Arline

Arline Kallick
Diagnosed age 36, 30-year survivor
Y-ME Hotline Counselor

"I think every breast cancer patient first needs to find out what she is facing. You can manage a situation better if you understand it. Try and get some control when you feel out of control."

In 1981, Arline was a 36-year-old mother of two small children, ages two and five, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent a modified radical mastectomy and followed that with bilateral breast reconstruction.

Arline wanted to talk to someone who could understand what it meant for a young mother to be facing breast cancer. Her mother saw an ad for Y-ME. Arline called the Hotline, got support, and was matched to someone in similar circumstances. She has been a Hotline counselor since then, and has worked on many Y-ME events and projects.

“I wanted to help other people in the same way that Y-ME helped me," she says. "It was a natural step for me because I had been a social worker. The treatments have changed so much over the years. There are so many new options for breast cancer patients, but the need to talk to someone who has gone through what you are going through has not changed."

What would she tell a young mother facing breast cancer today? Arline was open with her five-year-old daughter about what was happening to her because she thought she would be more afraid of something that she didn't understand.

"I think every breast cancer patient first needs to find out what she is facing. You can manage a situation better if you understand it. I tell people that bad things do happen, having breast cancer is one of those, and that they need to gather their strength and see it through. You need to have confidence in your doctor and educate yourself. You need to get support, let people help you, get some of that strength from others."

For women facing more advanced disease or a more uncertain prognosis, she says, it is important to provide hope and remind them that there are many treatment options available.

"The main thing I tell all my callers is to try and live the life you want. I know it can be hard when you aren’t feeling well or you're scared, but try to enjoy life as much as possible.”