Flying High: Breast Cancer Never Grounded Patient
At her annual gynecological exam, Alexa “Lexi” Paluzzi wasn’t too worried when the doctor felt a small lump in her breast. She was only 33, and there was no history of breast cancer in her family, so she breathed a sigh of relief when doctors said it was probably a hormone-related cyst that would go away on its own.
Ms. Paluzzi continued her busy life, traveling the world as a flight attendant, crushing her workouts at Orange Theory and on her long-distance runs, and spending time with her parents and siblings. But six months later, the lump hadn’t disappeared. In fact, Ms. Paluzzi now had a second lump.
An ultrasound led to a mammogram, which led to a biopsy. And then a diagnosis.
“She had a very specific type of breast cancer, commonly referred to as triple positive, meaning that her tumor was receptor-positive, progesterone receptor positive, and HER2 positive,” says Angelina The, M.D., Ms. Paluzzi’s medical oncologist at the Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, part of Baptist Health. “It is an aggressive type of breast cancer.”
The news came as a surprise to Ms. Paluzzi. “I had no pain, symptoms, or irritation,” she says. “I was in the best shape of my life. Certainly, I didn’t feel like I had cancer. I was shocked.”
Ms. Paluzzi had one other factor that can make diagnosing breast cancer more of a challenge. She had breast implants. “Both silicone and saline implants have the potential to obscure the visualization of tissue around the implant,” Dr. The says. “Often, the radiologist recommends what’s called implant displacement, where they push the implant against the chest wall and pull the surrounding tissue outward, but sometimes that can be uncomfortable for the patient, especially if there is any scar tissue. Sometimes, we need additional imaging to evaluate those patients better.”
Despite a breast cancer diagnosis at a young age, Ms. Paluzzi felt encouraged when she attended the Multimodality Clinic at Lynn Cancer Institute. “I guess I didn’t realize what it was until I sat down with this entire team of doctors,” she says. “I met with someone who specializes in genetics. I met with my breast surgeon, oncologist, and radiation oncologist. A whole team was working together to develop a plan for me, specifically. I was assured that I was getting the best treatment possible. It was reassuring.”
Ms. Paluzzi’s genetic testing came back with no known hereditary mutations that would put her at high risk for breast cancer, and she opted to freeze some of her eggs so that she’d be able to have children in the future. Her treatment included six cycles of chemotherapy with four different medications to shrink the tumor before surgery, then a mastectomy. She also had reconstructive surgery and is now on long-term recurrence prevention medications that block hormones and help the body recognize and destroy cancer cells.
“Alexa is in remission. She has no signs of any active disease,” Dr. The says. “She is working full time. She exercises on a regular basis. We encourage her to live a healthy life.”