Japanese American woman thanks surgeon, highlights prevalence of breast cancer in AAPI community
Irvine resident Joyce Yada looked forward to attending the Race for the Cure, held by the Komen Foundation each year in Newport Beach, in honor of her mother, a breast cancer survivor. Her favorite part was always the thunderous sendoff of taiko drumming at the start of the charity event.
“I think those drums really set the tone for getting started and moving forward,” Yada said. “And, I think because we’re Japanese and just like taiko drums,” she added with a grin.
But she couldn’t make it this September. That’s because she had to prepare for surgery to remove her own recently discovered tumors.
Yada is among a steadily growing number of women being diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. in recent years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure has risen most dramatically among the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
In 1999, more than 122 out of every 100,000 Asian American women screened were diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the CDC. That figure grew to over 143 per 100,000 by 2018.
“I think numbers always under capture the real situation,” Yada’s surgeon, Dr. Jennifer Tseng of City of Hope Orange County, said. “We already know from statistics that the Asian population in the U.S. doesn’t seek out screening nearly as much as others, by far. More than half of the women in the U.S. tend to go get screening, but only about a third of women who are Asian American actually get screening.”
Yada had been making a point to receive regular mammograms because she has a family history of breast cancer, one of the most important risk factors for contracting the disease, Tseng said. A test revealed a mass that her doctors confirmed was a tumor in June.
That was a rollercoaster month for Yada and her family. That’s when they celebrated their daughter’s nomination to become Nisei Queen in an annual pageant for Japanese American women. At about that time, Yada’s elderly mother-in-law, also a cancer survivor, entered hospice care.
“I kind of didn’t say anything to anyone about what I was going through, really, because I wanted all of the focus to be on more happy things,” Yada said. “Because we were already dealing with a death in the family.”
Even though she, her daughter and Tseng have all encountered numerous women over the course of their lives who have battled breast cancer, they said the prevalence of the disease was rarely ever discussed among their friends and family. Yada told reporters she hoped sharing her story would encourage others to get examined regularly and become more informed about their health.
“Until you are diagnosed with breast cancer, I don’t think you really pay attention to all the details,” Yada said.
The CDC recommends women 50 and older undergo a mammogram every two years. And those who have cancer in their family or other risk factors should consider getting regular screenings as early as their 30s, Tseng said.
Patients diagnosed with cancer in the early stages of the disease’s development have a higher likelihood of surviving and returning to a mostly normal life, Tseng said.
Yada credited the early detection of her tumors for the optimism she felt as she sat in the Lennar Foundation Cancer Center in Irvine waiting for her first chemotherapy appointment Friday.
Yada told her daughter — who is a dietician and described as her relatives’ resident medical encyclopedia — and her immediate family about her diagnosis, but mostly kept it to herself at first. She said she initially needed time to process her situation on her own.
And she admits that she’s still not entirely comfortable talking about her condition with others. But over time, she found herself speaking to more and more women who have faced similar diagnoses.
“Arm yourself with knowledge and then seek help from people who have actually gone through it,” Yada said.
By educating herself, Yada felt she has become better prepared for the battle ahead of her. She also acknowledged the support of her family and Dr. Tseng, as well as the nurses, radiologists and oncologists at City of Hope.
“This is one of the most terrible times in someone’s life, and to be their partner and advocate through it is honestly a privilege,” Tseng said.
Yada handed Tseng a potted white lotus along with a letter of gratitude, then fought back tears as they embraced before her first chemotherapy appointment on Friday. She chose that flower because she “wanted it to be something that lasted long and reminded her of all the wonderful people she is reaching.”
Yada admitted “I would be lying if I didn’t say I was scared,” but said her outlook on the future remains positive. She hopes to make up for missing this year’s Race for the Cure by participating in it next year.
“It will be even more meaningful, because before I felt like I was walking for somebody else: my mother and my cousin,” Yada said. “And now I’m walking for me too.”
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