Today we’d like to introduce you to Mindy Feintuch.
Hi Mindy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I am a South Florida native, born and raised in the county of Dade. After college I knew I wanted to return to South Florida, and I did exactly that. I continued my education, got married, and have three beautiful rambunctious children. At the end of 2022; I was working as a Reading Specialist, knee-deep in completing my doctoral degree, and raising three children that reminded me daily that their scream-worthy dilemmas were far more urgent than my own existential worries.
October 6, 2022, days before my 39th birthday, I was diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma in Situ, cancer within the cells lining the milk ducts. Breast cancer is not a pretty pink ribbon or a free boob job. Breast cancer is more than just October, it is all year round for many. Breast cancer is raw, scary, and cruel. It strips everything away. It steals joy, energy, and confidence. This is my first time speaking publicly about my diagnosis. I was strong before, cancer made me stronger.
A bilateral mastectomy isn’t a free boob job for life, it is a life of shooting nerve pain, sleepless nights, low self-esteem, and skin stretching. You see the saddest version of yourself. Your world is thrown into a tailspin. Cancer may have taken a lot from me, but I too have taken so much from this journey.
I was excited about turning 40 the same year as my diagnosis. I had to clear my schedule, because cancer steals months to years of your life. A large part of the breast cancer journey is maintaining some sort of guise of a “normal” life, which is both physically hard and mentally exhausting. I was forced to take a leave of absence from work. This was a time in my life when it was necessary to focus on myself and my needs. My three children needed me, I needed them. I was not going to put my doctorate on hold, the routine of research and writing helped me feel grounded.
No one knows you have cancer, until you tell them. I am a very private person. I am a social media lurker; I do not post but I occasionally scroll. Through grief therapy, I quickly learned what a “grief tourist” was; someone who pretends to care but will never offer help or support in a meaningful capacity. They follow your story simply because they want to see what living with cancer is like and are scared that it will happen to them. There is also the “Cancer Ghost” when friends disappear after your diagnosis due to fear or the stigma surrounding cancer. I wasn’t there for that; I kept my diagnosis quiet and only shared it with certain family and close friends. The grief tourists and cancer ghosts were easy to weed out. I continued being a social media lurker and posted the obligatory pictures on my children’s birthdays.
My mom attended every appointment with me at Miami Cancer Institute. The patient is given a blue wristband and monitors upon entering the building, most times they turned to my mom to place both. My mom repeatedly says, “If I could switch places with you, I would in a heartbeat”. My first surgery was a lumpectomy with immediate reconstruction, however that was not enough. My case was presented to the oncology board; I am only 39, with no family history of cancer. I was quickly ruled out as a candidate for radiation and five years of tamoxifen. The only option was a bilateral mastectomy with phased reconstruction, scheduled for February 8th, 2023.
On October 6th, 2023, I boarded a flight to the Bahamas with my best friend to celebrate my 40th birthday. A milestone birthday that my oncologist claimed would have been much different if my father, a medical doctor, had not believed in early detection and wrote a script for a mammogram at the age of 38.
On November 15th, 2023, I defended my dissertation and have proudly earned the title of Doctor. I have pictures through treatment, however not for the ‘gram. The pictures were to share my journey with my children when they were old enough. I have scars that tell a story of facing breast cancer and winning. I am sharing them here to spread awareness, that early detection saves lives. Listen to your body, you know it best. No matter who you are, you may have cancer, but it doesn’t have you.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The most common question I get asked is, “What exactly does a Reading Specialist do”? I work within the schools in all aspects of student literacy. Working with students identified as needing more literacy support that cannot be provided by the general teacher, in small group settings and one-to-one instruction.
Also, working with teachers to facilitate learning and professional development. However, I was presented with an opportunity this academic year to join an A-rated elementary school as a gen ed teacher where my children could also attend. I jumped on this opportunity, with a mixed bag of feelings about being in the same school as my children; they are thriving, and I love the welcoming community of educators and administration I work with daily.
You could say I am a hoarder of degrees and South Florida has served as an academic playground for studying and research. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education from the University of Central Florida. Following graduation, I returned home to Miami and earned a Master of Science from Florida International University in K-12 Reading Education.
Since learning never stops, I went on to obtain a Specialists degree from Nova Southeastern University in Early Literacy and Reading. Upon completion, I was given the opportunity to serve as an adjunct professor at NSU Fischler School of Education. With the support of my family, I continued at Nova Southeastern University to complete a Doctoral degree in Education with a concentration in Reading.
Image Credits
So You by Erica Sue
