Northwest woman shares breast cancer story in support of Making Strides walk

When Jeanette Tellefsen of northwest Las Vegas turned 40 in 2012, her doctor ordered a mammogram. The test proved a lifesaver. She was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event is scheduled for Oct. 25 at Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd.

More than 20,000 people are expected, but it's personal stories like Tellefsen's that put a face to the big event. She recalled how a suspicious mass in her right breast prompted a repeat scan. Later, she received a phone call with the results of the second mammogram.

"It was the day after Christmas. (The doctor) said, 'Are you alone? Do you have someone there with you?'" she said. "Then she said, 'We need to do a biopsy' because they were 'still concerned about that area.' I was scared and overwhelmed. But she told me, 'Over 75 percent of what we find ends up being calcification.'"

Unfortunately, Tellefsen was not among the 75 percent. Her cells were ruled cancerous, and a lumpectomy was scheduled.

When she was told she had cancer, "It hit me like a truck," she said. "I really didn't hear anything else the doctor had to say."

According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2015, an estimated 1,690 women in Nevada will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and an estimated 380 will die in Nevada from the disease this year.

Further tests revealed Tellefsen, a registered nurse and a life coach, had three masses in her right breast. The lumpectomy she'd expected was upgraded to a mastectomy.

Because one of the masses was particularly aggressive, Tellefsen opted for a double mastectomy. It was followed by five rounds of chemo treatments, administered every three weeks, an experience she said found "super tough."

She said she made it through partly because her family and friends lent their support. Fellow co-workers at Summerlin Hospital's NICU unit wore scrub caps with pink ribbons on them in support of her. Her husband, Pete, shaved his head every week.

"I tell him to this day, 'You don't know how much that meant to me,'" Tellefsen said.

She credits their support and the American Cancer Society with helping her get better.

On-site registration and packet pickup for the Making Strides event begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program is set to start at 8, with a rolling start time of 8:30.

Expect family activities, a survivor VIP experience and a Zumba warm up. The 5K (3.1 miles) walk begins at Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd., and will take walkers through the Downtown Summerlin shopping center and back to the resort.

Dollars raised enable the society to fund breast cancer research; provide free, comprehensive information and support to those touched by the disease; and promote early detection.

"Uniting with others at the Making Strides walk gives us power to make a real difference in the fight to end breast cancer," said Laura Gasperino, event manager. "Registering for the event today is the first step."

Visit makingstrideswalk.org/lasvegasnv.

This year, Tellefsen is well enough to participate in Making Strides and has her own team, Team Serenity.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.