A routine mammogram revealed the unexpected
Before breast cancer entered her life, Anna Foer was immersed in her art. She was preparing for an artist residency abroad after collaborating virtually with a research team in the Netherlands. In her Baltimore studio, finished pieces and active projects filled the space, and the trip was meant to bring that collaboration into a new setting.
Before she could leave, a routine mammogram showed something unexpected. Anna had no pain, no lump, and no reason to think anything was wrong, but the screening led to follow-up imaging and a biopsy. The result was a diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer, a form of the disease that can be more aggressive and often calls for prompt care. Her plans shifted almost overnight. “Things just happened really, really fast,” she said.
With the residency on hold, Anna stayed in Baltimore and focused on what came next. She received care at the MedStar Franklin Square Cancer Center at Loch Raven Campus, located at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital. Her care brought together a multidisciplinary team of physician experts, including a medical oncologist, breast surgeon, and a radiation oncologist, who worked together to plan treatments. For Anna, that meant each part of the process felt connected, with her doctors aligned around the path ahead.
A coordinated approach for a complex condition
That alignment matters because breast cancer treatment can vary by diagnosis, response, and each patient’s goals. A breast tumor board, where breast cancer specialists discuss cases together, works with a multidisciplinary approach to help the team draw on their collaborative experience, weigh the safest and most effective evidence-based options, and identify a plan to discuss with the patient. “I think it’s a lot of relief to the patient to have a good understanding of who the people are and that we’re communicating,” said Paul Fowler, MD, radiation oncologist.
That approach continues at the comprehensive breast clinic, where patients can meet with multiple members of their care team in one visit. Before the appointment, the medical team convenes in conference to review the case, with input from diagnostic radiologists and pathologists. Afterward, patients may connect with a nurse navigator, a research team member if a clinical trial is applicable, and physical and occupational therapists who assist with pre-habilitation to help build strength and resilience, depending on individual needs.
For Anna, the next step in that process was chemotherapy. Mahsa Mohebtash, MD, hematologist and oncologist, guided Anna’s therapy with medicines that travel through the bloodstream to reach cancer cells throughout the body. For some patients with triple negative breast cancer, starting this way can reduce or eliminate cancer before surgery and help guide the rest of the plan.
The chemotherapy worked well. After meeting with Anna earlier in her treatment journey and following her response to chemotherapy, Maen Farha, MD, breast surgeon, performed her lumpectomy, a procedure that removes cancer while preserving as much of the breast as possible. When the tissue was examined, doctors found no remaining cancer. It was encouraging news, though radiation still remained.
Because a lumpectomy preserves breast tissue, radiation was recommended next to help destroy any microscopic cancer cells that could remain and lower the risk of the cancer returning in the breast. Dr. Fowler treated Anna’s left breast using deep inspiration breath hold. During each session, she would take a deep breath and hold it briefly, creating more space between the breast and heart to help protect nearby healthy tissue.
Her team also used the Halcyon™ linear accelerator, a precise form of radiation therapy designed to deliver treatment quickly and efficiently. For patients, that can mean shorter visits, less time lying still, and a more comfortable experience.
Looking back, Anna often returns to the people who helped her through each step. “I was very, very, very impressed with the doctor and those nurses,” she said. “Those oncology nurses are in a class of their own.”
Turning appointment wristbands into art
During chemotherapy and periods of reduced energy, she stepped back from the art world, putting many professional opportunities on hold—a humbling experience for an artist accustomed to building career momentum. Still, she found small ways to document her experience at the intersection of creativity and healing.
Throughout treatment, Anna held on to the wristbands from her appointments. “I saved them all,” she said. Later, those wristbands became one of the main elements in a collage she submitted for consideration for an American Cancer Society art initiative featuring work that reflects how cancer has affected people’s lives. She cut the wristbands into needle-like shapes and layered them with mammogram images and surgical sutures from her medical journey. The piece also nods to a larger story in cancer care: how compounds found in nature can become life-changing treatments through scientific innovation.
Art remains central to Anna’s life today. For others facing a breast cancer diagnosis, Anna offers practical hope: “Be very kind to yourself,” she said. She encourages people to give themselves time and grace to heal, without expecting recovery to look the same every day or match the simplified version often shown on TV.
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