First Mammogram Detects Breast Cancer for ICU Nurse

By all accounts, Donna Pompa of Northville, has been the picture of health. An intensive care nurse for 15 years before devoting herself to raising her daughter, Donna has led an active healthy lifestyle including exercising and gardening.

At age 40, Donna obtained her first mammogram at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital and the screening revealed potentially alarming news.

“I have no family history and had no symptoms,” Donna says. “The radiologist detected a very small mass and after undergoing further images and a diagnostic mammogram, a biopsy revealed lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS).” LCIS is a condition where abnormal cells are found within the milk-producing glands (lobules) of the breast, but the cells haven't spread to surrounding breast tissue.

As someone who has taken care of patients with life threatening situations, the news still shocked Donna. “My initial thought was there's no way I have cancer. I'm a nurse and if something was wrong with me I would have known it and I would have felt it so I I kind of had a gut feeling that there was something there but I didn't want to believe it,” she remembers.

Shocked at what the future might mean but thankful that it appeared that the abnormality may have been caught early, Donna turned to her husband, Robert Pompa, M.D. a gastroenterologist at Henry Ford Health for his advice. “I was a nurse outside of Henry Ford Health but my husband who treats cancer patients told me what he tells other patients. He said if it were his family affected by cancer, he would recommend Henry Ford Health and so that is where I ended up seeking care.”

Comprehensive treatment including cancer surgery and reconstruction scheduled Valentine’s Day week

Donna met with Jessica Bensenhaver, M.D. surgical breast oncologist who performed her mastectomy and distinctly remembers the advice Dr. Bensenhaver provided after the initial diagnosis. “She told me lobular cancer can be sneaky and even though the biopsy can show precancerous cells, there can be invasive cells elsewhere so she recommended a lumpectomy which I agreed to. Fortunately, I followed her advice because the biopsy came back as invasive lobular cancer and an MRI revealed my right breast was full of cancer.”

Dr. Bensenhaver explains lobular breast cancer is the second most common type of breast cancer but it can hide, and is often difficult to detect early by routine screening imaging, and can therefore be much larger than imaging suggests once it actually shows up on routine imaging. “For this reason, in addition to mammogram and ultrasound, once lobular carcinoma is diagnosed, MRI is often recommended as it is much more sensitive in defining the disease extent of lobular cancer,” she says. “Donna’s case is unique as this was her first mammogram and the chance of her being diagnosed with breast cancer was <4 in 1000. She had a large area of suspicious finding on MRI and therefore needed a mastectomy as the potential disease extent within the breast revealed by MRI was too large to be managed by lumpectomy.”

Donna describes the recovery from the mastectomy and reconstruction performed by Maristella Evangelista, M.D. as pretty long and difficult but was determined to begin physical therapy to aid in her recovery.

“This occurred right before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Fortunately, I was able to attend a couple of sessions with my physical therapist before things started shutting down and she provided me with exercises I could continue to do at home to aid in my recovery.”

Donna’s treatment plan also involved endocrine therapy (otherwise known as hormone therapy) managed by Randa Loutfi, M.D., to help reduce the chances of cancer recurrence. Dr. Loutfi explains, while endocrine therapy is considered a very effective treatment, it also produces potential side effects that Donna experienced.

“Since the prime pathway that drives the growth of lobular cancer is usually the estrogen pathway, it is logical to target it with medications that suppress estrogen production. A combination of an ovarian blocking agent that renders the patient in pharmacological menopause and an aromatase inhibitor that prevents peripheral production of estrogen was recommended,” she says.

The side effects were difficult but Donna was determined to continue with the hormone therapy to provide the best chance of long-term survival.

“It is very difficult to render a 40-year-old young woman into a post-menopausal woman with the symptoms that accompany menopause such as hot flashes, joint pains, risk of osteoporosis, elevated cholesterol, fatigue and mood changes. Yet, Donna was a true warrior, she accepted the challenges courageously and took them to an unprecedented higher level through her lifestyle changes including acupuncture, exercise and healthy diet that I have not witnessed in any of my patients to date and that is sincerely admirable,” adds Dr. Loutfi.

About six months after her surgeries, Donna says she also experienced a heart arrhythmia while exercising, called ventricular tachycardia. “I was seen at Henry ford by an interventional cardiologist who did a cardiac ablation procedure and he found the exact spot on the heart causing the arrhythmia and ablated it, she says. “It was a big part of me beginning to be able to exercise again and not worry about my heart.”

Managing treatment side effects with acupuncture

Donna followed the advice from Dr. Loutfi to engage in acupuncture with Zeyiad Elias, a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine with the Henry Ford Center for Integrative Medicine. She says it was a game changer.

“It helped me so much in terms of easing so many side effects including joint pain, hot flashes and even migraines. I was also able to stay off of arthritis medications,” she emphasizes. “Recommendations included lifting weights to keep up my bone density but if you're in pain and you can't lift weights and you can't exercise it's a double-edged sword, so acupuncture allowed me to continue doing exercises to aid in my recovery.”

A mother-daughter bond strengthened by Taekwondo

During her recovery, Donna’s daughter Mariana expressed interest in Taekwondo, a Korean martial art involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. The local studio offered a special gift on Mother’s Day that would lead Donna and her daughter to a remarkable achievement.

“They offered a free Taekwondo class for all mothers and after taking the class it was the beginning of something very special for both of us. It was something we both loved to do together and offered so many benefits from a mental and physical standpoint helping your confidence that you can fight anything you take on,” she emphasizes.

Two major milestones in one month

Like acupuncture, Donna has found Taekwondo as an essential tool in her health journey that has led to a unique bond for her and her daughter. With the ups and downs of the last five years, there were two joyous achievements that she could not have envisioned prior to her cancer diagnosis. “Although I still have to be monitored closely, in March of 2025, I received my 5-year MRI that revealed that my cancer was in remission and Mariana and I each obtained a black belt degree. The journey was not something I expected but I’m so thankful for the great care from all the practitioners at Henry Ford who allowed me not only to survive but thrive. In terms of our black belt degrees, it was quite an achievement, but our hard work isn’t stopping. We look forward to training for our second-degree black belts.”