Mom of 3 Beats Stage 3 Cancer, Shares Reconstruction Story

When DeAnn Fylling's mammogram came back clear one year, then showed Stage 3 breast cancer the next, she knew she had to act fast.

The Bismarck mom of three made a brave choice. Instead of removing just the affected breast, she opted for a double mastectomy to give herself the best chance at watching her daughters grow up.

"I have three girls. At the time they were 14, 10, and 6," Fylling said. "I just really wanted to give myself the best shot at longevity."

Fylling is a fitness enthusiast, first sergeant in the North Dakota Army National Guard, and saxophone player. She tackled chemotherapy first, then faced another decision: whether to pursue breast reconstruction.

Her surgeon at Sanford Health, Dr. Jesse Dirksen, walked her through what each option would look like. Fylling chose reconstruction during the same surgery as her mastectomy, wanting to maintain a sense of normalcy after an abnormal diagnosis.

"I never thought that I really cared that much about how my chest looked," she said. "But there's just a level of femininity that I wanted to maintain."

Four months after surgery, an infection required removing and replacing one implant. Dr. Andrew Mills, her plastic surgeon in Bismarck, performed three procedures to treat the infection and restore the reconstruction.

Why This Inspires

Dr. Mills sees these moments as the heart of his work. "A lot of women, every time they see themselves in the mirror, it's a stark reminder of the trauma, the cancer, chemo, radiation, everything they have gone through," he explained.

Plastic surgery after cancer isn't about vanity. It's about giving patients back a piece of what the disease took away, helping them feel confident and whole again.

Fylling never wanted a breast augmentation, but she's grateful for the care that came with her reconstruction. "Dr. Mills in particular has just been really, really patient with me," she said.

Today, you'd never guess what Fylling has been through. That's exactly the point of reconstruction: letting survivors move forward without constant reminders of their battle.