Vicki Carter was spared chemotherapy and radiation due to early detection

Vicki Carter is a mover in every sense of the word.

She has relocated halfway across the country on more than one occasion to take advantage of education and business opportunities. She runs marathons — lots of them. Her conversation is sprinkled with references to various activities, causes and projects.

So, when she was diagnosed with a precancerous breast abnormality, she moved quickly to ensure she could continue living her life at full speed.

Carter was fairly new to Wichita when she got her diagnosis. After working for McDonald's as corporate employees, she and her husband, Dale, had relocated from Raleigh, N.C., to become McDonald's franchisees.

"There was a good opportunity in Wichita and we decided to take it," she recalls.

She knew her risk of developing breast cancer was high. Carter's mother had undergone a mastectomy in 1982 to treat Stage 2 breast cancer. "I was 22 at the time," Carter says. "I was uneducated about breast cancer. I didn't understand there was a genetic link."

Her ignorance about breast cancer would change. Because of her family history, Carter began having mammograms when she was in her 30s. "I wanted to take a proactive approach," she says.

Seven years later, an abnormal mammogram led to a biopsy, after which she was diagnosed with atypical lobular hyperplasia (ALH). ALH is thought to be one of the many complex steps in the development of breast cancer. Vicki Carter was 43, "Exactly the same age my mother was when she was diagnosed."

A different experience

Though she knew the odds she could develop breast cancer were high, Carter still had to come to terms with, as she puts it, "The C word."

"My first thought," she says of her diagnosis, "was that I'd be Stage 2 like my mother."

Her recollection of her mother's experience was of her being very sick and losing her hair. Carter's mother, like many cancer survivors, had struggled with the rigors of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Her experience was quite different from her mother's. She was spared chemotherapy and radiation due to early detection. Because ALH is a precancerous diagnosis, surgeons recommended a double prophylactic mastectomy (removal of both breasts), which would reduce Vicki Carter's risk of developing full-blown breast cancer by 98 percent.

Prophylactic mastectomy is often recommended if a patient has any one of several significant risk factors. Carter had two: Her mother had breast cancer before the age of 50, and Carter herself had early signs of cancer in her breast tissue.

It was her mother who was most insistent that Carter get a second, and then a third opinion. She did. The conclusions were unanimous.

An advocate of early detection

Vicki Carter beams when she smiles. She is a woman whose energy and positive outlook tend to rub off on those around her. She matter-of-factly explains how she made a decision to have both of her breasts removed. She planned the surgery for July, so it wouldn't interfere with festivities surrounding her oldest son's high school graduation.

Of her surgery and its aftermath, Carter says only, "It's a loss. A change."

Today, Carter is channeling her considerable energy into the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and is a new member of the organization's board of directors. The run is a natural fit for the marathon-loving Carter. But more important to her is the race's message.

To say that Carter has become an enthusiastic advocate for regular exams and early detection of breast cancer is an understatement of epic proportions.

"I should probably be on a team called Mammogram Patrol," Carter says. "I'd like to have a T-shirt that says, 'Have You Had Your Mammogram Today?' "

It's easy to understand her zeal for regular breast exams. Within a year's time, her ALH would have become "a killer cancer." Instead, Carter is planning to help one of her sons get settled in his new Denver home. It seems he's a mover, like his mother.

Drawing on her own experience, Carter sums up her feelings about the importance of regular mammograms: "It can save your life. It's that simple."