The Daily Progress 09/30/2012

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winning the battle

Breast Cancer Survivors Speak Out
Approximately 1 in 8 U.S. women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Count the number of women around youor think of 7 others you knowwho have not had cancer. The next case could you be, but if not, its likely to be someone youre close to. Breast cancer is still the most common cancer diagnosis for women. Diagnosis itself is not a death sentence, though. There have been numerous advancements over the years as Anthem Blue Cross notes more than 83 percent of those diagnosed are still alive after five yearscompared to just 64 percent in the 1960s. I sat down with five local ladies who are fighting, or have beaten, breast cancer as they shared their inspiring stories. By Terry Beigie

It was surreal, when I told people I had breast cancer, I still felt like I was talking about someone else, James says. Even a year or so later, it still seems so unreallike did this really happen to me?

Jackie James, 49, Cancer Free for 1 year

I felt a lump in my right breast for a few weeks so I scheduled a mammogram. I was 47. I found out June 16, 2011, and surgery was two days after my 48th birthday on June 29, 2011, James recalls. Diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer, James was surprised by the diagnosis. Shed always been very healthy and there was no breast cancer in her immediate family. It was surreal, when I told people I had breast cancer, I still felt like I was talking about someone else, she says. Even a year or so later, it still seems so unreallike did this really happen to me? Why? You wonder if it was something you did or something you didnt do. Its not. James nished chemotherapy in January and radiation in Apriland while it was a tough journey for her she had really important reasons to ght hard: two daughters (20 and 26 years old) and a baby granddaughter born in the midst of her ordeal in August 2011. I want Aaliyah to remember me. I want her to know methat was my motivation, James says. But it was really hard. I wont lie; it is one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with. I lost all of my hair. I cried so much, not out of vanity as someone who hasnt been through this may think, but because the woman I saw was just disappearing before my eyes. I looked like a cancer patient. James works at the University of Virginia Health System so she is familiar with the recommendations for mammogramsand followed them. Her last mammogram before nding the lump was February 2010. I was diagnosed with right breast cancer and there were suspicious areas in the left, she says. I opted for bilateral mastectomy in hopes they would get it all. I felt like I made the best choice. She also had reconstruction surgery. James was no stranger to the word cancer working at a hospital, but it was not something she felt could ever happen to her. A lot of people are like me, you just think it happens to other people, James says. Ive worked at a hospital for 30 years so I knew about it, but until it hits home you dont have a full understanding of what its about. It does happen to you, to your family, to everybody. Nobody really knows what people go through. You see people every day and you think their life is perfect, but you dont know until you have interactions with them. I thought my story might help people remember that. Friends, family and coworkers were super supportive, James says. My brother and sister came down from out of state. They stayed with me after my surgery, she says. I was off work sept/oct 2012 13

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