Fayetteville resident Cathy Andrews felt the lump in her breast and immediately called her doctor. A mammogram and ultrasound later, she was escorted into another room to see the doctor. “When they start drawing and measuring, you know something is wrong,” she says.
Next she underwent a biopsy and then surgery to remove pre-cancerous cells. Following her surgery, she felt fine. “I didn’t feel like anything was wrong with me, so when they told me I DID have cancer, I was in disbelief. I was determined to keep a positive attitude. That, and my trust in the Lord would get me through.” After more tests confirmed that cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, Andrews faced making decisions about what to do.
She is a vocational education teacher at West Hoke Middle School in Raeford. “My supervisor is a breast cancer survivor, and she urged me to seek a second opinion. My family, especially my sister Mae, has been a real source of strength for me. I visited theUNC Lineberger web site and called to make an appointment.”
Andrews’ large and dedicated support team of her husband, sisters, brother-in-law and mother came with her to Chapel Hill where they met Dr. Keith Amos. “Everyone was so concerned,” Andrews remembers. “I was deeply touched by their care.” Amos recommended surgery to clear the margins, so operations were scheduled to be followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
Andrews grew concerned about missing so much work, but “all my co-workers and my principal were supportive and told me not to worry. My job has been held for me, and I’ll return to school in January, just about the time I finish radiation.”
The chemotherapy was hard on Andrews, requiring additional trips to UNC to manage side effects. Despite her weakness, Andrews, secretary of her family’s reunion committee, managed to organize an 80-person gathering at her home, despite being in the hospital in Chapel Hill. “I have things I have to get done,” she says. “ I was on the phone fmuch of the time in the hospital making sure everything went well.”
That determination has carried her through an additional health setback when she experienced hemorrhaging in her eyes due to her diabetes, requiring corrective surgeries.
“Having cancer has changed me,” Andrews says. “I used to be the one who took care of everyone else, but now I take better care of myself. It was different for me, but my supportive family convinced me to let go of some things.” Her church family at Bible Way in Fayetteville has offered her sustained support.
She cites the support and care of her UNC team as important. “Everyone was so kind and helpful; they became like family to me. The team of nurses, the staff, my medical oncologist Dr. Carey Anders, Beth Fogel, the Resource Center, and Dr. Amos. He is so professional and gentle. I would invite him over to my house for dinner, just like a family member.”
Andrews suggests that newly diagnosed patients “keep a positive attitude and adopt an ‘I can make it’ spirit.”