Sisters Share Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Submitted by Penn Highlands Healthcare

CENTRE COUNTY — Cancer is a disease that does not play fairly — especially breast cancer, which is the most common type diagnosed among women in the U.S. In many instances, breast cancer creeps into a person’s life when they are raising their family or at the pinnacle of their career, when they do not have time for an illness to slow them down.

Just ask Abby Danko, a 40-year-old mother of three from Morrisdale whose breast cancer journey began three years ago.

“In 2021, when I went for my annual gynecological visit, I was experiencing some irregular bleeding,” Danko shared. “My doctor ordered some tests, including a mammogram which detected a spot on my chest. A second mammogram was performed, which also revealed something that required attention.”

She continued, “I had been seeing my Penn Highlands Healthcare gynecologists since I had my first child, and he was 12 at the time, so I trusted their recommendation. I was referred to Dr. Kelley Smith, and since I heard good things about her in the community, I scheduled an appointment.”

Danko met with Smith, a board-certified general surgeon at Penn Highlands DuBois, who provides a comprehensive range of surgical procedures and specializes in women’s health and genetic testing for hereditary cancers.

The tumor was on Danko’s chest wall. When Smith performed a biopsy, they learned the tumor was malignant, and the cancer was at Stage 0 DCIS.

“There was a history of breast cancer in my family, and I knew that if I ever received that diagnosis, I would have a double mastectomy,” Danko explained.

Smith performed the surgery on July 29, 2021. However, an underlying autoimmune disease that Danko had been living with for years delayed her healing and necessitated treatment at a national health system outside of Pennsylvania. In 2023, Danko’s sister, Kelly Williamson, also learned she had breast cancer.

“Our mother, our younger sister and I had the genetic testing conducted to identify whether we carry the breast cancer gene. Our mother and sister tested positive for the BARD-1 gene, but I do not have the gene,” Williamson said. “However, since some of the results showed that there could be a higher risk of me contracting breast cancer over my lifetime, it was advised that I be tested more often — every six months.” 

Williamson’s genetic testing occurred in August 2022 when she was 41 years old; that’s the time that most women begin having their first mammograms.

On Oct. 23, 2023, Williamson had a double mastectomy. She recovered in just six weeks.

Williamson credited Smith and her physician assistant, Melissa Hilliard, with her recovery.

“When Melissa gave me the results of my biopsy in person, she gave me a hug and we cried together,” Williamson said. “Dr. Smith is amazing. They are both tremendous people.”