In April of 2018, Audrey Seeliger of Maud, Oklahoma, noticed “something different” about her left breast. With her annual mammogram and gynecologist appointment already scheduled in a couple of weeks, she decided to wait and mention it then.
Following her mammogram, she recalls the technician speaking kindly and recommending an ultrasound. “Thinking back, I guess I was in denial,” Seeliger said. “I recall thinking the tech was talking about making an appointment in a month or so. But instead, she took me down for the ultrasound right then, that day. By this time, I knew something was not right.”
Later that day, she saw Dr. Stephen Trotter, now retired, from SSM Health Medical Group in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He scheduled her for a biopsy. “You always think this sort of thing happens to someone else, not you,” Seeliger said. “So I went on about my world and didn’t think much about it.”
She was surprised when she received a call directly from Dr. Trotter, who told her the mass could be cancerous. “I kept plugging along, probably still in denial,” she said. “That was in mid-April. Then things really picked up. The pathology came back with the cancer diagnosis.”
Seeliger was referred to Dr. Stephanie Taylor, a breast surgeon at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, who scheduled her for surgery. “My husband and I had a trip scheduled at the end of May, and I told her we were going to do that first.” But her husband insisted the trip could wait.
After undergoing surgery at the end of May, Seeliger thought, “OK, this is the end of it. Now I can get on with my life.” But when the surgeon told her she was scheduling a visit with an oncologist, Seeliger asked why—hadn’t the tumor been removed?
“That was when I started my journey with Dr. Aleda Toma.”
Dr. Aleda Toma, an oncologist with SSM Health Cancer Care at St. Anthony Hospital – Shawnee, explained to Seeliger that due to her elevated risk of recurrence, she would need to undergo both chemotherapy and radiation.
In early July, Seeliger received an implant and port during a procedure at SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, marking the beginning of what she calls her “chemotherapy journey.”
“It was a very intense period of time. I never thought I would be doing something so difficult,” she said. “But I would not be here today if not for the team of doctors and caregivers I had at SSM Health; they were there for me from start to finish. They took care of me like I was family.”
She developed a close bond with her chemo nurse, Cindy, whom she still visits regularly.
Supporting her throughout the journey were her entire family, her “gang of girlfriends,” and her employer, the Avedis Foundation in Shawnee, where she works in external relations and special events.
“I had a village of people who lifted me up and supported me. I feel very blessed to have that support system.”
Seeliger completed her treatment with a hormone blocker, which she took for several years to reduce the chance of recurrence.
“When I was officially declared in remission and got my golden ticket, I was initially reluctant to ring the bell, knowing that some patients have different outcomes and never get the chance to ring it,” she recalled. “But one of my team members told me, ‘Go ahead and ring it. This is why we do what we do.’”
“Now, six years out, I am healthy and I am active, thanks to the great care I have received from SSM Health.”
