Andrea S. Porpiglia, MD, MSc, FACS

In March 2022, my sister discovered a lump in her breast completely by accident. I consider myself pretty on top of these things, but I decided to do an impromptu self-exam and I also found a lump. From there, both of us went through mammograms, biopsies, and countless appointments before being diagnosed with breast cancer within a week of each other. It was surreal.

Like a lot of people in 2020, my mammogram was postponed due to the pandemic.

When I finally had it done in 2021, I got a letter a few weeks later telling me I needed more scans. I went back in, and after they took some more scans, the radiologist told me I also needed an ultrasound.

By then I was thinking, “This is really weird, I’ve never had to do this before.”

When COVID-19 hit, I decided it was time to retire from a lifetime of teaching art and do more traveling with my partner Joe. We purchased a tiny trailer and spent a year and a half visiting family and scenic vistas. Our travels were put on hold, however, when I was diagnosed with not one but two cancers.

I was just beginning a new chapter of my life when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 73.

Several months prior, my husband had passed away after a 12-year fight with prostate cancer. That left me alone in a large home with 13 rooms. Two of my girlfriends encouraged me to move to an apartment complex for seniors in Pittston, Pennsylvania, about two hours north of Philadelphia.