How freezing my breast saved my breast.
They’re Mine and I’m keeping them is a story of innovation, courage, and triumph. Laura Ross-Paul decided to keep her breast after being diagnosed with breast cancer and facing a mastectomy. She tells the story of how she bucked the system, found a doctor whose advanced skill in the field of tumor freezing, cryo-ablation, and ultimately saved her breast. The success of their collaboration makes breast conservation a realistic outcome of breast cancer treatment.
It is the authors’ desire that telling this story will make others aware that freezing a breast can save a breast.
By Laura Ross-Paul, Alex Paul, and Dr. Peter Littrup, MD
They’re Mine and I’m Keeping Them
Cryoablation for Breast Cancer
They’re Mine and I’m Keeping Them is a story of innovation, courage, and triumph. Laura Ross-Paul is a well-known Northwest painter. A breast cancer diagnosis in 2003 left her with a mastectomy as her only medical option. Her artist’s appreciation of the human form’s beauty instilled a desire to keep her breast and treat her cancer if it was safe and medically possible.
Looking for more detailed information about cryoablation?
Breast tumor cryoablation is an outpatient, minimally invasive percutaneous procedure that has already emerged as a substitute for surgery for early stage invasive breast cancer. In addition to reducing the morbidity, psychosocial and cosmetic impact of breast cancer therapy, this office-based procedure performed under local anesthesia also reduces the burden on the healthcare system by eliminating the need for an operating theater, an anesthesiologist and surgical team, and many personal protective devices, which are very important considerations during a national pandemic.
Quick Resources
Get the Book
Learn where to find Laura’s book on cryo-ablation and read about her journey through breast cancer and life after cryo-ablation and subsequent treatment.
See the Art
View Laura’s paintings, which channel her experiences with breast cancer, and how it helped her cope and heal during her treatments and beyond.
Learn About Cryoablation
Visit Dr. Holmes’s website for detailed information on cryoablation treatments, where you can get such treatments, and much more.
“In March of 2010 I had cryosurgery for stage 2 breast cancer…. It is fast, not very painful and non-mutilating.”
—Mary Libal
“I’m very grateful to have had the chance to be the brilliant Dr. Peter Littrup’s first patient to have my breast cancer frozen with his triple-probe, double-freeze, cryoablation method in 2003…”
—Laura Ross-Paul
“… At my five year anniversary (of cryosurgery) I am still cancer free and I still have my breasts!”
—Heather Hines
“Fuda Cancer Hospital’s medical technique has brilliant technology that no part in the Medical world is offering to me as a breast cancer patient… a painless, worry free treatment. I am very hopeful I’ll walk out of this hospital ‘Cancer Free’.”
—Fe Juan Zahorodniuk
Laura’s Blog
Follow Along
Breast Cancer News Weekly Posted an Article about my Story!
In April 2016 the Internet Breast Cancer Blog, Breast Cancer News Weekly, posted an article about my story using Cryoablation to treat my breast Cancer AND about my upcoming talk at the 16th Forum on Cryoablation and Stem Cell Therapy coming up at Fuda Hospital in...
Book being Published in China-In Chinese!!
It's not everyday that your book gets translated and published in another language, let alone Chinese, but that's what's happening to the book we co-authored with Dr. Peter Littrup on my experience being a patient pioneer using cryoablation (freezing) to save my...
David’s Latest post
Fe's husband David has bee wanting to write a post ever since her unexpected death last fall. Understandably he was unable to right away but has now felt the time is right and has given me a wonderful post to add . I'll post it now with one of my own soon to follow:...