Heather’s Story

Diagnosed at 45, Heather is Back to New Normal Thanks to Breast Cancer Team

It started as a typical day in June 2023 for Heather Holihan, a Roseville resident working in hydraulic sales. After undergoing a routine mammogram at Henry Ford Hospital, she was looking forward to seeing Adam Sandler’s stand-up comedy performance with her best friend. The mammogram, however, was abnormal and Heather had to undergo a biopsy. As she was nervously waiting for the results, her phone rang as she was heading out the door for the show. “The doctor informed me the results came back positive for cancer. I immediately went into a panic mode and began hysterically crying,” she remembers. “After a few minutes I thought I have two choices. I can let this ruin my plans and the results will not change, or I can still go and try to have the best time. I’m a huge Adam Sandler fan and decided to go to the show with my friend. I laughed a lot and it’s what I needed to take my mind off the diagnosis at least temporarily.”

Armed with options, Heather chooses treatment that feels right for her

Despite the life-altering breast cancer diagnosis, Heather felt fortunate to have a team including family, her employer and the breast cancer professionals at Henry Ford to support her throughout her journey. With advice from her trusted primary care physician, Christina Blake, D.O., Heather underwent genetic testing, revealing she carried a RECQL gene mutation, increasing her risk of recurrence.

She then met with Laura Dalla Vecchia, M.D., Henry Ford breast cancer surgeon, who provided guidance on surgical options. After careful consideration, Heather chose to undergo a mastectomy to remove the cancerous tumor followed by DIEP flap breast reconstruction, a surgical procedure that uses a woman's own tissue, specifically skin, fat, and blood vessels from the lower abdomen, to reconstruct a breast after mastectomy.

Dr. Dalla Vecchia explains the combination surgical procedure was extensive, but it was a choice Heather felt confident about.

She emphasizes that deciding whether to pursue bilateral mastectomy, where both breasts are removed, is a very personal and complex decision for both the patient and the health care provider.

“For Heather, after considering factors such as her age, family history and results of genetic testing, she made the decision to pursue bilateral mastectomy as the choice that seemed most appropriate for her,” says Dr. Dalla Vecchia. “Heather elected a more complicated reconstruction technique, a DIEP flap, to allow her to use her own tissue for a more natural appearance and because she did not like the idea of implants.”

The advantages and disadvantages of DIEP flap breast reconstruction

After exploring treatment options, Heather says in addition to a more natural look, having a tummy tuck while undergoing the procedure was a nice perk. Dunya Attisha, M.D., director of microsurgery and breast reconstruction who was part of Heather’s surgical team explains Heather had enough abdominal tissue to provide a suitable size volume for reconstructing her breasts. “We normally obtain a CT scan to look at the blood flow to the abdomen and everything looked great on her imaging, so she was a go from the standpoint of using her lower abdominal tissue to build her breasts,” notes Dr. Attisha. “The main advantages are that we’re using the patient’s own body tissue so that there’s essentially no maintenance down the road like there would be with implants. The risk for infections is low, the feeling that the tissue is like their own breast is real, and the overall patient satisfaction with this type of breast reconstruction tends to be the highest of all the reconstructive options.” Dr. Attisha adds that the downside is that the operations take longer with a bilateral reconstruction taking 7-9 hours, not everyone is a candidate for this type of procedure, and the recovery time is somewhat longer.

Moving forward after breast surgery

Today, Heather is back doing what she loves — selling hydraulic equipment across the region, spending downtime with her nieces and nephews, and enjoying life with her partner.

The recovery, which included physical therapy to help her get back on her feet was not easy, but Heather says the outcome was worth it. “A friend who also underwent breast cancer surgery was shocked at how natural my breasts looked after the procedure. I’m very thankful that after the one-month recovery, other than follow up appointments, my life is pretty much back to normal,” she states. She credits her incredible team for making that possible. “From Dr. Blake who guided me with outstanding referrals to Dr. Dalla Vecchia who held my hand and wiped my tears as I was wheeled into the surgical suite to Dr. Attisha who was so thorough and compassionate, I could not have picked a better team to manage my care.”