Video: Penny on the eve of her surgery.
By Kevin Coughlin
Penny Lopez will lose both her breasts on Friday.
She wants everyone to know.
“A lot of people don’t talk about breast cancer, because it’s very personal, or because cancer has a stigma. But if more people can talk about it, women won’t feel so alone,” said Lopez, 46.
As she is rolled into surgery around 9 am, she plans to stream video on her Facebook site, The Breast Of Me. Videos on her YouTube channel, Survivor Gal Penny, chronicle everything she has experienced since receiving her diagnosis on July 13, 2015.
The Morris Plains resident was informed she had Stage 3 cancer in her right breast. Suddenly, she was thrust into a scary and baffling world of oncologists, tests, treatments and enormous bills.
“The first thing I thought was, I was going to die,” Lopez said.
Without her strong faith, and staunch support from her husband Antonio and the congregation of Morristown’s United Church of God in Christ, “I wouldn’t have made it,” she said.
There were MRIs and PET scans, and 16 rounds of chemotherapy. Her hair fell out on Day 17. She pondered:
“Should I wear a wig? I decided to embrace being bald as part of my journey. I didn’t want to cover up what’s going on. I wanted to be very much in the present,” said Lopez, who has four children, the youngest of whom is a college senior, and six grandchildren.
Although a lump in her left breast was benign, the risk of cancer convinced her to have that breast removed, too.
Depending what oncologists uncover, Lopez could face up to three reconstructive surgeries and radiation therapy.
And then there are the bills.
So far, Lopez estimates she has racked up at least $200,000 of them. Some had been covered by her husband’s health insurance–until he lost his job at a local car dealership. Lopez, a business analyst for a pharmaceutical company, said she goes on disability this week. They have applied for NJ Family Care.
“It’s going to be challenging,” she said.
While dealing with her own anxiety, Lopez also has tried to calm her 7-year-old grandson, who lives with her.
With so many pressures, one might be expected to withdraw from public life and look inward. That’s how many of Lopez’s friends dealt with their own breast cancer — episodes she said they kept secret for years, until learning of her ordeal.
But Lopez has tamed her fears by boldly sharing her story, in hopes it will help others navigate these turbulent waters. The emotional roller coaster, the side-effects, the doctor visits, the questions that need asking — she lays out everything in her videos.
“There really needs to be a better way to help people figure out this process,” Lopez said. “I thank God I didn’t fall apart. I stuck with it. If I can just help other women…”
Disclosure: Penny is part of the MorristownGreen.com family, a talented amateur photographer who has contributed many fine photos. She is a special lady, with tremendous courage, and our thoughts and prayers are with her. We know she’ll be back shooting photos soon, after a swift and complete recovery.
