At 34-years-old, Mitzi Dobelstein has three kids, a husband of nine years, and no trace of breast cancer in her family's history, So when Mitzi found out she had three tumors in her breast, for a second, the world stopped. But through her journey, she found strength from her kids. It's intriguing how some kids approach a problem. "We have to put the part together," Mitzi’s kids said. If it's broken, work to fix it. It's practical, and sometimes easier said than done, but still the right idea. When faced with the toughest obstacle in her life, Mitzi would have to rely on her kids' philosophy. It started Sunday, February 1, 2009 when she found a lump in her breast. "I wasn't looking for it. I happened to feel something that didn't seem right. I compared it to the other side. It wasn't on the other side. I felt like it needed to be checked out,” said Mitzi. Wednesday she went to the doctor. "I saw my primary care physician. He said because of my age, it was probably nothing," she said. On paper, the odds were in her favor: she's young, and doesn't have a history of breast cancer in her family. To be sure though, that Friday she was tested. "I went through an ultrasound, and they found something suspicious. So I had a mammogram. After the mammogram, they decided to do a bi-needle aspiration biopsy," said Mitzi. And then she waited. She says that was the longest weekend of her life. That Monday, she found out she had three tumors and was in Stage 2 breast cancer. "It was devastating. Not being around it very much, I didn't have a lot of information about it at the time, so I just assumed it was a death sentence,” said Mitzi. When she told her kids, 8-year-old Maya, 7-year-old Avery and 5-year-old Sam, her husband says they understood the news and took it remarkably well. And when Mitzi was scared, it was Maya who said, "Mommy, when God's ready to take you, you'll go." "The kids were always there for us. They were always there for her to hug her and tell her that they love her,” said Mitzi’s husband, Andy Dobelstein. Mitzi started chemotherapy and soon after had a problem, her hair started falling out. So her husband and the kids hosted a head shaving party. "Our girl Maya shaved our heads with a razor. It was fun a lot of fun," said Andy. Mitzi, Andy, Avery and Sam all got a buzz cut. "It was fun. It's just that you don't really see a girl shave their head every day,” said Maya. “The kids were so understanding. They took care of me as young as they are," Mitzi. Mitzi had a bilateral mastectomy following the chemo and plans to have reconstructive surgery at the end of the year. "Part of what we did throughout this journey was to laugh. Was to laugh along with the crying,” said Andy. She's a breast cancer survivor and for the sake of herself, her husband and her kids, she hopes she's been “fixed”. Mitzi says she also attends support groups at Gilda's Club. It's a local organization that supports people affected by cancer. For more information about Gilda’s Club, you can visit their website: http://www.gildasclublouisville.org/
