After a lifetime of health struggles, Ann Marie Berardinelli Pagano ’69 took her health seriously. So when she kept hearing a voice telling her to get a mammogram, she took it VERY seriously.  The mammogram didn’t show anything, but having dense breasts she insisted on an ultrasound. Tests showed spots in her breasts, and she panicked. “Where do I go? Who do I talk to? How do I tell my husband?” she remembers thinking. A biopsy confirmed cancerous cells, and Pagano had important decisions to make.

Pagano’s adoptive mother died of breast cancer when Pagano was 18, but no one told her how sick her mother was. Back then, people didn’t openly discuss these things. Ann can only imagine how alone women of that era must have felt. When she was diagnosed, Pagano felt it was important to be honest with her grandson, who she and her husband were raising. She’s still not sure how much Austin, who is developmentally disabled, understood, but she knew she couldn’t keep her disease hidden.

Pagano had a mastectomy in September 2013.  She thought the surgery would be the end of the story, but learned afterward that she might still need chemotherapy, and that it was possible for the cancer to come back. She’s thankful she was able to avoid chemotherapy, but takes estrogen blockers intended to keep the cancer from returning.

Another challenge, Pagano said, was dealing with her new physical self. She’s just now becoming comfortable looking in the mirror when she gets dressed. Counseling has helped greatly, as did her prayer and strong faith, which she credits to her religious upbringing at home and at school. She encourages other cancer survivors to talk about what they’re going through.  “My message to women is it’s OK to go through your emotions. Feel sad, feel grief, be depressed, it’s OK.” She also pushes all of her friends to keep up on their mammograms and checkups to catch health issues early. Pagano wants to support other survivors as well, and she invites other Cathedral alumnae to contact her at cheyanneautumn@aol.com.