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Breast cancer awareness 'A little bump in the road': Hooversville woman recalls battle with cancer
Tribune-Democrat - 10/13/2018
Oct. 13--Hooversville resident Michelle Callihan said she has always led a healthy, active lifestyle and has no history of breast cancer in her family.
In high school, she played basketball, softball and volleyball. She was a member of a traveling softball team and played for Conemaugh Hospital's softball team when she worked there as a nurse.
Her life changed, however, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2001 at the age of 44.
Her journey began when, one day, she found a lump on her breast during a self-examination. A biopsy later determined it was cancer.
"I was overwhelmed and in disbelief," she said in a telephone interview. "When the physician came into the room and shut the door and said it was cancer, I was in shock. My son Isaac, who was 5 years old, came home from school and said, 'Mommy, are you going to die?'
"I knew I was going to do everything in my power to fight the cancer," she said.
Callihan understood the challenge that lay ahead. She was a graduate of Conemaugh School of Nursing and had been an operating room nurse at Conemaugh Hospital in Johnstown. She earned a bachelor's degree from Pitt-Johnstown and a master's degree in nursing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Armed with all the information she could gather about breast cancer -- and with the advice of her close friend Sue and Sue's husband, Dr. Carl Konvolinka -- Callihan decided that surgery and chemotherapy offered her the best chance of survival.
"It was a tough decision," she said, "but you make your decision and never look back, because this is a little bump in the road."
Complicating her situation, however, was the fact that a major pharmaceutical company offered her a job as a sales representative just one day after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, the company gave her time to seek treatment.
"They basically said I didn't have to come on board right away," Callihan said.
She worked for the company from 2001 until 2009. Today, she is a health facility quality examiner for the state of Pennsylvania, where she inspects nursing homes. She has been cancer-free for 17 years.
"I believe everything happens for a reason," she said. "I've learned to be thankful and appreciate every day. I try to encourage others. I send a lot of cards when someone is sick. A card, a phone call, a visit to someone who has been diagnosed with cancer will help brighten their day."
Callihan credits the power of prayer -- and her family, including husband Brad and 22-year-old Isaac -- with comforting her and giving her strength to help others.
"I've learned to maintain a positive attitude through the ordeal," she said.
Today, she grows large pumpkins and is a member of the Pennsylvania Pumpkin Growers Association. She also enjoys spending time with the family's dogs, a West Highland white terrier and two Cairn terriers.
Patrick Buchnowski is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 532-5061. Follow him on Twitter @PatBuchnowskiTD.
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