Survivor Profile: Rebecca DiPiazza

The future looked bright for 24-year-old Rebecca DiPiazza. With a recent diploma from the University of Alabama, a successful accounting career, a new home in Birmingham, a boyfriend, and a dog, she seemed to have everything going for her.

Then came October 2006, when she discovered a lump in her breast during a self-exam. Her doctor performed an ultrasound and assured her it was probably just a cyst, but a few days later, she was called back for further testing when a radiologist expressed concern about the ultrasound results. A local surgical oncologist then performed a needle biopsy and surgical biopsy, and after six weeks of tests and procedures, Ms. DiPiazza was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, an aggressive form of stage I breast cancer.

“It was a complete shock,” she says. “I have no family history of cancer. I had even undergone genetic testing, and those results were negative. So to actually be diagnosed with cancer was somewhat overwhelming.”

Ms. DiPiazza underwent a lumpectomy in December 2006 at a Birmingham hospital. Fortunately, her cancer had not spread, but her surgeon recommended chemotherapy and radiation because of the tumor’s aggressiveness. After some investigating, she chose the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center for her follow-up treatment, which began in January 2007.

Ms. DiPiazza completed nine rounds of chemotherapy under the care of Cancer Center Senior Scientist John Carpenter, M.D., followed by radiation therapy at The Kirklin Clinic® at Acton Road with Associate Scientist Jennifer De Los Santos, M.D. In July 2007, she began a year of taking Herceptin®, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits tumor growth. Today she is cancer-free.

Throughout her treatment, Ms. DiPiazza tried her best to maintain a positive attitude and as normal a life as possible, which for her included 40-hour weeks at her accounting firm—even during the height of tax season. “Though I was working, I was still able to slow down and put myself first,” she says. “I realized that having the right attitude makes all the difference. You can’t survive cancer if you let it get to you emotionally.”

Ms. DiPiazza also surrounded herself with friends, who called themselves her “Chemo-Sabes” and often accompanied her to treatments, and her family, most of whom live in Birmingham. “I’m Italian through and through, so we’re a very close-knit family,” she says. “My mother always made sure I was eating well, and my father was my constant cheerleader, always encouraging me. I was very lucky, because you’re only as strong as the people around you.”

Today, Ms. DiPiazza has become a cheerleader herself, serving as an active volunteer and advocate for breast cancer research and awareness, particularly among women her age. She is heavily involved with the Susan G. Komen Foundation and other breast cancer-related causes. During the Komen Foundation’s 2007 Race for the Cure, she and her teammates raised more than $11,500. “All my energy goes into educating others about breast cancer and telling young women that they are not exempt from this disease,” she says.

Now 25 and engaged to be married, Ms. DiPiazza credits her cancer experience with giving her an even brighter outlook on life. “Cancer has been a blessing,” she says. “It made me see things clearly for the first time. As weird as it may sound, cancer is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Rebecca DiPiazza is one of 250,000 women now living in the United States who were age 40 or younger when they were diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 11,100 women under the age of 40 will be diagnosed this year, and more than 1,100 will die from the disease.