Argyle Breasties Find Strength in Numbers

“No one should go through cancer alone.”

Not once has Leana McDougal felt alone in her cancer journey. From the moment she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer on Feb. 6 — the day before her 45th birthday — she’s had loving friends, family, and even strangers showing up in droves to offer support. More than a handful even said they knew someone going through a similar journey and insisted that Leana reach out.

While she agreed no one should experience cancer alone, Leana couldn’t help but feel awkward about contacting someone she didn’t know to talk about something so profoundly personal and scary. Thankfully, she took one of those friends up on the offer anyway.

The result was a group of Argyle moms turned “Breasties”— a local support group Leana wouldn’t have expected in a million years.

“We joke that it’s the group no one wants to be part of,” Leana said. “That said, I love being part of it as I go through this journey. It’s more personal than reaching out to a random person, and it’s nice to have a group where you won’t be judged.”

Argyle Breasties started with three women — Leana, Amy Fannin, and Michelle Leach. Amy and Leana knew each other already from having kids at Hilltop Elementary, and Amy was also going through her own breast cancer journey. As it turned out, she knew Michelle Leach, who had the same form of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer as Leana. 

The trio met one day in March at Michelle’s house, and, as they say, the rest is history. 

Argyle Breasties has expanded to 10 women between the ages of 39 and 51 — most of whom live in Argyle and Flower Mound. 

A few of those women include Amy McCarty, Dawn Harden, Corrie Poli, and Denise Butler. Some found out they had breast cancer during a self-exam or annual mammogram, and many of them have already undergone double mastectomies and double-digit rounds of chemo treatments. All the while, they tirelessly support each other, sharing intimate details about their respective journeys, asking personal questions, bouncing best practices off each other, and helping each other avoid getting down in the dumps.

“We can share our war stories,” Leana said. “I swear Michelle should be an Argyle politician because she knows everybody. As we’ve expanded, we’ve grown even closer over time.”

Amy Fannin agreed, adding, “I think having people close by who can relate to the emotional experience is very helpful. Every woman in this group is incredibly encouraging—nothing negative is ever said about any situation. What’s remarkable to me is that we started this in March or April, and we’ve brought in so many other ladies along the way, each with similar experiences time-wise.”

Michelle couldn’t agree more about how remarkable it is to have so many women nearby to rely on. After being diagnosed in early March, she felt compelled to share her story and immediately turned to social media as her outlet. 

To her surprise, Amy Fannin said she’d been diagnosed not too much earlier. 

“Once Amy, Leana, and I started meeting regularly, it wasn’t long before my neighbor directly across the street admitted that she also had breast cancer. She hadn’t told anyone up to that point,” Michelle said. “I also knew Amy McCarty for over 12 years. Our children went to the same in-home nanny in Grapevine — long before we moved to Argyle. I introduced her to one of my nurse friends who also had the same type of breast cancer three years ago. When I was diagnosed in March, I reached out to Amy M. to ask her about her team of surgeons, and she joined our Breasties circle as a survivor.

“In the blink of an eye, we’d created our little support group. I have a relationship with these women, which keeps us all going.”

Denise Butler agreed. She and Michelle are both local nurses.“We know what each other is going through,” Denise said. She has the same form of breast cancer as Leana and Michelle. “It’s been an inspiration to me, and it helps me mentally when I get scared. I have someone to call.”

Every member of Argyle Breasties is confident about the journey ahead and is committed to ensuring other women get checked early. 

“You can think it won’t happen to you, but it can,” Denise said.

Leana agreed, adding, “Don’t wait. By the time I found my tumor, it was already at Stage 2. Raising awareness is that important.”