Becky Keck has known great success in her life. She has been married to husband, Dave, for 42 years. They have four daughters and 11 grandchildren. Becky was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college. She then worked her way up the corporate ladder to serve as chief financial officer of a Quincy-based company that does business around the world.
Becky would draw on those life experiences after her annual screening mammogram in December 2023 at the Blessing Breast Center.
“They noticed something unusual,” she said.
What followed was an experience that Becky describes as, “a roller coaster that ended up being a bump in the road.”
Becky’s story
Becky and Dave were on a vacation out of the country to celebrate Becky’s 65th birthday when the biopsy came back from her unusual
mammogram. Her primary care doctor called immediately with the news. It was breast cancer.
“Devastated,” Becky recalls of her response.
“How can this be happening to us again?” Dave added about his feelings that day. Becky survived thyroid cancer in 1999. “She beat cancer once,” he said. “We shouldn’t have to go through this again.”
While still on vacation, Becky began assembling her nationally certified Blessing Health care team which ultimately included surgeon Emmanuel Bessay, MD; medical oncologist Kellie Flippin, MD; radiation oncologist Rob Johnson, MD; and breast health clinical navigator Jessica Nuebel, MSN, RN.
After her initial response of devastation, the leader in Becky took charge.
“We were going to approach it as quick as we could,” she said. “I didn’t want to be stalled.”
Here is the roller coaster part
During her first meeting with Dr. Flippin, the need for pre-and-post surgery chemotherapy was mentioned. The entire process, including surgery and recovery from surgery, was expected to take about a year.
Becky burst into tears before her inner-leader kicked in again.
“I’m sitting there going, ‘Okay Becky, you’ve done a lot. You’ve raised four daughters. You were a chief financial officer. You’ve done a lot of things that have shocked your system in the past.”
After that self-conversation, Becky was ready immediately to hear the details of her expected chemotherapy.
“You have to know where you are going, the roadmap to figure out what you need to do,” she said. “Every company has its ups and downs and you have to figure out how to navigate the downs. It’s no different when raising four daughters. It’s just who I am.”
Here is the bump in the road part
A week later, after attending a healing prayer service at Blessed Sacrament Church in Quincy, Becky had her second appointment with Dr. Flippin. It would change the course of her treatment because new national guidelines had come out a few days earlier. Becky’s care team got together, reviewed her test results and determined she no longer needed chemotherapy based on the new national care standards.
“You talk about some happy campers,” Becky exclaimed. “I jumped up and said, ‘Doctor, can I give you a hug?’ A week before we were crying
because we were devastated. Now we were crying because we were happy.”
Becky had a lumpectomy on February 29, 2024. After recovery from surgery, she had 21 radiation oncology treatments over four weeks. Those concluded April 23, considerably shorter than the expected treatment process.
“It ended up being less than 100 days from the day I found out I had breast cancer to the day I was cancer free,” Becky said. She continues to take estrogen-blocking medication to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.
“I cannot say enough about Blessing,” she continued. “The care was very good all along the way.”
Dave agrees, comparing it to Mayo Clinic where Becky was treated for thyroid cancer 25 years earlier.
“When we dealt with Blessing we got the same feeling we did at Mayo Clinic in 1999,” he said. “We knew that these people were talking to each other, and had the expertise that was required.”
Becky shares three pieces of advice
Becky was on the phone several times with her insurance company when pre-approvals of tests and medications were taking longer than she
expected. ‘
And even though she has a history of breast cancer in her family, and genetic testing showed she was at higher risk than average for breast cancer, Becky decided not to have a double mastectomy. She said research she and Dave did led them to that decision for a number of reasons.
“I believe you have to be an advocate for yourself,” Becky said. “Make sure you are comfortable with your decisions. Your medical team can recommend different options to you. Understand what those options mean for you, what they mean in your life.”
Advice #2: “Make sure you have your annual mammograms. It’s a simple thing,” she continued. “My tumor was very small. I could not feel it myself. It was only caught through the mammogram.”
Advice #3: “God and faith also have a big part in it,” Becky concluded.
About screening mammograms
Women at average breast cancer risk should begin undergoing screening mammograms at age 40.
The American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging recommends that women undergo a risk assessment at the age of 25 with their primary care provider to determine if breast cancer screening mammography is needed prior to age 40.
The organizations also recommend women continue to undergo screening mammograms to age 74, unless their primary care provider recommends otherwise.
To schedule a screening mammogram at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield, or Blessing Health Hannibal in Missouri call 217-223-8400, ext. 4300.