Ami Mehr’s Story

How has breast cancer affected your life?

Ami Mehr has been rowing since she moved to Boston in 1999.

In 2013, she began having pain under her left armpit. Out of caution, she went in for a mammogram. The pain turned out to be a muscle issue, but that appointment opened the door to yearly mammograms.

One year later, in April 2014, Ami returned home from Disney with her husband and two-year-old son and found a reminder in the mail telling her to schedule her next mammogram.

That reminder saved her life.

The mammogram revealed significant calcifications, which led to a biopsy. Ami had no family history of breast cancer, so when her doctor told her that 80 percent of the time it was nothing, she believed him.

Forty-eight hours later, she learned she had DCIS, stage 0 breast cancer.

 

How did you decide on treatment?

After her diagnosis, Ami called a family member who had also faced breast cancer. She was encouraged to get multiple opinions before deciding on treatment.

Ultimately, the plan at MGH felt right.

Ami chose a nipple- and skin-saving double mastectomy with reconstruction.

In the two months before surgery, Ami turned to rowing. She jokes that she rowed more during that stretch than she ever had before.

“I went into that surgery the strongest I possibly could be,” she shared in 2023.

For Ami, rowing was not just exercise. It was preparation. It gave her something to do with her fear and a way to feel strong before stepping into surgery.

 

What helped you recover after surgery?

After surgery, Ami’s mother moved in to help care for her two-year-old.

But Ami’s mind quickly returned to rowing.

She set a goal for herself: row in the Head of the Charles that October.

Not everyone understood it. Ami jokes that everyone thought she was crazy. But with support from her doctors and a sports PT, she worked toward that race.

Two weeks before race day, she got back in a boat.

That goal helped carry her through the hard days after surgery.

“That’s what I was going to do,” Ami shared. “No matter how crappy I felt, it remained my goal.”

What was race day like?

On race day, the course was filled with friends, family, and doctors cheering for Ami.

But the most powerful moment came before the race even began.

At the start line, a double rainbow appeared.

Ami cried hard.

“I don’t even know how I held the oar handle for the first half of the race,” she shared. “All the emotion from the entire time came flooding out while rowing.”

That moment held everything: the fear, the surgery, the recovery, the people who had carried her, and the goal that had helped her keep going.

 

How has rowing continued to shape your life?

Rowing has remained a guide for Ami through other difficult chapters.

After Ami’s diagnosis, her mother was later diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in both breasts. She went on to have the same surgeries, with the same doctors, as Ami.

Ami found herself in a new role: sitting in the supporting chair while her mother became the patient.

Then in 2019, Ami was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Surgery and recovery were difficult, but the tumor was benign, which Ami considers a huge blessing.

Through each of these experiences, Ami returned to the same mindset: find a goal and keep moving toward it.

 

What is one meaningful way someone supported you?

One of the most thoughtful things someone did for Ami came from her hairdresser in Sudbury.

After Ami’s surgery, she did not want to leave the house. So her hairdresser came to her. Multiple times, she washed Ami’s hair and gave her a blow dry.

They even did the blow dry outside to avoid bringing germs into the house.

To Ami, that small act felt enormous.

“That pampering made me feel like a million bucks,” she says.

What advice would you give someone newly diagnosed?

Ami’s advice is to focus on a goal.

Everyone’s story is different, and not every goal has to be a race. It can be something small, something personal, or something that gives structure to the next step.

For Ami, the goal was getting back in a boat and crossing the finish line.

“Even when it hurts, you finish the race,” she says.

That mindset helped her move through surgery, recovery, and the uncertainty that followed.

“You really need to focus on a goal,” Ami says. “That’s what is going to get you through.”

Her story reminds us that sometimes a goal can become a lifeline. For Ami, rowing gave her a place to put her fear, her focus, and eventually, her healing.

See you on the stage, Ami!