Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/84343
"For a split second I thought, And then I realized 'Why me?' 'Why not?'" "My breast implants were the best $6,000 I've ever spent in my life," declares Michele Wilkinson. Wilkinson, a tanned and radiant 43-year-old speaks animated- ly and earnestly about the elective surgery she had in 2003. After pregnancy and breast-feeding dramatically altered the shape of her breasts, Wilkinson didn't think twice about the procedure. And yet, Wilkinson explains that she is planning to have them removed. "They've served their purpose," she says. "It's time to close this chapter." The chapter Wilkinson refers to began in August 2008 when, during a self-breast exam, she felt a lump. After a month, when the lump was still there, she called her nurse practitioner to schedule an appointment for the following morning. What followed was the chain of events that led to words no one wants to hear. After a mammogram, ultrasound, and a biopsy, Wilkinson got the call: The biopsy had tested positive for cancer. She was diagnosed with grade II invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). According to the American Cancer Society, IDC is the most com- into a positive turning point. She viewed the diagnosis as a chance to embrace a fresh perspective on life. Along the way, she accom- plished feats she'd never dreamed possible. From the get go, Wilkinson was determined to make the best of her cancer treatment. She resolved that cancer would take a back- seat to her own terms, and treatment would be experienced as she saw fit. "For my first treatment," she shares, "I decided to make a bad experience into something positive." She and her husband, Bren- don, turned her chemotherapy infusion into a special occasion by bringing in lunch and movie, which they watched together as the medication was dispensed. She laughs. "My husband said it would have been a great date if I wasn't getting poison pumped into my body." Approaching another unpleasant milestone of treating cancer— mon form of breast cancer and is defined as cancer that has spread beyond a milk duct into the surrounding tissue of the breast. Hav- ing expected to hear that her lump was benign, the news caught Wilkinson completely off guard. "It was Sept. 22, 2008, at 10:16 a.m.," she recalls, tears filling was the fact that she didn't fit the typical description of someone at risk for breast cancer. While breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S., two out of three women who are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer are age 55 and older. Wilkin- son, at the time an athletic 39-year-old, who did, as she describes it, "all the right things to be healthy," was justified in asking both "Why?" and "Why not?" Today, as she reflects on the moment she received the life-alter- ing news, Wilkinson laughs. "I have a tip [for women awaiting test results]," she confides, smiling widely. "Don't drive if you're ex- pecting that type of phone call." Wilkinson's ability to see the humor in overwhelming situations is more than a nod to her tenacity—it's a deliberate choice. "I've learned to laugh at a lot of things," she explains. "If you don't laugh, it can be depressing." But as she faced that journey, Wilkinson was doing more than just searching for the bright side in a dim situation. And she wasn't just preparing for the fight of her life against an arresting disease. With her typical gusto, Wilkinson was determined to turn cancer 40 BRAVA Magazine October 2012 losing her hair—she again faced it on her own terms. With her children at her side, the family gathered together and shaved Wilkinson's head. As her treatment progressed, Wilkinson continued to stay active, her eyes. "For a split second I thought, 'Why me?' And then I real- ized 'Why not?'" Making this reality even more difficult for Wilkinson to grasp even when it meant she needed to nap between every activity. At the time of her diagnosis she was a group fitness instructor, and throughout her treatment she continued to teach class, sometimes seated in a chair. After completing the most aggressive treatment sessions, she began to feel better and likewise, her determination to defy cancer grew and she was inspired to compete in more endur- ance events than she'd ever done before. One such instance was a local half marathon. Wilkinson was running alongside a childhood friend, who, at the ten-mile mark, confided that she entered the event thinking that Wilkinson was crazy for attempting the feat. The friend added that Wilkinson had proven her wrong. Wilkinson smiles with satisfaction at the memory. "I was trying to prove everyone wrong." But Wilkinson wanted to do more than make the experience transformative for herself—she wanted to help others. With this new goal as motivation, Wilkinson utilized the marathons to raise funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In 2009, she surpassed her $10,000 goal and raised $24,000, becoming the Madison chap- ter's top individual fundraiser. To top it off, Wilkinson was given a pink cape for her efforts—an accessory she donned with pride as she crossed finish lines in races ahead. But no personal victory has been sweeter than her completion of