“I was planning my life, where to go to college or where to go on spring break. When I was diagnosed with cancer, it was nothing I would ever expect.”
When diagnosed with cancer, reaching out to other survivors is one of the best ways to foster the strength to overcome the disease. Fortunately, local women that face breast cancer can find refuge at the Pink Ribbon Society, founded by Ann Peters, a 41 year breast cancer survivor.
The most harrowing challenges can lead to the most unexpectedly rewarding pursuits. Heather Banks can attest to that.
“I have everything that anyone could ever need.”
The above statement is not one you would expect from a two-time cancer survivor. Nevertheless, this is the positive outlook Sandra Schaffer maintains after having overcome both breast and thyroid cancer. With the support of family and friends, including Jenny Craig-Brown here at Ideas in Motion Media, Schaffer was able to not only beat cancer, but is living a fulfilling and meaningful life in Valparaiso.
Everyone knows someone who is struggling or has struggled with cancer. Whether a friend, family member, or co-worker, cancer always hits close to home. Margaret Vanna, 69, is not only a survivor of kidney cancer, but also the grandma of one of our Lifers, Justin Luna.
It was in April of 2006 when Crown Point resident Barbara Phelps started her day feeling under the weather and soon got a headache like one she had never felt before. After calling twin daughters Kathleen and Elizabeth Brown and asking that they return home from their dad’s a few blocks away to feed the dogs, Barb quickly started showing uncharacteristic behavior that raised concern in the sisters.
When people throw out the word cancer, you can often hear a pin drop in the room. When Highland resident Deanna Schmidt heard the word cancer in her doctor’s office a few years back, she thought, “Worst case scenario – it’s skin cancer.”
Every cancer survivor tells a different story. Some wage long, patient wars of attrition against the disease, some fight a short and dramatic battle. No one story is the same. For people like Matt McCall, sharing their unique experience is one of the most important things they can do.
After moving from East St. Louis in 1990, Stacey Smith has come to love the melting pot that is Northwest Indiana in the nearly three decades that she’s called Gary her home. So when Stacey was diagnosed with breast cancer - ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - in 2016, her family, friends, and healthcare professionals have helped her overcome every obstacle that she faced.
Fighting for her survival and staying strong in the face of adversity is, unfortunately, something in which Shawniece Robinson has become accustom. Now in her late-30’s, Shawniece has battled cancer three times in just twelve years and, while some around her lost their own battles, she’s been fortunate enough to now take what she’s learned throughout her life and pass it on to those around her.
Kerri Midkiff received a stage II breast cancer diagnosis in March of 2009, and for Kerri, her husband, and their two daughters (six and four years old), the news came as quite a shock.
