October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign about the impact of breast cancer. Raising breast cancer awareness is especially important for all of us at the IIAW. To recognize the impact of breast cancer on our lives and to advocate the importance of self-exams, we’re sharing stories from our team. Learn more about the personal and unique experiences from the IIAW, as they open up to help raise awareness and support others on a similar journey:

Mallory Cornell: My mom, Regi Tomasovich (1958-2006), was my biggest fan, despite standing 5” shorter than me. She always had my back and she was my best friend. At the young age of 45, my mom discovered a lump in her right breast. She went through aggressive chemotherapy and seemed to be on a promising road to remission. Almost 3 years to the date of her last chemo treatment, something did not feel right. She returned to the doctor and received the news that the cancer had returned with a vengeance. It spread into her lungs and her hip and then eventually, into her brain. In just 5 short months, she was taken from us at the age of 48. We had no family history of cancer and she didn’t have any “bad habits”. I believe that if she had the same experience today, the outcome would’ve been much more positive given the advancements made thanks to research and advocacy. My story doesn’t have a happy ending, but that’s OK. I’m a strong woman, because a strong woman raised me. It’s my voice that must keep fighting for a cure. Please do your self-exams, get your mammogram and support those in your life who might be battling with their own fight.

Matt Banaszynski: My mother, Christine Banaszynski, was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 10 years old. She was a healthy, young mother of a 10-year old, 8 year old, and 5 year old. She discovered a lump in her breast on her own and went to the doctor for further tests.

Unfortunately, three weeks went by, and she never heard back from the doctor. She assumed it was good news, but thankfully my father, who was a health care executive at the time, pushed her to follow up. She talks about how she was scared, and that ignorance can be bliss, but ultimately called to follow-up. She was very glad that she did. When she followed up with the doctor’s office, they didn’t have good news to share. They were certain it was cancer, but needed to do a biopsy. She switched doctors and her new doctor performed the biopsies. The results came back that she had cancer and that it had spread to her lymph nodes and multiple other places in her body. She immediately underwent a mastectomy and aggressive chemotherapy for 6 months.

Thanks be to God’s grace, she ultimately beat cancer against staggering odds and continues to live a healthy life at the age of 67. She is routinely checked to see if the cancer has come back. She credits her self-breast exam, being an advocate for herself and living a healthy lifestyle as to why she is alive today to see her grandchildren grow up.

Trisha Ours: I am in the best shape and health of my life and I have cancer, how can this be? In July of this year I found a lump in my left breast. At the time I thought maybe it was related to my cycle, so I decided to keep an eye on it. By the end of August, I noticed it was still there and it felt much different. It is hard to explain, but it was like there was a rope inside of me. I was scared and immediately scheduled an appointment with my Doctor. He didn’t seem to be very concerned during the exam, but still ordered a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound because I was worried about it. I thought I would get in right away, but due to scheduling, I had to wait 17 days. I immersed myself in my work, exercise, gardening and spending time with my kids to keep my anxiety at bay. When the day of the appointment finally arrived, I was extremely nervous but was trying to remain calm and positive. The tech explained the procedure and said that I may not need an ultrasound but that they would schedule one just in case. Well, after reviewing my mammogram images, I did need an ultrasound. During the ultrasound, I watched the screen as the sonographer captured image after image. I started to worry when I saw the black spots and she started to put measurement makers on them.

When she was done, she left the room to review with the radiologist. It felt like she was gone forever, and I thought I was going to have a panic attack as my mind kept thinking about the images I just saw. When she returned with the radiologist they went over the images and recommended that I come back for not just one but three biopsies. My heart sank as I agreed to come back in the afternoon.

I text my husband, mom and some of my closest friends to let them know I had to have a biopsy as I walked to my car to go home. They told me I wouldn’t be able to do much for a few days after, so I decided to eat and do two workouts before I went back. One of my best friends happened to be in the area for work and offered to come with me for the biopsy because she didn’t want me to be alone. At first, I wasn’t going to let her come along, but she was not taking no for answer.

They took samples from two areas in my breast and one lymph node under my armpit that appeared suspicious and placed clip markers in each of the biopsy areas. After that, they did another mammogram to make sure the clips were in place. The radiologist came in and told me everything went well, but then told me I should start looking into a breast surgeon because it was likely cancer! Everything after that was a blur, but I will never forget how upset and concerned his face looked as he tried to reassure me that medicine has come along way and they would get me through it. I had no emotion. I was completely numb as I told my friend when I saw her in the waiting room. Then, I waited for what seemed like an eternity for the call that would change my life and enter me into this club of “1 in 8 women” that I never asked to be a part of. When the doctor said, “You have cancer,” I thanked him for not sugar-coating things after my biopsy, hung up the phone, and broke down in tears. How was I going to tell my family and friends this news? I was devastated. When I met with the surgeon, I was told it is Stage 1A triple positive invasive ductal carcinoma with a grade of 2 for aggressiveness on a scale of 1-3. I was also told that I can be re-staged many times throughout my journey with cancer. I have faith that I will get through this, but I keep thinking if I had not been proactive with self-checks, I could still be sitting here thinking everything is fine and could be in a much more dire situation.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a tough battle ahead of me, but I have an amazing medical team and the best support system anyone could ask for.

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According to WSAW.TV, “In Wisconsin, 5,200 women have been or will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.” In addition to wearing pink throughout the month and donating to breast cancer research, make sure that you are taking the necessary precautions to detect breast cancer early. The best way to detect breast cancer is to perform a self-exam at least once a month. Self-exams require you to feel for lumps or changes in your breasts, and it’s also important to check the tissue as high as your collar bone and under your armpits. Checking monthly will allow you to know what is normal for your body and detect changes. A great way to remember these monthly exams is to set an alarm or a calendar reminder. If you notice something has changed, make sure you go to your doctor to get it checked out.

Additionally, the IIAW is raising money for breast cancer research in honor of Trisha. METAvivor is an organization dedicated to the specific fight of women and men living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. If you would like to donate, please head to our team page:

donate.metavivor.org/team/383943. 100% of every donation to METAvivor and 100% of every fundraiser (after event expenses) goes into their research grants.