Helping others is key to Mankato woman’s post-cancer journey

MANKATO - Janine Turbes is one in 4 million.

That is, she’s one of more than 4 million U.S. breast cancer survivors, and she intends to remain in that column as long as possible.

“Honest to God, I think about it every single day,” said Turbes, whose journey through hell and, eventually, to health, began 12 years ago this month.

“My life as a whole has changed because of cancer, but sometimes I think I’m a better person for having gone through it.”

She is healthier now than before being diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma — the most common type of breast cancer — and Turbes’ Grade 3 level meant she faced a highly aggressive form. She’d love for nobody else to suffer the afflictions she endured over 15 months of treatment.

But in 2024, more than 360,000 U.S. residents (99% of breast cancer patients are female) will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

When survivors like Turbes speak out, lives may be saved; the five-year survival rate is now 99% when breast cancer is caught in its earliest stages, meaning early detection is vital.

Today, the 72-year-old Turbes carries 70 to 80 pounds less on her 5-foot-7 frame, and she’s far more fit and active than ever before. Her recent dietary and fitness habits have even banished the diabetes with which she formerly lived.

Furthermore, Turbes believes she conquered cancer for a reason: to help and encourage others to the best of her ability. It’s a mission that raises its profile in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Janine has a huge heart and she’s always there in support of other people,” said Gladys Barbeau, a friend who stood by Turbes during her chemotherapy regimen.

“Janine is a very unique, strong person; you don’t find too many others who are genuine all the time.”

Vibrant, funny and empathetic, Turbes is a Mankato native who’s lived for several years on Lake Ballantyne, a few miles west of the Blue Earth County seat, with her husband, Randy.

After retiring in August 2012 from a 39-year career as a Sears sales associate in Mankato’s Madison East Center, it wasn’t unusual for the gregarious Turbes to recruit four former co-workers to schedule mammograms in sync as both a preventive measure and a reason to gather.

“In the interest of cancer awareness, I suggested, ‘C’mon, let’s go in to get our mammograms during Breast Cancer Awareness Month,’” recalled Turbes.

With dense breast tissue, Turbes was routinely called in for rechecks following her exams.

“And I was diabetic and at least 50 to 60 pounds overweight — I didn’t like weighing myself so I don’t know for sure how heavy I was — but there was never any malignancy,” Turbes said.

While her gal pals easily cleared the mammogram bar, Turbes wasn’t as lucky. During a follow-up ultrasound, the technician ominously said, “Excuse me for a minute,” and returned with a radiologist, who asked Turbes to feel the lump they’d discovered.

Turbes’ husband was with her when biopsy results revealed a malignancy; Turbes was shocked when a doctor entered the exam room holding a clear plastic bag containing a booklet titled “Cancer 101.”

At a later appointment, the surgeon who’d perform Turbes’ double mastectomy announced, “My job is to tell you you’ll need chemo.”

“I said, ‘Holy crap!’” recalled Turbes.

Though she praises all the Mankato Clinic doctors and medical professionals overseeing care during her 15-month treatment process, she nevertheless became overwhelmed when presented with four chemo options detailed on a sheet under the heading “Invasive Breast Cancer.”

“My daughter Nissa was there,” Turbes said of that low point. “I stood up and said, ‘I have to go to the bathroom.’”

Instead, Turbes literally checked out, driving away from the clinic in tears and leaving her daughter to explain her absence.

Before her November 28, 2012, surgery, Turbes’ parents (Nadine and the late George Sugden of Mankato) treated her to a getaway to Mazatlan, Mexico.

“The doctor said to go and not think about it,” said Turbes. “But are you kidding me? I thought about it every single minute of the day.”

It didn’t help that her in-flight seatmate chattily shared that she was returning home after attending the funeral of a friend who’d died of breast cancer, or that three women at the resort pool said their sister would have been with them “but she just passed away from breast cancer.”

“Breast cancer was everywhere I went,” said Turbes, who’s now on a mission to exhort other women to have regular mammograms and support each other if they’re diagnosed with the disease — an important message because one in eight women develops breast cancer.

Turbes’ treatment involved many of the same trials other patients experience: several rounds of chemotherapy, two blood transfusions, hospital stays, several months of spending a majority of days at the clinic and unpleasant reactions including hair loss, peripheral neuropathy, weakness, difficulty concentrating and mental lapses.

“It was all awful,” she admitted.

But the love and support she received lent brightness.

Her friend Barbeau, for instance, spent many lunch hours sitting with Turbes during her lengthy chemotherapy sessions, family members stepped up (“My husband was very, very attentive and couldn’t have been nicer through it all,” Turbes said) and even strangers came forward with demonstratively caring acts.

“My P.E.O. group [a philanthropic organization] brought meals, and one of the first people who came to my door with soup and crackers on a winter evening was new, someone I’d never even met,” said Turbes, cherishing the lovely gesture.

“I decided then and there: That’s who I want to be.”

Several months post-treatment, the lifelong non-athlete who’d been overweight “forever” began regular workouts with TJ Spence, a trainer at Mankato’s Maverick Fitness.

“Janine’s been steady and consistent over the last eight years, and she shows up every time,” said Spence. “I’ve always believed showing up is 90 percent of success, and Janine embodies that.

“Every little thing adds up, and she’s in way better health now than when she started out. She was just mentally ready to do what was needed to be healthy.”

Turbes is proud that she can skip, jump, run and walk for extended periods. Walking before meetings when arriving early is now a habit, and her oncologist said her bones are stronger than ever.

Barbeau, who faced her own challenge with breast cancer, is impressed both by Turbes’ determination to stay healthy and her focus on others. She’s a 17-year hospice volunteer and dedicates herself to supporting her 98-year-old mother and others battling cancer.

She knows how helpful it is for a cancer patient to know that they have a strong support network.

“I’m here because of God and TJ and other people who are important to me in my life,” said Turbes.

Jane Turpin Moore is a Northfield writer.