North Bay Woman

F A L L | W I N T E R 2 0 2 1 NORTH BAY WOMAN 33 out how you feel about your options, doing research and getting opinions is exhausting," Papale said. Both Papale's mother and young- er sister had breast cancer, so she wasn't particularly surprised when she was also diagnosed in January 2017 with a stage 2 invasive ductal tumor. She opted for a double mas- tectomy without reconstruction and underwent a rigorous chemotherapy regimen. After completing treatment, she walked the runway in the To Celebrate Life Breast Cancer Founda- tion's fashion show. "When I modeled, I was complete- ly bald and I felt self-conscious so I wore a turban or wig. But the director gave me so much confidence that I took my turban off at one of the last rehearsals and the next thing I knew I never put that thing back on. It felt so freeing," Papale said. All was well until December 2019 when she found another lump in her chest, which turned out to be a slight- ly different type of HER2-positive breast cancer than what she'd had before. "It was worse anxiety than the first time around and my first thought was 'I'm going to die,' and I'm not ready for that, I don't want to leave the party early," Papale said. "It had been such a short time that I had been can- cer-free and it just didn't feel fair." Her surgery took place in Febru- ary 2020 followed by eight weeks of radiation. She celebrated being cancer-free this summer by going on a whitewater rafting trip organized by Idaho River Journeys – a company owned and operated by Papale, her husband and three adult sons. She also enjoys volunteering for the foun- dation and helping others with breast cancer. "It's such a personal journey and you learn so much about yourself. It also opens your eyes to how many other people are fighting battles, and you end up feeling grateful for what you have," Papale said. FEELING GRATEFUL Gratitude is the prevailing attitude for San Rafael resident Carol Butler, who has also endured cancer twice and is currently living with stage 4 breast cancer. A dancer, self-em- ployed dance teacher and therapist, Butler is embracing her diagnosis and has completely revamped her lifestyle to make way for the things that really matter in her life, such as her hus- band, two children and four grand- children. "I radically changed my diet and Left to right: Mary Papale on the last day of radiation treatment at MarinHealth Radiation, known as "Rad Grad." Shown: Shauntel Forbes, Papale and James Wakayama. Left to right: Husband Bob Volpert, Papale and their sons Skip Volpert, Matt Volpert and Will Volpert in their Point Reyes home in February 2017, post bilateral mastectomy/pre chemotherapy. – Photos by Steve Cutright, Butler portrait photo below by Stuart Lirette CAROL BUTLER

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