The silver and gold palm tree necklace worn by Anneke Patterson was a gift from her husband TJ shortly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The card attached read, “Palm trees bend, but they never break.”
For the Marathon woman and her family, over the next two and a half years, those words would prove to be true.
“I had no history in our family,” recalled Patterson. “I just kind of had this feeling that when I got to be this old that I really didn’t have to worry about things like that anymore,” she said.
Patterson was 62 years old when an overdue mammogram detected what turned out to be invasive ductal carcinoma.
“I had not had a mammogram for a few years,” recalled Patterson. “There were a few years where I had a lot going on and I put myself on the back burner basically,” she explained.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the average age of women in the United States diagnosed with breast cancer is 62 years old, the same age Patterson was when she was diagnosed.
“It really surprised me,” said Patterson. “If 62 is the average, there are a lot of people older than me getting it and a lot of people younger than me getting it,” she said.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and the statistics are sobering. One in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will learn they have invasive breast cancer.
Upon diagnosis, Patterson quickly sprung into action, making an appointment with a top breast specialist at the Miami Cancer Institute in Kendall. A unilateral mastectomy followed.
Patterson, the mother of a 24-year-old daughter and 22-year-old son, soon learned she would need to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
It was a lot to take in but Patterson leaned on the advice given to her very early on by the doctor who performed her breast biopsy.
“One of the first things that he said to me that I kept to heart was ‘stay positive, because it’s going to help you, it’s going to help you mentally, it’s going to help your body in healing, it’s going to help everybody around you.’
And she did exactly that. Not only did Patterson remain positive and optimistic, she also continued working full time, taking her laptop to chemotherapy sessions, radiation appointments and doctor visits.
Patterson is the production manager for Keys Weekly Newspapers. Her job requires acute attention to detail. She is responsible for making sure all of the legal notices and advertisements are error free and placed correctly in the three Keys Weekly editions distributed every week to the Upper, Middle and Lower Keys.
For Patterson, and for almost any woman facing chemotherapy for breast cancer, losing her hair was difficult and emotional, but she was prepared.
“I knew that the chemotherapy would make me lose my hair so I had already bought a couple of wigs that weren’t very expensive,” she recalled.
Shortly after beginning chemotherapy, it happened. Patterson was shopping at Bealls Outlet when a big clump of hair fell out. She knew what she needed to do. She made an appointment with her hairdresser and as her husband, sister and daughter joined her for support, the hairdresser shaved her head bald.
In July 2023, after 16 rounds of chemotherapy and three weeks of radiation, a cancer free Patterson rang the bell in front of the Miami Cancer Institute.
Still, her journey with breast cancer was not over. A first attempt at reconstruction ended with her body rejecting the implant. Also, for the next two years she will need to take a chemo pill to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.
“Here I am two and a half years later and I’m still going through it. So all journeys are different,” said Patterson.
Because of a compromised immune system, Patterson works from home, when out in public, she wears a mask and if she goes to a restaurant, she always requests a table outside.
Recently, on an early Sunday morning visit to Publix during the Labor Day weekend, Patterson experienced what can only be described as insensitivity and ignorance when she said a fellow shopper intentionally coughed on her.
“Just as he passes me, like this close, he coughs twice right at me looking at me,” she recalled.
“I told my husband I’m going to write on my mask, cancer sucks, or something, so people know why I’m wearing the mask,” she added.
Patterson’s breast cancer experience makes her keenly qualified to offer up invaluable advice for women and men confronting a breast cancer diagnosis.
Her advice goes beyond staying positive and includes the following:
“Don’t Google too much. That’s something that someone told me right away and I took that to heart.”
“Take one day at a time and one procedure at a time. Don’t get too overwhelmed about what is still coming up.”
“Take care of yourself by getting outside and breathing some fresh air. Even if you’re not feeling up to doing anything, just sit outside for 15 minutes, listen to the birds, don’t be on your phone, really absorb nature. If you can go to the beach, go at sunset time.”
“Do yoga, get enough rest, eat enough protein, stay hydrated and don’t sweat the small stuff.”
This is the first time Patterson is publically telling her ongoing breast cancer story. In November, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, doctors will make another attempt at breast reconstruction.
“It gets me out of cooking turkey,” she joked.
But in all seriousness, the 64-year-old mother of two decided to share her story in the hope that it helps save lives.
“While I was going through my cancer journey, I had a lot of friends and I had acquaintances that all said they were going to go get a mammogram because of me, and I thought if this story could help someone make the decision to go get a mammogram, it’s worth it.”
