A SURVIVOR’S STORY
Nineteen years ago, doctors told Anna Kovach her risk of breast cancer returning was less than two percent. Yet this past August, she rang the bell to mark the end of her second battle with the disease. At 45, Anna shares her story of resilience, hope, and paying it forward to other women.
At 26, Anna noticed an uncomfortable lump above her left breast. She mentioned it to her doctor during an annual checkup, leading to a mammogram and abnormal needle biopsy that revealed a frightening reality.
“I had taken off work to wait for a call back,” Anna recalls. “Everything moved quickly from there. My surgery was three weeks later.”
Although doctors caught the cancer early, Anna chose a bilateral mastectomy due to her family history. The procedure removed and reconstructed both breasts, lowering her chance of recurrence to just two percent.
“Imagine my surprise 19 years later when another lump was found during a gynecological appointment,” she says. Since Anna no longer had breast tissue, the aggressive grade 3 tumor had formed in her chest wall.
“We threw everything at it. I didn’t want to take any chances,” Anna explains of the chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, and another reconstructive surgery performed by the Plastic Surgery Group.
Dr. Robert Chandler of Plastic Surgery Group performed the reconstruction, recommended by her previous surgeon, Dr. Adams.
“Dr. Chandler is an amazing doctor, soft-spoken and lovely. I told him how I wanted my breasts to look and trusted his eye. I’m very pleased with the results.”
Anna credits her healthy lifestyle for helping her handle chemotherapy. “In my 30s, I started working out and eating healthier, and now I feel better in my 40s than ever,” she explains. “I went into treatment already in a good spot.”
As she recovers, Anna is giving her body time to regain stamina and energy. “I try to listen to my body and rest, but it’s difficult with five children.”
When Anna and her husband shared the news of her diagnosis, her 14-year-old daughter immediately asked, “Will you lose your hair?” That question motivated Anna to try Cold Capping, a treatment that freezes hair follicles to reduce hair loss.
“I still lost some hair, thinning at the crown and behind the ears, but it wasn’t really noticeable,” Anna says. “It’s such an outward sign of being sick, so it’s meaningful that there’s an option to avoid that stress.”
Soon after completing treatment, Anna began paying it forward. She raised $2,075 for Hair to Stay, a nonprofit subsidizing Cold Capping for underprivileged women. “If I can help even one woman keep her hair and dignity, I will,” she says. Her fundraiser will support two women through the organization.
“Life doesn’t stop for cancer, and neither do kids, so I just had to keep going,” says Anna, who worked throughout the experience. For her, surviving cancer a second time isn’t the end of her story but the start of a mission to help others. Whether raising funds or encouraging friends to get mammograms, Anna is determined to return the kindness she received and turn her journey into hope for others.
Help Anna raise money for Cold Capping for underprivileged women. Visit Hairtostay.networkforgood.com/projects/ 250976-anna-kovach-s-fundraiser.
By Shlomit Ovadia
Photo by Tindall Stephens
