A Diary of Healing

By Coco Masters

Mary Ann Nilan had no reason to think breast cancer would stalk her. Not at 39. There was no family history of the disease. A nonsmoker and a marathon runner, she was in tip-top shape. That she had had her three children while in her 20s made her risk even lower. But Nilan, an actress, knew the odds: 1 in 8 American women develops breast cancer. The sister of an oncological nurse, she faithfully examined her breasts each month, which may well be why she's alive--vibrantly, eagerly alive--to share her story.

Nilan found a lump in her left breast in February 2004. "It didn't feel like a cyst--something was not right." After a mammogram and sonogram were inconclusive, she insisted on a biopsy. She was found to have cancer affecting both breasts and nearby lymph nodes. Nilan had chemo, then a double mastectomy followed by reconstruction with implants. She asked a photographer to record it all: "I hope the pictures make the road easier for other women."