Local San Bernardino county resident Tasha Champion has a passion for helping people. She is an empowerment coach, speaker, best-selling author…and a breast cancer survivor. She helps other women and their families get through diagnosis and recovery.
Diagnosed at the age of 35, Tasha’s story is unique in that she and her sister fought breast cancer at the same time. Their mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1990s at the age of 37. In 2015, her doctor encouraged her to get tested for BRCA 1 (a breast cancer susceptibility gene). Although she was initially reluctant, they explained that if she is positive, her three daughters would need to test. Turns out they were all positive for this gene mutation.
All three sisters opted for a double mastectomy with reconstruction to reduce their risk of cancer. But for two of them, it was already too late.
During Tasha’s elective double mastectomy, a mass was found that was confirmed to be triple negative breast cancer.
Just two weeks earlier, her older sister had been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in the exact same way, during the elective double mastectomy. A second surgery to test lymph nodes confirmed it had just begun to spread.
Dr. Reena Vora, Chief of Oncology for Kaiser Permanente San Bernardino County, has been Tasha’s physician since the time of her diagnosis.
“It is not uncommon to have multiple family members diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “But it isn’t common for it to happen two weeks apart. In this case, they all underwent testing at the same time.”
Tasha and her sister each had to undergo chemo due to the aggressiveness of the breast cancer – Tasha at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center and her sister at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills. It was decided neither needed radiation.
“As much as nobody wants to be diagnosed, it was a gift,” Tasha said, reflecting on going through treatment with her sister. “We did it side by side. We kept each other encouraged and supported each other.”
Tasha is also grateful for the care they both received – not only throughout their treatment but beginning with the testing that diagnosed them.
“Without Kaiser Permanente’s proactive testing, we wouldn’t be here today.”
Today, both sisters are doing well. Since her recovery, Tasha has found her purpose writing and coaching others.
“Speaking about my story is what I do and love,” she said. “Sharing my story has become a passion. The more I share, the closer we get to more people getting tested.”
In recent years, more younger women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, highlighting the need to get screened early – especially if there’s a family history like with Tasha and her sisters. Per the American Society of Breast Surgeons guidelines, Dr. Vora recommends women should undergo a formal risk assessment for breast cancer at age 25, and women with an average risk of breast cancer should initiate yearly screening mammography at age 40.
Luckily for Tasha – because of her family history – screening started early, and her cancer was caught.
Dr. Vora noted, “Tasha is a great example of how even with aggressive forms of breast cancer, such as triple negative disease, when detected in the early stage, can have a great prognosis and cure.”