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In God’sHands<br />
Susan Marquez<br />
It’s no accident that Leigh Cochran had an unscheduled<br />
mammogram just after her 40th birthday in 2014. “I wasn’t<br />
scheduled for a mammogram, but when I went to see my<br />
gynecologist, Dr. Darden North, for my annual checkup, he<br />
insisted that I have one while I was there.”<br />
Cochran, a Brandon resident, had no history of cancer in<br />
her family, and no real reason to suspect that there would be<br />
any problems with the routine mammogram. Yet doctors<br />
reviewing the results saw something wrong. “They saw<br />
something that didn’t look right, and thought it was probably<br />
nothing, but because it was my first ever<br />
mammogram, they had nothing to compare<br />
it to. I was sent to Women’s Hospital to have<br />
a 3-D mammogram done, and they found<br />
a spot on one of my breasts.” A biopsy was<br />
done, followed by a lumpectomy. “I was<br />
diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ,”<br />
explained Cochran.<br />
According to the Mayo Clinic website,<br />
ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the<br />
presence of abnormal cells inside a milk<br />
duct in the breast. It is considered the earliest form of breast<br />
cancer and it is noninvasive, meaning it hasn’t spread out of<br />
the milk duct to invade other parts of the breast. DCIS is<br />
usually found during a mammogram done as part of breast<br />
cancer screening or when there is another concern with a<br />
woman’s breast. While DCIS isn’t life-threatening, it does<br />
require treatment to prevent the condition from becoming<br />
invasive. Most women with DCIS are effectively treated<br />
with breast-conserving surgery and radiation.<br />
Since Cochran’s cancer was discovered early, she did not<br />
require radiation or chemotherapy.<br />
What she did have was a mastectomy,<br />
and that was harder than she had<br />
anticipated. “I had issues, and I didn’t<br />
heal right. I had to go back and have<br />
more work done. In all, I had five<br />
surgeries in one year.”<br />
During that time, Cochran leaned<br />
heavily on her faith along with family<br />
and friends for support. “This experience<br />
deepened my faith, no doubt,” she laughed.<br />
<strong>Hometown</strong> <strong>Rankin</strong> • 15
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