Photo provided by Sisters’ Journey.
Sisters’ Journey Celebrates – VANESSA DORANTES
Read her inspiring story (thanks www.sistersjourney.org)
“Has anything changed in your life in the last six months?” My response to the doctor’s inquiry was, “What hasn’t changed?” The carcinoma she measured in my imaging was undeniable. Specifically, ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS Stage 1). My doctor explained that the benign tumor I had biopsied and removed eight years earlier (on the other side) was the impetus for more frequent imaging. The DCIS was detected more readily because of that imaging cadence as it had not been present six months earlier. The likelihood of the DCIS progressing without intervention was high given its aggressive nature and my history.
Honestly, the next few minutes felt like the earth had stopped rotating as I tried to focus on what my oncologist was describing. Thankfully, my husband was by my side at this appointment and bravely took in all of the information. Listening to the range of treatment options to consider for this diagnosis… surely, this doctor was not saying words like genetic testing and mastectomy??? How could this be happening?
That was early 2019 and I had recently been named Commissioner by Gov. Ned Lamont to be the State’s first African-American to lead the Connecticut Department of Children & Families (DCF). During that same time our twin daughters were busy with all their senior year high school activities.
So much to do, lots of uncertainty, not a moment to waste. But why is this happening… Now?
There was a wave of palpable energy flowing through CT DCF amid the tremendous excitement to lead DCF’s next chapter. I had climbed through its ranks for 25 years and was eager to represent the DCF I knew. Would my sudden absence be viewed as a perceived vulnerability of the Department that some could try to exploit? I had to immediately entrust my newly formed executive team with the heavy burden of protecting the agency and keeping the ship afloat while I took care of my family and my health.
We moved the twins onto college campuses – 1400 miles apart. Four days later I was on the operating table undergoing a double mastectomy. (The doctor later would say the timing could not have been better as samples collected during the procedure were indeed positive that
During my recovery, in conversation with my best friend, she talked about feeling “something” during her self-exam that she had planned to wait until her next doctor’s appointment to have checked out. That was several months away. Together, we made the phone call that day. Turns out, she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer and was immediately scheduled for chemotherapy & radiation treatments.
What I know for sure is black women have an obligation to support other black women, especially in the fight to identify, treat and battle this insidious disease.
After eight weeks and several reconstructive procedures including an emergency transfusion, I was back at the helm of CT DCF marking the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month with my own story of early detection. For the next five years, I would use my platform as part of the self-exams, mammograms and other screening tools that save lives.
Following every appearance, newspaper article and department newsletter where I shared my experience, I received countless notes, texts, emails and testimonials from other survivors and their loved ones.
My last surgical procedure was in November 2022. And in May 2023, I witnessed our girls graduate from college – in two separate states on the very same day. Early detection gave me treatment options I might not otherwise have had.
I am appreciative to God for my survival, to my soulmate and family for their relentless support, to my CT DCF Team for “holding it down” and then some! And to Cheneeah Armstrong and Sharon Lawrence for your unwavering Sisterhood and introducing me to the advocacy work of Sisters’ Journey.
Thank you for all your advocacy and attention.
We fight together and we survive together.
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