October 25, 2014
Thanks to Ann Galligan Kelley ’78, women in R.I. know their options for breast-cancer screening
By Vicki-Ann Downing
For Ann Galligan Kelley, C.P.A. ’78, PC professor of accountancy, the facts just didn’t add up.
After years of normal mammogram screenings, Kelley was stunned by a diagnosis of invasive breast cancer in July 2013. She discovered the tumor herself. Despite its large size — 5.5 centimeters — it did not show up on a digital mammogram her doctor ordered two days later. It only was revealed in an ultrasound.
The mammogram showed “not a single thing, not even a hint,” said Kelley. “It was like looking for a polar bear in a snowstorm. Not even a shadow.”
Kelley learned that, like an estimated 40 percent of women, she has “dense” breast tissue — made up primarily of glandular and connective tissue — rather than “fatty” breast tissue. On a mammogram, dense breast tissue is white and so are tumors, making them more difficult to detect.
Through her research, Kelley found that in 2009, Connecticut approved a breast cancer notification law requiring that all women be informed of their breast density at the time of their mammograms. Those with dense breasts are advised that they might benefit from additional screening and to discuss options, such as an ultrasound, with a doctor.
The law became a model for the nation. More than a dozen states adopted it — but not Rhode Island.
So began Kelley’s battle. It wasn’t just a fight against cancer, which involved 20 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, surgery to remove it, and radiation every day for seven weeks after that. It was a crusade to make sure other women would never be caught unaware, as she had been. She got to work on a breast cancer notification law for Rhode Island.
“I was determined that there must be a way to prevent healthy women from waking up one day to discover they have late-stage invasive breast cancer,” Kelley said.
From December to March, she was in constant touch with Rhode Island legislators and Connecticut radiologists. She enlisted George Mason ’84, a policy analyst for the Senate who also teaches in PC’s business program, to help draft the bill. Sen. James E. Doyle, II ’94 was a sponsor. The legislation was approved in May and signed by Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee in a ceremony that Kelley attended. It took effect on October 1.
Cancer kept Kelley from teaching during the 2013-14 school year, but it didn’t stop her from continuing as director of the Business Studies Program, through which more than 200 students a year minor in business. She spent two hours each day answering student emails and gave out her cell phone number.
When she needed to see students in person, she came to campus evenings, or invited them to her condominium in Providence, only asking that they be free of colds and wash their hands to protect her immune system.
“I think advising students was a wonderful distraction,” said Kelley. “I would help them re-do résumés, give advice on jobs. It kept me sane.”
Ruby Pham ’12, an MBA student and graduate assistant in the School of Business, spent two hours at Kelley’s home on a Saturday practicing for an internship interview.
“I’ve been at PC for five years, and no one has ever given me as much support and assistance,” said Pham, who is from Hanoi, Vietnam. “I am a very shy person when it comes to interviews. She’s very encouraging, saying ‘You’ll do great; be confident and show what you’ve got.’”
Erika Flanagan ’14 turned to Kelley many times during the school year for advice, though Kelley was not her formal adviser. When Flanagan was weighing job offers, Kelley invited her to her condo to discuss pros and cons.
“When I learned of her medical condition, I didn’t want to be a burden to her, but she assured me that she would always be available to continue advising me in any way that she could, which certainly proved to be an understatement,” said Flanagan.
“Whether it was preparing me for success at the Career Fair, helping me to identify a PC alum at a particular company to contact, or even providing me with an added boost of confidence prior to a job interview, she always went above and beyond to assist me.”
Kelley, the wife of Charles P. Kelley and the mother of Andrew Kelley ’10 and Caroline Kelley, returned to teaching in September, grateful for good health.
During her treatment, “I vowed to myself I would not complain,” Kelley said. “I was thinking of the after-life. I tried to make other people laugh. I tried to have a good time. My mom was widowed twice and had a handicapped child. She always said that it’s not what happens to you that matters, it’s how you react.”
Now, “I appreciate every single day and every single minute,” Kelley said. “Sitting in a traffic jam — who cares?”
19 states have approved the breast cancer notification law as of Oct. 1, 2014:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Connecticut
- Hawaii
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
