Author Kristin Harmel is no stranger to battles. After all, most of her novels focus on World War II.
But she never thought she’d actually be fighting a battle of her own.
Something suspicious on the mammogram
Harmel was stunned when her routine mammogram uncovered something suspicious. Although it might have been nothing, her healthcare provider (HCP) wanted her to have a biopsy anyway.
Less than a week later, Harmel found out she had stage 1 breast cancer.
“I couldn’t believe it. Even when the mammogram found something, and even after the biopsy, I spent several days thinking, ‘Of course I don’t have cancer,’” she recalled.
Her diagnosis became real when she received a call from Anu Saigal, M.D., the surgeon who would perform her lumpectomy.
“It felt like the bottom had dropped out of my world. My first thought was my son, who was just 6. What if I didn’t live to get to see him grow up? It’s still a thought that haunts me when I worry about recurrence,” said Harmel.
Her next thoughts were about her husband and her mom and how it would be for them. And, she was worried about herself.
When Harmel, then 43, had her annual mammogram in October 2022, she didn’t expect anything would be wrong. She hadn’t felt any lumps, had no risk factors and was healthy. Harmel diligently got yearly mammograms and ultrasounds, which her HCP always ordered because of her dense breast tissue.
Breast cancer treatments
On November 3, Harmel had a lumpectomy. Although it was diagnosed early, her cancer was particularly aggressive. She needed both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Harmel received chemotherapy from December 15, 2022, through April 2023. For four weeks between mid-March and mid-April, 2023, she went through radiation.
Today, she’s still cancer-free. But every six months, she either has a mammogram or ultrasound.
“It’s always very scary for me to go in and get checked again because I’m terrified they’ll find something,” Harmel admitted. “But there’s also great comfort in knowing how closely I’m being watched now.”
If the cancer were to return, Harmel knows that these frequent checks would catch it early, when it’s most treatable.
Giving back to the breast cancer community
A resident of Orlando, Florida, Harmel was treated by Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, a statewide oncology practice. She learned how they help Florida economically disadvantaged cancer patients with non-medical expenses through their foundation.
Harmel was so moved that she donated a portion of her advance for the novel The Paris Daughter, to the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation and to Susan G. Komen.
As for the funding for Susan G. Komen, Harmel likes that they fund cutting-edge research and do a lot of patient outreach.
“I wanted to help with that. I actually asked that half of my donation go to provide free mammograms for people because that’s what really matters to me,” she said.
Every year, Harmel continues to donate to Susan G. Komen as well as the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer annual walk in Orlando.
Advocacy for breast cancer
Six weeks after Harmel finished her cancer treatments in 2023, she went out on a book tour. Her advocacy began with her readers.
“I have a unique platform. I’m published in more than 35 languages, and the majority of my readers are women,” Harmel explained. “I have the opportunity with every new book and every speaking engagement to remind people to stay up to date with their annual mammograms and be vigilant about their own health.”
Harmel’s latest books
Since she was about 10 years old, Harmel’s career goal was to be a writer. (Well, there was a brief time 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 Fool’s Day in 2004, her first book How to Sleep with a Movie Star, received an offer through what is now Grand Central Publishing.
Surprisingly, Harmel’s first few novels were contemporary. But the kind of books she always wanted to write were historical novels.
Her initial book set during World War II is The Sweetness of Forgetting published in 2012. After that, though, she wrote another contemporary book called The Life Intended. But she missed everything about writing about World War II — the research as well as doing the actual writing.
“I love writing about that time. I’ve met really interesting people and learned so much while doing research,” Harmel said.
Since then, all of her books have taken place during or had ties to that era.
In her latest release, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, an octogenarian jewel thief comes across a bracelet that disappeared with her sister the night her mother was arrested and her sister was murdered during WWII. She realizes that if she can figure out where the bracelet has been all these years, she may learn who betrayed her family.
Mammograms can give you your happily ever after
Harmel’s new book Meet Me in Paris will be published this coming July. It’s a love story set over the course of a week in modern-day Paris, featuring nine Americans and seven intertwining love stories, with the backdrop being one of the most romantic cities in the world.
“I’m primarily known for writing historical fiction, so this is a bit of a departure for me,” said Harmel.
For years, though, she’s wanted to write something in the vein of the movie Love Actually, and this is it.
In the meantime, Harmel will keep reminding women to get their mammograms.
“I didn’t feel a lump before my cancer was diagnosed, nor did I experience any symptoms. My cancer was found only because I went in for my mammogram on time,” said Harmel. “I’m a living, breathing reminder of why it’s so vital to keep up with these routine screenings.”
