Correspondent photo / Tim Gleason Janet Hartley is a 24-year cancer survivor who encourages women to listen to what their bodies tell them. The Mineral Ridge resident underwent chemotherapy and radiation, and later found out through genetic testing she carries the BRCA2 gene, which causes increased risk for certain cancers.

MINERAL RIDGE — When Janet Hartley welcomed the new millennium, she would soon discover every woman’s nightmare. It was March 2000 when Hartley noticed a lump on her left breast.

Hartley, a 68-year-old Mineral Ridge resident, immediately sought the counsel of Dr. Nancy Gantt, who ordered a biopsy and confirmed a cancerous tumor.

A lumpectomy performed by Gantt revealed that the tumor was larger than expected. Hartley was at least relieved to learn that the cancer did not spread into the lymph nodes.

Dr. Antoine Chahine, Hartley’s oncologist, suggested a treatment plan consisting of nine rounds of chemotherapy followed by 35 radiation applications. During this stretch, Hartley lost her hair, and far worse, lost her brother, Ralph Colucci, who also had cancer (colon) and died at the age of 48.

“I really needed my family then,” Hartley said. “My husband, Steve, was a Godsend while we were going through this ordeal. Our daughter, Casey, was in college and our son, Brett, was in high school.”

At one point Hartley was ready to give up on the chemo, which she said, “was worse than the disease.”

Thankfully, Steve, whom she married in 1977, was adamant that she continue. “I said I was done with the chemo,” Hartley said, “and Steve said ‘No, you’re not.'”

Hartley also relied on her two best friends, Sharon Cunningham and Lynda Mayer, and her mother, Virginia Colucci (who took her to all her chemo treatments) to make up her support staff. They weren’t all Hartley relied on — she made the effort to study her condition and, “listen to my body.”

To that end, when the radiation treatments were over in 2001, Hartley’s doctors suggested she take a hormone drug to block estrogen. She declined.

“I studied enough to know that estrogen was not involved in my cancer,” Hartley said. “It was progesterone that factored into the cancer.”

For the next 22 years, Hartley opted for an annual mammogram and bloodwork, and as long as there was no further bad news, she was going to leave well enough alone.

During that time, in 2010, Hartley was seeing Dr. Joni Canby, a gynecologist who suggested Hartley engage in genetic testing.

She agreed and discovered she carried BRCA2, a gene that causes increased risk for certain types of cancer.

“Doctors are always learning things themselves,” Hartley said, “which is why you need second and third opinions. Medicine is constantly changing and so are treatment options. Most of all, be your own advocate and listen to your own body.”

In 2023, Hartley went to a new gynecologist, Dr. Jennifer Baird, who suggested that Hartley undergo a double mastectomy and total hysterectomy.

Oncologist Chahine, who learned of Hartley’s BRCA2 gene, agreed with this plan. Again, Hartley declined.

“I went through 22 years of annual mammograms and bloodwork,” Hartley said. “I didn’t see a reason to go through a massive invasive operation at that point. I felt like my health was holding steady. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

When Baird and Chahine suggested that Hartley get a breast MRI every six months and a mammogram every six months at opposite times of the year, Hartley agreed with the idea. All along, Hartley was doing her own research and talking with others. The doctors also suggested removing Hartley’s fallopian tubes and ovaries if she was not going to submit to the full hysterectomy.

“I am still deciding on that option,” Hartley said. “That would lower the risk of ovarian cancer.”

In the meantime, Hartley is living a full life. She keeps a beautiful home, walks her dog, Gracie, everyday and volunteers for the Mineral Ridge Historical Society.

She also enjoys time with her four-year-old granddaughter, Isabel, who lives in Austintown with Casey and her spouse, and visits Columbus where Brett and his spouse live.

Hartley, a 1974 graduate of Austintown Fitch, retired from Kmart as an office manager in 2014 after a 40-year career. She has no regrets and insists on keeping an open mind.

“If new information comes along, I will be ready to cross that bridge when I get to it,” Hartley said.