As a self-proclaimed “raging extrovert,” Katie Smith-Parent has always been open and outspoken about her life. From showing off her home, a labour of love that she and her husband have renovated and made their own, to sharing the passion for inclusion and diversity in the energy sector that earned her a spot among Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2022, Katie is an open book.
Her determination to advocate for and empower those around her has had a lasting impact in Calgary, the city she was born and raised in — but she never imagined that having the confidence to speak up would one day impact her future and save her own life.
In her early 30s, Katie noticed a lump on her breast. At a walk-in appointment, she was initially told by a doctor not to worry and that the lump would go away on its own. She had no family history of breast cancer and no other symptoms, but Katie had a feeling it was something more. She trusted her instincts and set out to find a new doctor who scheduled her for a mammogram right away.
“I got an overnight degree in breast cancer. You would be eaten up by the system if you didn’t advocate for yourself.”
Like many younger women, Katie has dense breast tissue, which can make cancer more difficult to locate by imaging. The result of her mammogram was inconclusive, so she was sent for an ultrasound and then underwent a biopsy. This time, the results were clear. At 32 years old, Katie was diagnosed with stage two hormone-positive breast cancer.
Upon diagnosis, Katie began campaigning for her own health for six months as she entered the fight of her life. “I got an overnight degree in breast cancer,” she says. “You would be eaten up by the system if you didn’t advocate for yourself.”
Katie is one of many young women diagnosed with breast cancer despite having no family history of the disease and no genetic markers.
Most breast cancers occur in women 50 and older. While it’s less common for young women to develop breast cancer, it does happen. In fact, in North America, 18 percent of breast cancer diagnoses are women under 50.
And since younger women tend not to have breast cancer on their radar, their cancers tend to be detected at later stages, resulting in poorer outcomes. That’s cause for concern, says Katie.
“My girlfriends, we’re all in our thirties, and we had no idea how to do a breast exam. Even (at yearly) physical exams, no one does a breast exam. That’s just not a thing anymore,” says Katie.
Because of her age when diagnosed with breast cancer, Katie faced a lot of unknowns when planning for her future. Before undergoing a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, she and her partner made the choice to undergo fertility preservation via in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. “I knew that we wanted to have children in the future,” says Katie. “We really wanted to have options.”
The good news is that Katie finished chemotherapy and radiation treatments in 2021 and is now considered “NED” or has no evidence of disease. To prevent recurrence, Katie takes hormone therapy to suppress her body’s estrogen production, complicating her ability to become pregnant in the future.
Katie felt lucky to have the time and financial resources to pursue IVF following her diagnosis. It’s an opportunity that she recognizes isn’t available to every woman in her situation. That’s why Katie is using her platform in the community to amplify her own story, advocating for government-funded fertility preservation for cancer patients (oncofertility) and speaking out about the importance of early detection opportunities for younger women.
Katie is incredibly passionate when it comes to the importance of early detection. And as someone who advocated hard to know her own breast cancer diagnosis, this passion isn’t surprising. “It’s literally life or death,” she says.
