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Breast cancer survivor recounts journey
A two-time breast cancer survivor and former Miss Florida USA is urging all young women to look for the signs of the disease. FOX 13’s Danielle Zulkosky reports.
TAMPA - Kristen Berset had it all. Crowned Miss Florida USA 2004, top 10 in the Miss USA pageant and on her way to her dream career as a TV news anchor, but a breast cancer diagnosis stopped her in her tracks and that's why she is encouraging all women to know the warning signs.
The backstory:
"I found a lump when I was doing a self-breast exam in the shower," Berset said. "So, I went to a doctor and had him check it out, and he said it was a cyst, and let's watch it and come back. So he misdiagnosed me twice."
Berset saved her own life with a simple at-home breast exam. A step she says too many women skip.
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But, it took a full year before a doctor in a new state took her seriously and diagnosed the disease because she said her initial doctor told her the lump was a cyst.
"Went to a doctor, and they right away were like, this is not what it should be," Berset said. "Fast forward 24 hours, I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 27-years-old."
The doctors had no idea why Berset had cancer and, by all accounts, she should not have the disease.
"I have no family history. The doctors actually said to me, we don't know why you got breast cancer," Berset said. "They tested my genes. I don't have the BRCA gene, no family history. Doctors had no idea why."
Breast cancer comes back
Dig deeper:
Berset's cancer came back for a second time when she was 33.
"As soon as I felt it, I knew," Berset said. "I knew right away what it was."
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She was back in treatment immediately, but this time with better technology and treatments thanks to health advances.
"We've made extreme strides in terms of having more precise, targeted treatments for different types of cancers so that people could have a better quality of life," Berset said. "Instead of just throwing the book at everybody, each patient can have a more personalized, customized treatment."
How she's helping others
Now, Berset spends her time advocating for other cancer patients as an ambassador for Gateway for Cancer Research. This group focuses a lot of resources on clinical trials for early-stage cancer patients.
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"They do bold early phase clinical trials that not only focus on the traditional outcomes of cancer research, but also just improving the patients' lives," Berset said.
Every dollar donated goes directly to cancer research. Gateway has already invested $25 million into breast cancer research alone.
"That is their sole focus of finding these new medicines, these new treatments that will ease the burden for cancer patients, make their lives better," Berset said.
Berset said that anything can help in the fight against breast cancer, small fundraisers, campaigns to raise awareness and donations to make scientific advancements in the fight against this disease.
The Source: This story was written based on FOX 13 reporter Danielle Zulkosky’s interview with Kristen Berset.