Colleen McQuillan, a resident of Highland, has religiously received mammograms since she turned 40. When she couldn’t secure an appointment at her doctor’s office in Illinois in 2020 for a mammogram, she made an appointment in Indiana instead. The results of the mammogram and ultrasound showed that she had cancer and that it had been two years missed.
“I was very lucky because, at the time, it was DCIS, which is a form of pre-cancer,” McQuillan said. “However, when they did the mastectomy, they found that possibly cells may have gotten away and spread. Then, I went into chemotherapy.”
McQuillan received chemotherapy treatment for four and a half months at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago. She then had to continue with Herceptin, a targeted therapy anticancer drug, for the next eight months.
“It was very scary when I first got the diagnosis. I wasn’t really sure how to navigate what was to come,” McQuillan said.
McQuillan had been doing walks, runs, and events for breast cancer fundraising and awareness since she was in her early 20s. She never thought that she would one day receive a diagnosis, however.
“Breast cancer awareness was just something that I was interested in, and it was something I held close to my heart,” McQuillan said. “Now, I have a lot of people in my life who have breast cancer or who have had it. It’s one of those things where people who experience it tend to gravitate toward one another.”
Since her diagnosis, McQuillan has become involved with Fighting Pretty, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women fight breast cancer. McQuillan attends various walks or events with Fighting Pretty when she can and has found a community of friends within the organization.
“My mother belongs to the St. John Women’s Club, and they make heart pillows for people with breast cancer to hold onto and hug when you have to cough after surgery and things like that,” McQuillan said. “I would always give them to people at Northwestern. I had a big bag of these pillows leftover, and I thought I would bring them to the first event with Fighting Pretty that I went to with a friend.”
McQuillan relied on friends, family and colleagues throughout her treatment process, and she is grateful that they were there to drive her to and from treatments and keep her company.
“When I first found out about my diagnosis, I reached out to a really good friend of mine who was a 13 year survivor at the time to ask her some questions,” McQuillan said. “Everybody in my support system was great to me.”
Nowadays, McQuillan remains involved with volunteerism and support for breast cancer awareness and fundraising organizations. She is a special education program advisor at Crete Elementary Schools and the early learning center. McQuillan is back on the schedule of receiving a mammogram once a year, as well as seeing her oncologist yearly.
“I am glad that I received treatment at Northwestern because it is fabulous. I had a very good experience in the hospital, and I continue to have a good experience with them,” McQuillan said.
