Life took a sharp turn for Traci Doutaz in August 2023 just hours after finishing a roller derby bout in Charleston. Exhausted and relaxing at home, she casually crossed her arms and felt something unusual on her right breast. “It was so prominent,” she recalled. “I just knew something was wrong.”
That moment marked the beginning of a whirlwind breast cancer journey for the Kentucky native, who moved to Charleston in 2005 to attend the College of Charleston. Today, she works for Schirmer Insurance Group and is organized, capable and sharp. But nothing could prepare her for what was coming.
After contacting her primary care doctor, a mammogram quickly led to an ultrasound and then a sobering conversation with the technician’s supervisor. “She said, ‘I’ve never seen something like this that wasn’t breast cancer,’” Doutaz recounted. “I appreciated her honesty, but I was completely dumbfounded.” In early September, at age 36, she was officially diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, bordering on Stage 4. Her treatment plan was aggressive: 24 rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and seven weeks of daily radiation.
Despite the grueling regimen, Doutaz pushed through physically, emotionally and mentally. “The hardest part has honestly been the mental health side,” she shared. “People think once treatment is over, it’s over. But trying to put your life back together after cancer is so much harder. There is no going back to ‘normal.’ Everything changes.”
Now 38, Doutaz faces the reality that her cancer will likely return within a year or two. “My oncologist told me it’s not a matter of if, but when. And when it does, it will have metastasized to Stage 4.” She now undergoes regular scans and blood tests, living in a constant state of monitoring. And yet, she’s far from defeated.
“My mantra is: ‘Get busy dying,’ but I mean that in a positive way,” she said. “People always say ‘get busy living,’ but that makes me feel like I have time. Saying ‘get busy dying’ reminds me that life is short and I need to do what I want right now.”
Doutaz has done just that. She returned to roller derby, and though scar tissue has limited her range of motion on her right side, she hasn’t let her first bout with cancer stop her. Even her doctors and nurses have come to cheer her on at matches. “They say, ‘Live your life. Don’t get hurt, but go for it,’” she laughed.
She’s also checked some long-awaited items off her travel list: a two-week trip to visit her best friend in Hawaii and a family getaway to New York where they saw “Harry Potter” on Broadway. “Hawaii was one of the best experiences of my life, especially at this point,” she said. “It was like I was finally myself again. I was literally as far away as I could be from doctors and cancer stuff, and it was the most normal I had felt since I got diagnosed.”
Europe and the Pacific Northwest are next on her list.
What keeps her going is her support system: her mother, stepfather, niece and close friends. But even with their support, she admits there’s a loneliness that comes with the diagnosis. “They don’t and can’t fully understand what this is like. Unless you’re in this club, you just can’t know.”
To those navigating a cancer diagnosis, Doutaz’s advice is simple: be honest with your support system. Say what you need. For those supporting a loved one with cancer, she recommended, “Keep checking in, especially after treatment. That’s the hardest time.”
Doutaz urged others to be proactive in their health, regardless of age. “Don’t wait. Do your self-checks. Advocate for early screenings. Find a primary care provider who takes your concerns seriously.”
She also suggested for anyone interested in donating money towards helping people with breast cancer, to please consider donating directly to individuals or local organizations rather than large cancer charities. “If you really want to help, give where it makes a difference.”
Through it all: chemo brain, fatigue and the uncertainty of what’s next, Doutaz is a fighter. She’s not waiting to live. She’s already busy doing it.
By Anne Toole
Leave a Reply