Pam McCall

Mammography technologist battles breast cancer with support from her Mayo Clinic "family"

Pam McCall is an expert when it comes to breast health. She's been a mammography technologist for 19 years and has traveled around the country giving lectures on the procedure.

So when she noticed a lump in her right breast while doing a breast self-exam in October 2003, Pam knew what she needed to do.

"I wasn't due for my annual mammogram, but I knew the lump needed to be examined. So I arranged to have an exam," says Pam, who works in the Radiology Department at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

After reviewing her mammogram, Jeffrey Quam, M.D., Radiology, determined that Pam needed an ultrasound to determine whether the lump was cystic or solid. Patricia Karstaedt, M.D., completed Pam's ultrasound and recommended a fine-needle aspiration biopsy to rule out cancer. Pam was scheduled for a biopsy with Marina Giurescu, M.D.

"I was confident the lump would be benign," she says. "It was movable, which tends to be a quality of benign lumps. I wasn't a bit nervous about having a biopsy, because I assumed it was a formality, and I would receive a clean bill of health afterward."

Pam's confidence rubbed off on her colleagues who performed the biopsy. "We had a great time," she says. "They teased me throughout the procedure. First, they told me they were going to use an extra-large needle. Then they said they probably didn't need to give me any pain medication. We were laughing so much I had a hard time holding still."

All the laughing stopped a few days later when Pam's physician, Paru David, M.D., a specialist in women's health, called Pam into her office.

"Dr. David had been on maternity leave and made a special trip in to the office to tell me that I had breast cancer," says Pam. "She wanted to be the one to give me the news."

Though the news was devastating, Pam was calm. Unlike most people who receive a diagnosis of breast cancer, she already knew exactly what lay ahead of her. She had seen many women walk this road, and knew it could be a difficult and frightening journey.

But rather than fear, Pam felt a different emotion rise up inside her. The first thought she had after hearing her diagnosis was, "Wow. Now I'm a survivor."

Colleagues become caretakers

Pam was scheduled for a lumpectomy within one week of her diagnosis.

"Even though it was during the winter, which is the busiest time of year in Arizona, I was scheduled for surgery right away," says Pam. "That made me feel special, but I know that Mayo does the same thing for all patients. At Mayo, everyone is treated the same way. When people around the world get sick, they come here. Mayo cares for the person, and accommodates people when they need care and families when they need help."

Pam's colleagues have been equally accommodating.

"Our mammography department has a staff of five, and everyone has had to work harder and longer to cover my absence," she says. "Not once has anyone begrudged me the time I have needed to heal — not Dyan DeYoung, my supervisor, nor Elaine Bitterman, my manager. I could not have gotten through this without the support of Mayo as an institution and my colleagues as individuals. The love and concern I've received from them have been priceless. I don't have any relatives in Arizona, but I have family all around me."

After learning of Pam's diagnosis, her relatives wanted her to return to her home state of Ohio for care. But she was adamant about receiving care in Scottsdale. Pam's mother stayed with her during her surgery and recovery, and soon agreed that Pam was exactly where she needed to be.

"My mom has been a nurse for 30 years, and once she met my colleagues and physicians, she told the rest of my family that there was no way she would take me away from Mayo."

Looking to the future

After her surgery, Pam was scheduled for chemotherapy and radiation treatments. By the time she finishes her treatments, she'll have been away from work for nearly a year. Thanks to Mayo's long-term disability policy, Pam is able to focus on getting well without having to worry about losing her job and benefits.

"I never imagined I'd be on disability," says Pam. "I've always been a caretaker and never expected to be in this position. I am so grateful for our health care coverage. I can't imagine having to be away from work and worrying about how I would pay for my care."

Pam is already looking forward to returning to her position in the Radiology Department. While she says not much will change in how she does her job, she will bring a new depth to her encounters with patients.

"I already wanted to be the best technologist I could be before my diagnosis," she says. "But as a breast cancer survivor, I'll be able to communicate with patients at a level I was unable to before. I'll have a different kind of credibility now."

She'll use that credibility as she continues to advocate for mammograms.

"Women sometimes think they are superwomen, that bad things won't happen to them," says Pam. "But anyone can get cancer. All women need to have regular mammograms and to have unusual lumps examined right away. If you aren't going to have a mammogram for yourself, do it for the people in your life who can't live without you."

And as Pam found out after her diagnosis, there are probably more of those people than you think.