She opens her eyes to ‘a wonderful, new life’

Tracy West sat numb and motionless on the examination table. She stared at the printout for nearly a half hour. Three words the doctor uttered suddenly changed her life.

“You have cancer.”

What she thought was a strained pectoral muscle sustained while working one of her three jobs “immediately turned into a nightmare,” said the 57-year-old Cresson resident and single mother of two. “Cancer. Stage 3 cancer.

“It was impossible. I’ve never been sick – ever. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. And always eat right,” Tracy said. “I weigh 112 pounds, rack up 45,000 steps daily. Cancer wasn’t in my family. This couldn’t be happening. I instantly knew I had to fight this for me – but especially for my kids. My head was spinning.”

Conemaugh Health System breast surgeon Dr. Renee Arlow and her staff soon put into action what Tracy describes as an “awesome treatment plan.”

After experiencing “tremendously painful swelling” in her right breast, the decision to undergo a mastectomy last November didn’t come as a surprise to Tracy. Calcifications were later discovered in her left breast, and that breast was removed this past August. She expects to start reconstructive surgery soon.

“I’m not going to lie. Two surgeries, six rounds of chemo, 25 rounds of radiation and 17 rounds of immunotherapy. I tell other women it’s a tough fight, but it’s definitely winnable. I feel stronger now than ever. Women who endure this are all queens in my eyes.”

Doctor Arlow and her team at Conemaugh Memorial Hospital “are phenomenal,” she said.

“The way they cared for me – physically and emotionally – before and after surgery. Unbelievable,” Tracy said. “And Doctor Kamran Shayesteh (reconstructive surgery) and his group are exactly the same. In between rehab visits, I even get phone calls asking how I’m doing.

“No words can express my thanks for their kindness and patience in answering a zillion questions about chemotherapy. They’ve become my new, expanded family.”

That family now also includes therapists at Conemaugh’s East Hills Cancer Care Center in Richland. Tracy calls them her “guardian angels.”

“Clarence (the angel in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”) was right. You can never give up or give in,” she said. “And when I rang that bell in the East Hills center (signifying the end to her cancer treatment), it reminded me of those angels. I’m done working 80, 90

hours a week. If something doesn’t get done today, I’ll get to it tomorrow. My eyes have opened to a wonderful, new life.”