Breast cancer didn’t stop this triathlete from hitting the road

They say life is full of surprises, and this is especially true for Diane Peterson, a former engineer and now stay-at-home mom. At the suggestion of a friend, Diane ran her first marathon in Chicago and qualified for the Boston Marathon. That experience quickly morphed into a love for endurance sports, including triathlons, and she has been competing in races across the country ever since.

“Training and competing in triathlons became a lifestyle for me,” Diane says. “Exercise is one of the best ways to deal with stress and what life throws at you. Competing helps me stay grounded and mentally strong.”

But the surprises didn’t stop there. While Diane never expected to become a 9-time (and counting) Ironman finisher, she also never expected that she’d get breast cancer. It was May of 2016, and Diane had just finished a half Ironman competition in Texas when she noticed a bump on one of her breasts.

Diane immediately reached out to her doctor and eventually had a biopsy. The results confirmed she had breast cancer. Without having a family history or any other personal connections to breast cancer, Diane felt lost and without a plan. Thankfully, she was referred to Dr. Barry Rosen, a breast surgeon on staff at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and as soon as she met him, she knew she was in great hands.

“I met Dr. Rosen the week I was diagnosed. He made it a priority to make room for me in his schedule even if it was at 5 pm on a Friday,” Diane recalls. “He was wonderful and explained that my case of breast cancer was treatable and that I was going to be fine.”

Together, Dr. Rosen and Diane came up with a plan: a lumpectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She became one of the first patients to receive a special implant that marks the location of the breast cancer, allowing doctors to deliver more targeted radiation treatments without damaging healthy tissue. Another benefit of the implant is that it maintains the cosmetic look of the patient’s breast after treatment.

Oncoplastics, which incorporates plastic surgical principles into cancer operations in order to achieve the best cosmetic result without compromising cancer treatment, is a very important part of Dr. Rosen’s practice philosophy. “This is not about vanity—it’s about restoring someone to the state they were in before their cancer diagnosis without any lifelong physical reminders,” says Dr. Rosen.

Throughout her treatment journey, Diane clung to her love of endurance sports as a source of hope.

“Right after my appointment with Dr. Rosen, I ran a half marathon in Starved Rock and became the first woman to finish the race. That win was exactly what I needed at that point in time,” Diane says. “I felt strong after winning that race, so I tried to carry that feeling with me throughout my cancer treatment.”

Throughout the course of her treatment, Diane dialed back her training and competition schedule but strived to exercise every day and maintain normalcy by spending time with loved ones during this dark period of her life. Finally, in November of 2016, she completed her treatment.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Diane wasted no time ramping up her training and scheduling trips to compete in endurance races across the country. After the new year of 2017, she completed a marathon, half Ironman and two full Ironman competitions. And she’s going strong into 2018 with an already packed schedule of endurance races. Her next race – a Ironman in Tennessee – will be in September.

“Whether you have cancer or not, exercise is good for the soul,” Diane says. “I’m also very lucky to have had Dr. Rosen as part of my team to help me maintain my breasts and a full range of motion in my arm. Thanks to him, I can return to my life as it was before.”

###

About Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is part of Advocate Health Care (Advocate), the largest health system in Illinois and one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in the country. A national leader in population health management, Advocate operates nearly 400 sites of care and 12 hospitals, including three of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals, the state’s largest integrated children’s network, five Level I trauma centers (the state’s highest designation in trauma care), three Level II trauma centers, one of the area’s largest home health and hospice companies and one of the region’s largest medical groups. Advocate trains more primary care physicians and residents at its four teaching hospitals than any other health system in the state. As a not-for-profit, mission-based health system affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ, Advocate contributed $692 million in charitable care and services to communities across Chicagoland and Central Illinois in 2016. Advocate is part of Advocate Aurora Health, the 10th largest not-for-profit, integrated health system in the United States. We help people live well. To learn more about Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, please visit us: www.advocatehealth.com/immc.