Author Kristin Harmel is no stranger to battles. After all, most of her novels deal with the Second World War.
But she never imagined that she would actually be fighting a battle of her own.
Something suspicious on the mammogram
Harmel was stunned when her routine mammogram discovered something suspicious. Even though it might have been nothing, her doctor still wanted her to do a biopsy.
Less than a week later, Harmel learned she had stage 1 breast cancer.
“I couldn’t believe it. Even when the mammogram found something and even after the biopsy, for several days I thought, ‘Of course I don’t have cancer,'” she remembers.
Her diagnosis came true when she received a call from Dr. Anu Saigal was the surgeon who would perform her lumpectomy.
“It felt like my world had fallen apart. My first thought was my son, who was just six years old. What if I didn’t get to see him grow up? It’s still a thought that haunts me when I worry about it happening again,” Harmel said.
Her next thoughts were about her husband and mother and what it would be like for them. And she was worried about herself.
When Harmel, then 43, had her annual mammogram in October 2022, she didn’t expect anything to happen. She had felt no lumps, had no risk factors and was healthy. Harmel diligently underwent annual mammograms and ultrasounds, which her doctor always ordered because of her dense breast tissue.
Read: A mammogram saved my life >>
Breast cancer treatments
On November 3rd, Harmel had a lumpectomy. Although diagnosed early, her cancer was particularly aggressive. She needed both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Harmel received chemotherapy from December 15, 2022 to April 2023. She underwent radiation for four weeks between mid-March and mid-April 2023.
Today she is still cancer free. But every six months she has either a mammogram or an ultrasound.
“It’s always very scary for me to go back in and get checked because I’m afraid they might find something,” Harmel admitted. “But it’s also a great comfort to know how closely I’m being watched now.”
If the cancer were to recur, Harmel knows these frequent checks will catch it early, when it is most treatable.
Giving back to the breast cancer community
Harmel is a native of Orlando, Florida, and was treated at Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, a national oncology practice. She learned how they help economically disadvantaged cancer patients in Florida with non-medical expenses through their foundation.
Harmel was so touched that she donated a portion of her advance for the novel “The Paris Daughter” to the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation and Susan G. Komen.
As for Susan G. Komen’s funding, Harmel likes that it funds cutting-edge research and does a lot of patient work.
“I wanted to help with this. I actually asked that half of my donation go to providing free mammograms to people because that’s what I really care about,” she said.
Each year, Harmel continues to donate to Susan G. Komen as well as the American Cancer Society’s annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Orlando.
Breast Cancer Advocacy
Six weeks after Harmel finished her cancer treatments in 2023, she went on a book tour. Her advocacy began with her readers.
“I have a unique platform. I publish in more than 35 languages and the majority of my readers are women,” explained Harmel. “With every new book and every talk, I have the opportunity to remind people to stay current with their annual mammograms and take care of their own health.”
Harmel’s latest books
Since she was about 10 years old, Harmel’s career goal was to become a writer. (Well, there was a brief period when she wanted to be a pop star named Mystica. But that didn’t last long.)
Harmel actually began her career as a journalist, but wrote her first novel in her early 20s. Soon after, she got a literary agent and on April Fools’ Day 2004, her first book, “How to Sleep with a Movie Star,” received an offer from what is now Grand Central Publishing.
Surprisingly, Harmel’s first novels were contemporary. But the kind of books she always wanted to write were historical novels.
Her first book, set during World War II, is The Sweetness of Forgetting, published in 2012. However, after that she wrote another contemporary book called The Life Intended. But she missed everything about writing about World War II—the research as well as the actual writing.
“I love writing about this time. I met really interesting people and learned so much from my research,” said Harmel.
Since then, all of her books were written during this time or were related to this time.
In her latest release, “The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau,” an octogenarian jewelry thief stumbles upon a bracelet that disappeared along with her sister on the night her mother was arrested and her sister was murdered during World War II. She realizes that if she finds out where the bracelet has been all these years, she might be able to find out who betrayed her family.
Mammograms can give you a happy life
Harmel’s new book “Meet Me in Paris” will be published next July. It’s a week-long love story set in contemporary Paris, featuring nine Americans and seven intertwined love stories, set against the backdrop of one of the most romantic cities in the world.
“I’m mostly known for writing historical fiction, so this is kind of a change of pace for me,” Harmel said.
However, for years she’s wanted to write something along the lines of the movie Love Actually, and this is it.
In the meantime, Harmel will continue to remind women to get mammograms.
“Before my cancer was diagnosed, I didn’t feel a lump or have any symptoms. My cancer was only discovered because I went for a mammogram on time,” Harmel said. “I am a living reminder of why it is so important to keep up with these routine checkups.”
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