Scientist, educator, breast cancer survivor treasures every day

By Andrea Busche

Alife-threatening health scare often has a way of changing one’s perspective.

After processing the pain and fear that accompany an illness, many people emerge on the other side with a profound sense of empathy and compassion.

This is true for Julie Lucas of Side Like, Minnesota.

Lucas, a well-educated woman with a booming career and a very full life, was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2019.

“I was very angry about getting breast cancer at 42,” she said. “After all, I was healthy and even teaching fitness classes at the time. I was determined to prove to myself that I was still me.”

Since then, Lucas has taken this declaration to heart, while continuing to honor and assist others. After shaving her head, she donated her long, thick, copper-colored hair to Children with Hair Loss. In 2021, Lucas partnered with The Angel Fund, a nonprofit organization, to raise money for others fighting cancer.

She even got a promotion. Lucas was recently named the executive director of MiningMinnesota, after the retirement of Frank Ongaro, who served in that role for 15 years.

For Lucas, each day of her post-cancer life is like receiving an unopened gift.

“I would tell other survivors, ‘Be grateful for each day,’” she said. “To wake up normal is a gift. Don’t take normal for granted.”

Early life

Lucas was born in Duluth. After her parents divorced when she was 8, she and her brother were raised in Barnum and Moose Lake. Her father sold pole barns for Lester Buildings and operated a hobby farm. Her mother was a supervisor at Ttek Assemblies in Barnum.

After graduating from Barnum High School, Lucas attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.

“I have always loved animals and the environment,” she said. “My goal going into college was to learn how the environment affects human health.”

Later, she earned a master’s degree in water resources science, also from UMD.

During college, Lucas became involved with UMD’s Large Lakes Observatory, where she studied ancient lake sediment. A later opportunity, through UMD’s Water Resources Science Program, is what brought her to the Iron Range.

Career

In addition to a passion for science, Lucas has also always loved to teach.

“My mom told me, ‘Other little girls would play with dolls; you had your stuffed animals lined up and you would teach them and read to them,’” Lucas said with a laugh.

For a time, she taught biology and chemistry at Mesabi Range Community College in Virginia. She later picked up an environmental consulting job at Northeast Technical Services. Much of the consulting work she did was for mining companies.

Lucas later worked in environmental management at Hibbing Taconite for 13 years – from 2008-2021. She became the director of Water Resources at Twin Metals in Ely in 2021.

And, she was recently named executive director at MiningMinnesota, and started this job Aug. 1, 2022.

She explained a bit about her new role.

“I was recruited for this role, which deals with copper nickel exploration. It goes back to my love of teaching. I work with the public, teaching people what copper nickel is all about.

“There is a lot of science involved,” she added. “I really like taking complicated scientific concepts and helping people understand them.”

As executive director, Lucas will educate a variety of groups, including schools, chambers of commerce, Rotary and other clubs.

In addition to her full-time career, Lucas is the elected supervisor for French Township. She serves on the board of directors for the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota. She is also on the board for a nonprofit organization called RAMS – Range Association of Municipalities and Schools.

Shocking diagnosis

In 2019, Lucas went in for a routine mammogram.

“I had no reason to think anything would be weird,” she said. “But afterwards, they called me and said, ‘We need you to come back in. It might just be an imaging issue.”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Her subsequent ultrasound and needle biopsy came back inconclusive. The next step was an excisional biopsy with a lumpectomy.

“My mom, Jane, and my husband, Matt, came with me,” she said. “When I woke up from surgery, I asked them, ‘It was cancer wasn’t it?’”

The entire tumor was removed with clean margins. And her lymph nodes were clear. But it was determined that Lucas had triple negative breast cancer, a pretty aggressive subtype.

“I had to have chemo – a total of 16 rounds,” she explained. “Four rounds of Doxorubicin, or what they call ‘Red Devil,’ because of its red color. It’s made out of naturally red bacteria. And then I had 12 rounds of Taxol.”

Once her long red hair started to fall out from the chemo, a group of supportive girlfriends surrounded Lucas when she shaved her head. As noted, her beautiful hair was donated to Children with Hair Loss. Throughout her treatments, Lucas suffered with mouth sores, exhaustion, heartburn, and sore, tired legs. She continued working full time at Hibbing Taconite, however, throughout her illness and treatments.

The next step for Lucas involved being given a choice: radiation or a double-mastectomy. Due to what she described as having “broken BRCA genes,” Lucas opted for the doublemastectomy.

At this point, Lucas’ prognosis looks good. She visits her doctor regularly for checkups and blood work. She is currently described as having “no evidence of disease” until she can officially be considered in remission, which occurs at the five-year mark.

Giving back

The experience of breast cancer was understandably very frightening for Lucas.

“It was such a scary, lonesome time, but it’s made me a lot more empathetic towards other people,” she noted.

Unfortunately, cancer does run in Lucas’ family. Her maternal grandmother had breast cancer, and her dad is currently fighting pancreatic cancer. Her uncle recently passed away from the disease. So the cause is deeply personal.

In 2021, Lucas decided to raise money for others fighting cancer, and partnered with the Angel Fund of Northeastern Minnesota. She biked 128 miles, from Ely to Grand Rapids in just two days, in an event called Ride Across the Range. This helped raise over $2,500 to help cancer patients. The event occurred in October, coinciding with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Deeper connections

Lucas found that the bonds she shares with her friends, husband and parents deepened during her experience.

“It’s incredible to me how women in particular will rally the troops to provide support,” she noted. “Whether through greeting cards, texts or calls – anything helps. It’s OK to say, ‘I don’t know what to say, but I love you and I’m here for you.’”

Hobbies and interests

When she isn’t working, Lucas enjoys gardening, with a particular affinity for creating pollinator gardens. She also enjoys snowshoeing, kayaking and reading.

She and her husband, Matt, who is a steelworker at Hibbing Taconite, have a cat named Rocky.

Advice

When asked, Lucas offered some advice for others who may be in a similar situation.

“Don’t procrastinate in life,” she said. “I always remind myself to stop thinking I will get a tomorrow.”

Another important thing to keep in mind is that we only get one body.

“One of the things that helped me get through it was to be healthy beforehand,” Lucas shared. “Our bodies are relying on us to take care of them. So, take care of the body you have.” D