'A special day': Covington mother of 2 celebrates last dose of chemotherapy

COVINGTON, Ga. - 30-year-old Devin Brodie brought her wife Terumi Anderson-Brodie and their two young daughters to her final infusion at Piedmont Newton Hospital in Covington, Georgia.

It was Brodie's twentieth dose of chemotherapy, spread out over five months.

"It is a special day because I am officially done with chemo," Brodie smiles. "I'm very appreciative, especially of the whole entire staff because they made this so much easier."

She is also thankful her wife Terumi encouraged her to slow down and get the hard lump on the side of her breast checked out.

"It wasn't like a normal lump, like a swollen lymph node," Terumi Anderson-Bodie says. "It was more, like, it was hard. Her breast was a little sunken in. So, that was kind of alarming. And, then, her emotions, the lack of intimacy; it was a lot of things."

For a year and a half, she put off going to the doctor, as she struggled with fatigue and feeling unwell and irritable.

"I'm actually a very, very energetic person," Brodie says. "I want to be up. I want to move. She was just, like, 'No, we need to just go figure out what this is, or what's wrong.' For a year and a half, I was actually sick and didn't know it."

In May, Brodie finally went to the doctor.

She was diagnosed with Stage 3 bilateral hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer, and quickly started chemo.

"I think it's been tough for me because my wife just had to pick up and just do everything," she says. "She's wearing, like, 120 hats at one time and still remaining humble, still remaining positive."

Brodie cut off her waist-length dreads before chemo could make them fall out.

"It is definitely rough," she says. "It is something you've got to fight through it as much as you can and just to stay on the right path."

Dr. Shankar Polsani, a hematologist and a medical oncologist with Piedmont Newton is Brodie's cancer doctor.

"Clinically, she has done very well," Polsani says. "A previously noted breast mass has decreased or shrunk significantly. She had a palpable lymph node that has dissolved or resolved."

In November, Brodie underwent a bilateral mastectomy, surgery to remove both breasts.

"She will likely need radiation followed by seven to 10 years of endocrine therapy, taking medication to reduce her risk of a recurrence, Dr. Polsani says.

Three weeks earlier, on her final day of chemotherapy, Devin Brodie completed a rite of passage in the cancer world: She paused to ring the bell in the infusion center, a ritual that signaled the end of the chemotherapy part of her journey.

It was an emotional moment for the couple and Brodie's treatment team.

"It's a big milestone mentally for both the patient and for the families, too, to see them ring the bell and rejoice," Dr. Polsani says. "It's a big deal. No more chemotherapy.

Brodie says they are thankful to have their first stage of treatment behind them and grateful for the Piedmont Newton team that got them through it.

"The support from them has been amazing, but this being my last day feels even better," Brodie says.

They are facing a long road, but Terumi Anderson-Brodie says she is hopeful.

"I'm just trying to stay positive, so that even if a little negativity tries to work its way through, it'll be guarded by my positivity," she says. "I'm just trying to remain positive [and] remain focused. Somebody's got to be there."