongoing series of highs and lows since she was diagnosed with breast cancer, continues to remain a hopeful and inspiring example of cancer survival to her family, friends, and community.

About a year ago, at age 48, Mendoza learned she had Stage 1 breast cancer, but like a grandmother on her mother’s side of the family, and an aunt on her father’s, she approached treatment and recovery with confidence that she would survive the diagnosis.

“Being diagnosed at Stage 1 is a testament to the importance of early diagnosis. And if I hadn’t found the lump, the story may have been very different if I waited until my next scheduled mammogram, which was six months away,” she told The Newtown Bee in a recent interview.

While Mendoza said she performed occasional self-exams, one evening after a leaking gel pad from a bra caught the attention of her young son she began “poking around more than I usually did and found a pea-sized lump.”

She noted that “it was really odd for the bra pad to explode and it would lead me to find this lump.”

With the support of her husband, Michael, who had previously lost his brother to cancer, Alissa said her growing medical team moved quickly, with her OB/GYN enlisting a breast cancer specialist within two days of discovering the lump. That surgeon quickly scheduled a biopsy and the confirmed diagnosis arrived all over the space of a weekend.

At that point all the reinforcement Mendoza was receiving was positive.

“Because it was Stage 1, they said, ‘You’ll be fine, all you’ll need is a lumpectomy, maybe some radiation, and you’ll be ok.’ It was very positive,” she said. “But then I got my genetic testing back and it came back BRCA1.”

That result meant Mendoza carries a mutation in one of the breast cancer genes that put her at a much higher risk of developing breast cancer or ovarian cancer compared with someone who doesn’t have the mutation according to the Mayo Clinic.

“So we immediately began looking at my situation differently because it was no longer about dealing with the lump, but prevention because we knew it may come back,” she said. “Everyone was on the same page in terms of approaching things a little more aggressively, so I went in for the lumpectomy first.”

Unwanted News

After removing the tumor and a few lymph nodes, Mendoza’s medical team delivered the unwanted news that the cancer had metastasized into one of those nodes.

“So now I have this genetic predisposition, and a Stage 1 cancer that has metastasized, so we had to shift course again, which for me was the hardest thing,” she explained. “I didn’t like not knowing... it was scary. It was like this crazy roller-coaster ride. And now they were talking about bringing in an oncologist.”

At that point Mendoza and her family began the search for “an A-plus health care team.”

“I wanted a great surgeon, I wanted a great oncologist,” she said, “and I wanted to stay local. I did believe that Connecticut has fantastic experts in those fields. So working in health care as a diabetes educator and dietician, when I did my homework I found an oncologist associated with Sloane at Norwalk Hospital — Dr Richard Zelkowitz. And because of the affiliation, I was able to stay with my surgeon from Danbury Hospital while working with the oncology team in Norwalk.”

The next step was to determine if chemotherapy was in order, so she pursued her Oncotype — a tumor profiling test that helps determine the benefit of using chemotherapy in addition to hormone therapy to treat some estrogen receptor-positive (ER-positive) breast cancers according to the Susan G. Komen organization.

Mendoza fell into the range where chemo was appropriate, but there was initially mixed consensus on whether radiation should be added.

“But we ended up not going with the radiation,” she said.

At that point, she and her husband were very concerned about how their nine-year-old son, Jayden, was handling all the stress. So under Dr Zelkowitz’s guidance, they made the decision to involve him as much as possible.

“So we brought my son in. We were very honest with him and he ended up coming to every chemo session that we could,” she said. “He was so encouraging and courageous, so I would highly recommend that anyone involve their children so they feel they are part of the treatment [regiment].”

The first chemo session brought significant side effects that forced Mendoza to receive hydration at Norwalk Hospital every day.

“I was pretty much incapacitated after chemo, but my family and my husband were fantastic supporting us through it,” she said. “Chemo just doesn’t like me. But the support of my friends and family kept me going”

The second of four projected treatments brought more challenges, but through it all Mendoza said she remained positive, even though she developed multiple pulmonary embolisms. The use of a blood thinner and a medication to increase her blood pressure was recommended by her then-new pulmonology team members.

But she mustered on, undergoing a third chemo treatment. That took more of a toll, and the day before her son’s 10th birthday, Mendoza passed out while she was getting ready to go out for a celebratory dinner.

After being discharged from Danbury Hospital, she was immediately re-admitted to Norwalk.

“That was my son’s birthday, so we brought in cake from the cafeteria and candles,” she said.

Recovery Continues

After four days and “every test available,” she was discharged with the advice to not proceed with any further chemo.

The next step, a double mastectomy, was scheduled — and then the coronavirus hit, forcing a postponement of that procedure.

“That would have been late March,” she said. After the twice-rescheduled operation in mid-May, she returned home. Within a few days, she was back in the hospital because of new pulmonary embolisms.

Once she got home, again, Mendoza finally started seeing some positive outcomes from recovery-related drugs. Her reconstruction surgery was just recently and successfully completed.

“I finally feel I’m moving forward,” she affirmed. “I’ve been out of work for a year and I’m going back next month cancer free.”

There is still a lot of getting used to the limitations she faces through continued recovery, along with some added surgery to plan because of the BRCA1 situation; Mendoza said, “There are still chapters to go, but I’m getting there.

“I don’t think, through it all, I ever realized how sick I was, but I guess that’s what helped me remain so positive through it all,” she said. “It created a tremendous amount of anxiety especially for my husband, and during some of the worst times he probably thought I was crazy because I was so positive.”

In closing, Mendoza advises any person who is diagnosed with breast cancer to talk with their friends and others who have been through it.

“Support is so important, especially when there are so many unknowns,” Mendoza said. “My husband was amazing, and my son was so heroic, they made all the difference in the world helping keep me positive.”

She also found empathy from friends she met on various social network groups, and especially her family and community.

“It wasn’t easy, but we took the help, we took the meals. We called on some really great nonprofits like Ann’s Place, the Pink Chair Project in Southbury, who gave us a recliner that I slept in for weeks, and the support from Newtown’s Hope On Main group,” she said. “And I can’t forget my medical team and plastic surgeon either, they were all just great.”