Brenda Atkins Lockley had no history of breast cancer in her family. So she wasn’t sure what to think after unexpectedly discovering a lump on her breast the same night of her 40th wedding anniversary celebration. The joy she felt after marking this milestone with her beloved husband was replaced by worry when Brenda learned she had triple-negative breast cancer.

Knowing the variety of treatment options to consider and decisions to be made can seem overwhelming, the multidisciplinary care team at St. Clair Health made sure Brenda and her family not only understood but felt good about the proposed treatment plan during their initial consultations.

“My consultations are at least one hour or more so I can go through the biology of what’s going on, the disease stage, the prognosis, and what we’re going to do about it. We go through everything,” shares Sarwat B. Ahmad, MD, of St. Clair Medical Group Breast & General Surgery. “Patients usually come to me with so much fear and uncertainty, but I often see that anxiety melt away by the end of our conversation as we help make this curveball seem more manageable.”

Brenda’s treatment plan included six months of chemotherapy and an immunotherapy regimen, followed by surgery, and finally radiation therapy. While the chemotherapy effectively wiped out Brenda’s cancer cells, Dr. Ahmad proceeded with surgery as planned to ensure all tests came back negative — which they did. Brenda was cancer free!

“Brenda had a really excellent response to the chemo, which allowed us to do just a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy,” explains Dr. Ahmad. “Her complete pathological response to the chemo is a good indicator for prognosis going forward, but we still recommended she complete radiation to reduce the risk of recurrence.”

A personalized treatment plan. Support from loved ones. Unwavering faith. All of this played a role in successfully treating Brenda’s aggressive type of breast cancer. And now, after beating the odds, Brenda is committed to raising awareness to ensure others in her community can do the same.

At St. Clair Health, Brenda is more than a patient. Knowing she is also a devout Christian, a supportive wife and mother, and a compassionate community leader meant her care team built a specific and customized plan to ensure Brenda could continue living her life how she wants to live it during treatment and beyond.

Learn more about Brenda’s story here.

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