Warsaw Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Support After Treatment

Kristin Adolf – Kris for short – always knew in the back of her mind that breast cancer was a possibility.

From a young age, Kris knew her mother was a breast cancer survivor, as was her maternal grandmother. When she got her first full-time teaching job and had health insurance coverage, she went in for cancer genetic testing to see if she shared the same genetic risk.

“I can remember somebody asking me what I would do with that information, if I found out that I had the gene,” Kris said. “It wasn't like a pity party. If I found out I have the gene, I'm going to do more regular screening and make sure I'm on top of things.”

When the tests came back and determined Kris carried the same gene that placed her in a high-risk category, it wasn’t a surprise. She knew what she would need to do. Every year, she had a breast MRI, followed by a mammogram six months later.

Related: Getting a Risk Assessment for Breast Cancer

That became the routine and life went on. Kris continued her job as an art teacher, got married, had a son, and then another. The days turned into weeks, then months, then years.

Diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer

In early 2022, Kris went in for her annual MRI. Following her appointment, she was called in for a follow-up breast ultrasound because of an unclear result on the MRI – not the first time this had happened. However, after more testing, her doctor called to tell her she had breast cancer. She was 36 at the time.

“To say that I was relieved when he called me and told me sounds silly, but I was relieved to have an answer,” Kris said. “I think most of this journey, the not knowing was the worst.”

After telling her husband and two young sons, ages 4 and 8, about her diagnosis, Kris and her husband went to meet with Dr. Joel Yellen, a surgical specialist, who answered their questions and stayed with the couple for as long as they needed.

“He must have been in that first appointment with me for an hour and a half, drawing me pictures and answering all the questions, letting me cry, letting my husband ask questions,” Kris said.

From that appointment, Kris met with Dr. Rachel David, who would become vital to her treatment and recovery. After discussing the cancer diagnosis and treatment options together, Kris decided to have a double mastectomy, following eight rounds of chemotherapy and finally multiple rounds of radiation. During her treatment, she would take time away from her job in the Perry School District.

Throughout her treatment, Kris said she found it more challenging to lose her hair than to lose her breasts.

“I always had really long hair. I'll be honest, losing my chest didn't bother me nearly as much as losing my hair did,” Kris said. “Once my hair started falling out, I could tell something was changing. I said to my husband, ‘You know what? Get out that buzzer. Let's do a mohawk real quick.’ My husband and I always did mohawks on our boys.”

A firm foundation of support from friends, family, and neighbors carried the Adolf family through those months of treatment. People would drop off multiple meals a week, clean their house, and step in to help in any way they could. Kris, her husband, and children felt loved and cared for.

‘You can’t take it anymore’

Then in a whirlwind, Kris was finished with her cancer treatment. She rang the chemo bell and her hair and eyelashes slowly started to fill in again. She was starting to adjust, but there were still some side effects lingering, including brain fog and fatigue.

“Once your hair starts to grow back and you look pretty normal, everybody's just like, ‘Oh, you're back to normal. So, here's your kids and here's your class,’” Kris said. “I didn't ask for cancer for the attention, but when you go from getting so much of that to like not hearing from people…I'm struggling to just keep my head above water and get back to what I used to do.”

Back in her classroom as an art teacher and coaching baseball for her kids, Kris was also stressed by things she used to find simple – throwing a ball, or holding a pencil or a fork. After one particularly difficult day, Kris had a scheduled appointment with Dr. David. That’s where she says everything came to a breaking point.

“You know when you're going and going and going and going, and then when somebody asks you, ‘How is it going?’”, Kris said “You can't take anymore and I just kind of broke down.”

Dr. David suggested talking with a therapist through Rochester Regional Health’s Collaborative Care program, which led her to Bethany Walton, LMSW. The two regularly talked over the phone after Kris finished up her day at work, something that she said helped her heal. She was also prescribed antidepressants to help with some of the anxiety and depression she was living with.

“Bethany has been just great in the way that she has no judgment,” Kris said. “One of the major things we've worked on together is that I've always put my job and my family first. I think most women do. And Bethany has been instrumental in asking, ‘What are you doing for yourself?’”

After going through everything she did, Kris said the only thing she might want to do differently in her treatment would be to focusing on her mental health all sooner.

“I want to be the best person for my kiddos. I think it was a great combination to get the anxiety medication, the depression medication, and talk to a counselor at the same time. And that's where that collaborative care really came together.”