After Breast Cancer, Dr. Jann Built the Care She Needed
When Dr. Jann Turpin was nursing her daughter Ashley in 2017, she felt a pea-sized hard spot in her breast. Realizing that it was more than a clogged milk duct, she told her doctor during her routine exam, and imaging was ordered right away.
“The spot looked suspicious on imaging, but doctors thought it would be a low probability that I had cancer because I was breastfeeding, so they sent me home and told me to go back if there were any changes,” says Dr. Jann. “Then 6-7 weeks later I had a persistent ache in
my underarm on the same side as the suspicious spot, and I went back in for a biopsy.”
At 43 years old, with a little one to care for, she was diagnosed with stage 3 IDC luminal B breast cancer. It was an aggressive form of cancer, and Dr. Jann was told she needed the toughest treatment available.
"Like so many people who have chemotherapy, my body didn't tolerate it," explains Dr. Jann. "I ended up in the hospital because it weakened my immune system. After leaving the hospital the second time, doctors imaged me again, and it showed that the main tumor had shrunk but the cancer was spreading throughout the lymph nodes."
Jann was also diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). She had a total (simple) mastectomy, which removes the entire breast.
"I had no other choice; the cancer didn’t respond well to the chemo. Every time I had a hospital stay, my treatments were delayed. The cancer spread to every duct and many lymph nodes so, the surgery couldn't wait," recalls Jann.
What was left behind after cancer treatment was neuropathy and a realization that she could help cancer patients like herself with specialized treatments to ease their pain.
"I was having acupuncture throughout my cancer journey, and that led me to find new ways to help myself, and a realization that what I was learning could help other cancer patients find relief too," explains Dr. Jann.
When she opened Riverplace Acupuncture Integrative Health, Dr. Jann knew she wanted to help others through their cancer journeys. Through targeted acupuncture treatments for fatigue, depression, numbness, and tingling, Dr. Jann can ease many of the physical complications associated with cancer surgery and treatment.
"Acupuncture can support patients at every stage of this journey, through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. I am proud to help my patients feel better during one of the hardest times of their lives," says Dr. Jann. "Even now, I still live with residual pain and neuropathy from my treatment, and I use these same treatments on myself to keep circulation optimal in my hands and feet."
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Dr. Jann is telling her story in print for the first time because of how it began. She found cancer herself. She paid attention to her own body, and she acted on what she felt. Her message to every person reading is simple: know your body, and when something does not feel right, do not explain it away. Get checked.
Dr. Jann treats the pain she knows. Schedule your consult at Riverplace Acupuncture Integrative Health and learn more about the solutions available to support your journey.
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