Patient Testimonial - “Cancer Is Not My Entire Story, It’s Just a Chapter in My Book”
“I have had a lot of mountains in my life to get to where I am,” says Ashley Patten of Anthon, Iowa. “I didn’t think I could handle more, but I learned I could. Cancer was just another mountain for me to climb. I love my job, the people who have helped me along the way, and I was going to do whatever it took to fly again.”
Ashley was no stranger to challenges, mental and physical battles, running checklists, and doing whatever it took to accomplish a mission. She has nearly 20 years of being a pilot in the military, has completed multiple military deployments, and recently started flying full-time for a commercial airline in addition to her military duties, but in March 2019, battling breast cancer at age 34 became her mission.
Ashley was deployed overseas and says she was extremely fatigued and could really only work her shift and then sleep until the next shift, which was not normal for her. “I was always tired, but I chalked it up to the stress of being in a combat zone,” she says.
Ashley’s deployment ended and she returned home. After a few weeks of recovering at home, she still felt lethargic. Then one morning she woke up and one of her breasts was very swollen, rock hard, and she could feel a large lump. She mentally prepared herself and went to her family doctor who sent her immediately for a mammogram. More imaging and a biopsy were next. Then came the official diagnosis that Ashley had breast cancer.
Ashley’s immediate response was, “Ok, now what? I cannot fly until this is fixed so let’s fix it.”
She said the next steps went quickly and she explained it just like a pre-flight checklist. “Surgery to put in my port. An appointment with my oncologist at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center to get my treatment plan. Education on my treatment and telling me what to expect for side effects. March 26 was my first treatment. Genetic testing. Meeting with my plastic surgeon and putting a plan in place.”
As more testing was done, it was determined Ashley’s cancer was more aggressive so additional treatments were added to her original care plan. “With every change, I kept calculating how many weeks until I got through everything so I could fly again.”
The same week as her April 12th birthday, Ashley had a military funeral and she vividly recalls getting dressed in her military blues and her hair noticeably starting falling out. “I knew this was going to happen and I had braced myself for it, but reality hit me and I broke down hard. Yes, I had had emotional moments since my diagnosis, but my feelings really came to the surface with this. While I did feel better, crying doesn’t fix anything, so I had to pick myself up and move on. So I did – and for my birthday I asked my husband, Greg, for a head shaving party.” And Ashley said it was an awesome birthday party where family and friends shaved her bald.
Ashley had six rounds of chemotherapy in total, one every three weeks. Each round was six bags “of cocktail.” She had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery followed by a month of radiation treatment every day. Ashley then had a total hysterectomy surgery because her type of cancer would be even more aggressive if it came back. This was followed by a year of targeted therapy every 3 weeks. Scans in May 2020 were negative for any residual disease. Ashley continues a daily hormone pill which she will take for another five years (ten years total).
According to Ashley, not being able to fly during her treatment of course was the toughest aspect, but nearly every phase of treatment had its own difficulty like not being able to enjoy her coffee in her favorite Yeti or eat off silverware because of how stainless steel tasted in her mouth or being so weak and tired for a few days after treatment that should could not enjoy the outdoors that she loved or setting different dreams and goals from what she originally had.
“I knew I was tough,” she says. “After all, I was given the call sign “Vader” by my squadron. But I learned I could handle even more than I thought and that positivity, filling your time, and keeping your mind busy matters. I did not want cancer to be who I was. I kept saying cancer is not my entire story, it’s just a chapter in my book.”
Ashley said she had two flight doctors who fought hard for her. As did Dr. Chandana Javvaji, Medical Oncologist, and Sue LeGree, Patient Advocate at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. “They knew how much I wanted to get back to flying. It took a lot – and I didn’t make it easy either. Those two women made me feel like I was not just a number.”
Ashley says she is determined to prove bad stuff happens for a reason. “Cancer taught me I was even stronger than I realized. And now I know I can be someone else’s strength when they don’t think they are strong enough. I can support them and help them find their strength, help them find their ‘why’ to push through their challenging times.”
When she was finally approved to fly again, Ashley went up with her greatest mentor. She said she had the same big grin that flight as she did on her very first mission flight. “I’m still here,” she told herself. “I’m still doing what I love.”
Breast cancer survivor, Ashley Patten and her husband, Greg, celebrating their recent anniversary.
Ashley, not long after her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in September 2019, swearing her stepson into the 185th.
Ashley and Greg with her mom, 5 siblings, sister-in-law, 2 nieces, and 2 nephews the day she rang the bell at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center on her last day of targeted therapy in 2020. Due to COVID, there were visitor restrictions at the Cancer Center so they did this outside. Ashley’s brother made the bell.
Ashley with her Initial Operating Experience (IOE) Captain for her first Southwest flight as First Officer on a Boeing 737. She accomplished this after having breast cancer.