Metro-Detroit woman conquers breast cancer 2 years after husband dies
Lynette Todd (fourth from left) is pictured with colleagues at Waterford Mott High School.
Waterford Mott High School counseling secretary and mom Lynette Todd couldn’t believe she was hearing she had breast cancer, less than two years after losing her husband to esophageal cancer.
“They had called me to come back, but I had had callbacks for years, so I didn’t think much of it,” Lynette said recently about her diagnosis at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township in 2024.
“And I get there and she says, ‘I’m 95% sure this is breast cancer.’ And I was like, ‘My kids just lost their dad; how am I going to tell them?’ And she said, ‘Honey, this is treatable.’”
Breast cancer 2nd most common in U.S. women
October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the United States, only behind skin cancers.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 321,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2026, with more than 42,000 women expected to die from the disease.
But the five-year relative survival rate for breast cancers detected and treated early, before it has spread beyond the breast, is more than 99 percent.
‘Lynette did everything right’
Lynette will be celebrating being cancer free both at her wedding on Halloween, a holiday she loves, along with as a speaker at the “Pink & Pearls” event Nov. 5, a breast and lung cancer survivors’ event at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital.
“Lynette did everything right, which is why her breast cancer was caught so early,” DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital oncologist Kimberly Hart said.
“While they take care of others, it’s important this October that women take time for their own health care. We encourage women 40 and older to have a conversation with their doctor about the screening approach that is appropriate for them.”
Important recommendations from doctor
For all women, Dr. Hart recommends:
- Know your family history.
- Know when you had your last mammogram.
- Ask your doctor about your personal risk, especially at age 40 and older.
- Ask what screening is right for you.
- Schedule it! (You can use a QR code for DMC hospitals)
Serendipity
After her diagnosis, during months of chemo and radiation. an unexpected bright spot emerged for Lynette. Shortly before her diagnosis, serendipity reconnected her with an old classmate who had lost his wife to an accident around the same time Lynette’s husband died.
They had a long talk after her diagnosis.
“I told him, ‘I know how this works – I went through this with my husband. You can go – this is going to suck, and I don’t know what’s going to happen,’” Lynette said. “And he was like, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”
The same was true for her colleagues at Waterford Mott High School, who rallied around her during her treatment. Intending to go back into her field of Finance after her own children graduated, Lynette is staying at the high school indefinitely to remain with her work family.
Now in remission and taking chemo in pill form to prevent a reoccurrence, Lynette hopes her story helps inspire other women to stay current with their mammograms – and make an appointment ASAP if they’re due.
“That’s what saved my life,” says Lynette. “I had no lump – no sign. It was lobular, so it was flat. So definitely get screened regularly.”
Ready to take the next step?
Women who have discussed screening with their healthcare provider and are due for a mammogram can scan the QR code or visit https://www.dmc.org/services/diagnostic-imaging/schedule-a-mammogram to make an appointment at DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township or DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit.
