Perfect Storm

Chapter 26

We were in the midst of the first round of the playoffs. Ryan was having a solid round and was holding his own, currently sitting third in the round of sixteen, despite not having won a points paying race yet. Ross was also sitting solidly in fourth, which meant I had been super busy. Trackhouse had both cars in the playoffs. Although I was the PR rep for Ross, I worked very closely with Daniel and the 99 team, often collaborating. Meetings, appearances, press releases, paint scheme reveals all had me hopping. I wouldn't change a thing though. I loved my job.

People often wondered how I managed to balance my work and personal life when I was engaged to one driver and worked for another. It actually wasn't as difficult as you might think. Ryan and I vowed that we would always separate our work and personal relationship. It also helped tremendously that Ross had calmed down a bit with his driving. He and Ryan had really improved their relationship, to the point where they were friends. They raced each other clean and with respect, much to my relief. That would have put me in a very awkward situation if they had any further on track altercations.

Today, Ryan and I had a rare day off. Knowing the playoff stress, and lack of wins was weighing him down, I encouraged him to do something for himself while I was going to take advantage of the quiet time and maybe do a little long overdue reading for pleasure or wedding planning.

With my blessing, Ryan went off to play golf with some buddies and I was looking forward to some me time.

I didn't get too far into my me time however when I received, then read the mass email that NASCAR had put out. How could I have forgotten that October was quickly approaching?

Breast cancer awareness month.

NASCAR and SMI were looking for volunteers to help paint the walls of Charlotte Motor Speedway pink in preparation for the Roval race. They had a list of activities lined up for Breast Cancer awareness month, including track walks, ride alongs, a fashion show fundraiser, and honoring breast cancer heroes during the prerace ceremony. Teams were asking for fans to nominate their breast cancer hero to be featured on their drivers cars, along with pink window nets that would be autographed by the drivers and auctioned off to charity. Many teams were also featuring special pink paint schemes.

Forgetting about reading and wedding planning, I immediately signed up for the track painting. I knew that I wanted to be involved in something.

The email also contained some common breast cancer statistics. I began reading more about the short list statics listed. They were astounding to say the least, but this couldn't be all. There had to be more.

I did my best to not dwell on my breast cancer, but these statistics didn't paint the full picture. Curiosity won out, and a quick google search had my head literally spinning.

Breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women. The median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is 62. This means half of the women who developed breast cancer are 62 years of age or younger when they are diagnosed. A very small number of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45.

Overall, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%. This means there is a 1 in 8 chance she will develop breast cancer. This also means there is a 7 in 8 chance she will never have the disease.

Why was there so little information out there for women who develop breast cancer before the age of 30? Women like me. Were we that rare?

I broadened my google search to include women in my age group as well as genetic breast cancers. The information was rather scary if I'm being honest.

The number of metastatic breast cancer cases diagnosed in women ages 25 to 39 has increased by 2.1 percent per year from 1976 to 2009.
Survival rates are lower for women younger than 40. According to a 2016 study, women ages 40 or younger were 30 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than women who were diagnosed between the ages of 51 and 60.

Some women are at an increased risk of breast cancer in their 20s or 30s. These risk factors include:

having a close family member (mother, sister, or aunt) who was diagnosed with breast cancer before age 50
having a close male blood relative with breast cancer
having a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation
having received radiation treatment to the chest or breast before age 30
hormonal factors, such as the early start of menstruation, use of birth control pills, or anovulatory infertility

I didn't like these odds, especially the lower survival rates. But what about now? This was 2022. There was an increase in diagnosis between 1976-2009. What about statistics from 2009 till now? Why wasn't anyone talking more about this? Sure the information was out there on Google, but no one really talked about it. Had it not been for my mother urging me to get screened, I never would have known any of this. Just how many women out there were like me? How many women my age are out there thinking that they were too young to get breast cancer?

That got me thinking. I wanted to do more. Just painting a wall pink wasn't enough.

I recalled the conversation with Ross all those months ago following the Trackhouse open house where he urged me to use my voice. At the time I had given him an adamant no. That was months ago though. I was hiding from Ryan. Hell, I was hiding from everyone like having breast cancer was some kind of dirty secret.

I actually have a platform. I'm well known in the NASCAR family. Known by those who follow Ryan. Known by those who follow Ross and Trackhouse. I have nearly eighty thousand followers on social media. What if me finally using my voice could reach just one of them? Wouldn't that be worth it?

But how? Where do I even begin?

Women out there needed to know all of this. Things that healthcare providers don't tell you because well...breast cancer in women under thirty is rare. I needed to use my platform to speak up about genetic breast cancers and women in my age group. I needed to do more research. I needed more statistics and facts to back me up.

This meant I was going to have to go public.

I was so busy reading and plotting in my head that I barely noticed Sturgill and Stormy running excitedly to the door. It hardly registered with me that Ryan was greeting them with with pats and scratches.

"I thought you were off today?" Ryan chuckled, once he turned his attention away from the dogs and seeing my nose buried in my laptop.

"Did you know that insurance companies do not pay for routine screening mammograms for women under the age of thirty five?" I asked, ignoring his comment.

"No. I didn't know that." He replied, looking slightly perplexed.

"I only know that because I had to pay out of pocket for one. Even if you have certain risk factors, they only pay for diagnostic mammograms. That means you actually have to have something wrong with you, or some kind of problem before they will cover it. I had no symptoms. No palpable lumps. I only had one done because I insisted. And guess what? They found something. I had no one to advocate for me. I had to do it myself. I had lab reports showing I carried the breast cancer gene. I had my mother dying of breast cancer but was told I didn't meet the criteria for a screening mammogram because I was twenty seven years old. What if I didn't insist on getting it done and paying out of pocket? I was told that I was lucky and caught it early and that probably saved my life. That was only because I took it into my own hands. Healthcare shouldn't work that way. What about all of those women out there who can't afford mammograms or who are uninsured? Who is going to advocate for them?" I couldn't help but get angry as I spoke. The healthcare system was a mess, but I was just one person. I couldn't take them on myself. I was lucky. I had the means to pay for all of my testing out of pocket, but many others were not as fortunate.

"What are you getting at Bree?" Ryan finally asked after I finished my rant.

"I need to get involved. I need to not only tell my story, but I need to do something to help. I have no clue what. Advocacy, fundraising, awareness, resources. I don't even know where to begin, but I can't sit here and do nothing. I am going to use my platform to help others like me."