Anchorage Daily News

Every summer since she and her family moved to Anchorage in 1998, Donna White has proudly donned the colorful ball caps worn by survivors and sufferers of breast cancer at the annual Alaska Run For Women.

White's encounter with cancer came in 1991 when she was living in Kodiak, a diagnosis followed by a lumpectomy and constant vigilance in the form of self-exams and annual mammograms.

Even though the scare was in her past, year after year she showed up for the Run For Women wearing one of the hats reserved for those who have fought the disease.

"Always," she said. "Because I'm proud of the fact that I'm a survivor."

When she shows up at today's run, she'll be doubly proud. And still a bit dazed to know breast cancer isn't a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Eighteen years after her first diagnosis, White had a routine mammogram in late March and received her second diagnosis of breast cancer. A month later she had a double mastectomy.

"You just go through life and all of a sudden you hear -- again -- that you have breast cancer," said White, 55. "And it's just, wow. Wow."

The first time, the cancer was in her left breast. This time, it was in her right breast, in two places. A mastectomy was recommended. And because the first cancer was in her left breast, White decided -- along with her doctor and her husband -- that her best shot at continued survival was to remove both breasts.

It wasn't an easy choice, she said. But she figured there are worse things than losing both breasts.

"To wonder every day, am I going to wind up with cancer again?" she said. "And to have to go through with another surgery."

Seven weeks after her double mastectomy, White is entered in today's Run For Women. She's part of a 21-member team that includes many of her co-workers at the Alaska Department of Corrections, where she works as the director of probation and parole.

Berni Troglio, a probation officer, is part of the team. She had a mammogram Friday morning and said the exam was prompted in part by White's experience.

"It all seems so surreal," she said. "When I found out that my boss was diagnosed, it was devastating. I have so much respect for her, and I depend on her so much for guidance and direction. It was scary to me."

Troglio credits White with bringing "a lot of respect and professionalism back to the division" when she was named director in 2005. "She fixed a system that was somewhat broken."

The same kind of professionalism was on display when White was blindsided by her diagnosis in March, Troglio said.

"She was never moping around, never feeling sorry for herself. She walked through it with a lot of strength. It was just amazing to watch her go through this experience. And it was really amazing to watch everyone, from the commissioner on down, rally around her," she said.

White missed a month of work but returned after Memorial Day. She said she feels great and, even better, optimistic.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm cancer-free," she said. "The lymph nodes weren't involved, so it didn't travel to anywhere else. I'm confident this is it."

Doctors tell her the occurrence 18 years ago and the more recent one are unrelated, and when she was tested for a gene that can cause breast cancer, no sign of it was found. She simply had the bad luck to get struck twice by lightning.

"That is exactly what it felt like," she said.

Except the news this time around hit harder.

"It was much different," White said. "My first time, 18 years ago, I wasn't married and I didn't have a child. This time, I had so much more in my life. I had to come in touch with my mortality."

White said the diagnosis was earth-shattering for husband Barry and 17-year-old son Robert, but both have been a source of support. In White's honor, the two men in her life are helping to decorate one of the dozens of portable potties in the Sullivan Arena parking lot for today's event and will hand out baby wipes to those who use their outhouse.

White said the decision to get both breasts removed was tough for her and her husband, but for different reasons.

"The surgery was scary for my husband," she said. "Taking the bandages off was scary for me."

White said she removed the bandages the day after she was home from the hospital. She waited until she was alone and stood in front of a mirror as she unwrapped them.

"You have to force yourself," she said. "The scar goes from the armpit to the breastbone on both sides. When I first saw them, they looked like any other incision -- red and oozy and scabby."

Except they were in the place her breasts used to be. For now, White has decided -- again with her husband's input -- to not get reconstructive surgery.

"I don't want to do reconstruction if I can get comfortable with my body," she said. "It depends on how I get through this in the next year. I can walk around my house in a T-shirt and I am fine. If I go somewhere or someone comes to the house and they don't know I had a mastectomy, then I'm a little uncomfortable.

"It's only been seven weeks. I think it takes time."

And time is something White believes she has, thanks to early detection and prompt treatment. She's willing to talk about her experience because she's eager to spread the word about the importance of self-exams and yearly mammograms.

"I firmly believe it's the mammogram that saved me (both) times," she said. "This is all because of early detection.

"Get your mammograms. Every year."

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4309.

17th annual Alaska Run For Women

WHEN: 9 a.m. today, Sullivan Arena parking lot (start) and Anchorage Football Stadium (finish)

A RECORD YEAR: A record field has raised a record amount of money for breast cancer education, prevention and research -- as of Friday afternoon, 5,234 participants had donated more than $119,000.

LATE REGISTRATION: Available 7-8:30 a.m. today at AFS. Late entrants do not receive official times.

WHO TO WATCH: Defending champion Kristi Waythomas is entered, but the biggest cheers will go to the runners and walkers who wear the white ball caps that identify them as survivors or sufferers of breast cancer. Since its inception in 1993, the race has raised more than $2.4 million for causes related to the disease, which afflicts 1 in 8 American women.

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