NASHUA – Manuela St. Germain had no idea that she had two forms of breast cancer until her annual mammogram scan showed lumps deeply hidden in her tissue.

Around September, St. Germain was diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ, more commonly known as LCIS, and ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.

“My yearly mammogram did it. With my monthly checks, I never felt a lump, never mind two lumps because it was so deep into the tissue. It was right next to the chest wall, so there was no feeling it,” said St. Germain, a Pelham resident. “It was so deep of a cancer, the same week I had my mammogram, I had my yearly check with my OB and they didn’t even detect it. It was a very deep tumor. So I am very blessed that they were able to find it on the mammogram screen.”

St. Germain had two minor surgeries last fall in the form of lumpectomies, where the cancerous tumors in her breast were removed.

After her surgeries, St. Germain had six weeks of healing. Then it was time for her to go through radiation therapy. The staff at the Nashua Regional Cancer Center made her treatment as painless as possible, she said.

This year is the center’s 20th anniversary, and to coincide with the anniversary, the center has also changed its name to the Radiation Center of Greater Nashua.

The renaming is to let patients and the public know exactly what the center specializes in, said executive director Barbara Kimball,

“The radiation center more clearly communicates the services we provide. Twenty years ago, in the Nashua community, cancer care was pretty indifferently organized. There were no major comprehensive centers,” she said.

The center, established in 1992, is the cooperative partnership of St. Joseph Hospital, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center and Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital, all of which have their own cancer centers.

The Nashua Regional Cancer Center is just off Exit 8 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike at 11 N. Southwood Drive in Nashua.

Along with the name change, the Radiation Center of Greater Nashua will also don new colors and a new logo and an updated website. As far as patient and employee satisfaction is concerned, Kimball reports that the center receives rave reviews from both groups.

St. Germain was one of those reviews. Her radiation regimen lasted six weeks; she received a 15-minute treatment Monday through Friday. She credits the staff for her positive experience.

“The folks over there are just wonderful. I can’t say enough about them. I absolutely adore them. They’re better than family … treated me with absolute, utter respect because you’re kind of vulnerable because you have to expose yourself … and you’re scared,” St. Germain said. “I have to say I pulled through it with flying colors, and seeing their happy, smiling faces every day really helped. They actually said the same (of) me.”

She noted that one of the other cancer patients at the center asked her if she was a patient there because she was so happy through her whole ordeal.

“What’s the sense in being down about it?” St. Germain said. “You’re getting treatment and you keep going. I just look at it as they found it, God help them, they found it.”

According to Kimball, radiation therapy utilizes high-energy X-rays and/or electrons to treat cancer. It can be used alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy to cure or control the disease.

St. Germain considers herself blessed because this was the worst part of her cancer experience. She is thankful that she did not have go undergo chemotherapy therapy, which has more severe effects on the body than radiation therapy.

St. Germain did receive skin burns from the radiation, which is a normal side effect of the treatment. She noted that she has to be careful when she goes out in the sun this summer, but added that she believes this season will be a good one. St. Germain has been cancer-free since April 1 and is happy to say she has been without the disease since April Fools’ Day.

“They always say it’s your attitude. You just have to look at it like you’re finishing all of the innings,” she said. “Keep a smile on your face.”

Kimball named her staff as the main reason for the center’s success, which treats on average between 375 and 400 patients a year. She noted that the Radiation Center of Greater Nashua is home to a practice of radiation oncologists – Radiation Oncology Associates – who have been accredited by the American College of Radiology and have been with the center since its inception 20 years ago. The center also employs 18 people who are also integral to the entity’s success.

“The staff here are very dedicated to treating patients, not only delivering their treatment in a very professional and obviously with very clinical expertise, but they’re very committed to patients and maintaining an environment that promotes hope and comfort,” Kimball said.

Erin Place can be reached at 594-6589 or eplace@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Place on Twitter (@Telegraph_ErinP).