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PRICEVILLE, Alabama (AP) – Pink lights illuminate the driveway to Traci DeWeese's front door with a pink wreath. Priceville's 45-year-old wife, known for her caring and generous spirit, set up the lights one week after undergoing her first chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.
"I have never been a rosy person. However, I'm a fan of pink now, "DeWeese said, pointing to pink paints, a pink collar and a gray blanket with a pink lettering. "One of my friends even gave me a pink cape of superheroes. Cancer will not be what will make me. I am stronger than that. Yes, I am a survivor, but I am also a warrior. I am a fighter. "
For DeWeese, this fight began in May, when she became one of the 266,120 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in the United States this year. One in eight women will develop breast cancer, a disease that kills more than 40,000 people each year.
"Everyone has been touched by breast cancer. Whether it's your mother, your sister, your wife, your daughter, your best friend or your colleague, everyone knows someone, "DeWeese said.
In October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, splashes of roses will appear on football fields, grocery store aisles and parade walkways, while sports teams, businesses, churches, fashion houses First responders and hospitals educate people about the disease.
In northern Alabama, groups have organized painting parties on bra, art auctions, fashion shows, marches and bunco parties. Lee Lott's Power of Pink Walk and the Power of Pink Luncheon and the fashion show are two of the most popular events, attracting 2,000 people and raising $ 100,000.
"These events concern as much the celebration of life as awareness and funding. We are here to celebrate the survivors and remember those we have lost, "said Noel Lovelace, president of the Decatur Morgan Hospital Foundation, which organizes the march scheduled for Oct. 14 and the fashion show. scheduled for 23 October.
The proceeds from these two events will benefit the hospital's breast and breast cancer services, including providing free and discount mammograms to women in need.
"The money should not be a problem if someone gets a mammogram or not," Lovelace said.
DeWeese, who saw her mother fighting breast cancer in 2012, understands the importance of mammograms very well.
"I have religiously for years. My last was in November. They all came back healthy, "DeWeese said.
But at the beginning of May, three months after undergoing a gastric sleeve surgery and losing 45 pounds, DeWeese felt a soft-knot-sized bow under her right arm. Maybe she contracted a muscle while working, she told herself When the knot did not leave, she made an appointment with her doctor, who performed a mammogram and an ultrasound and the directed to Dr. Randy Buckner.
Two biopsies revealed the presence of breast cancer.
"It was a Tuesday morning at 7 o'clock in the morning. I was asleep and my phone was vibrating. I do not even know how I heard it, "DeWeese said. "He said," Traci, it's Dr. Buckner, can you talk? I replied, "Of course. He said, "You have breast cancer." I did not think it would be cancer. Cancer was the furthest thing from my mind. "
Amy Sherrill woke up this Tuesday morning with DeWeese, her close cousin and friend, in the lead. She dialed the DeWeese number and heard the news.
"It was a difficult day. It took him a few hours to treat him. But after that, she had a warlike attitude. There is no way for her to let that beat her. She is one of the strongest people I know, "Sherrill said.
Three days after hearing the words "You have breast cancer," DeWeese sits in the office of Dr. Sammy Becdach, the same oncologist who treated his mother. She underwent a PET-scan, a MUGA, and an MRI, which revealed two spots in her right breast – a cancerous, a no – that did not manifest during a mammogram.
On June 6, she started aggressive chemotherapy.
"They call the drug the Red Devil. I had nausea and neuropathy. I am sore and tired most of the time, but I can simulate it well. It's nothing that I can not handle though, "DeWeese said.
After his second out of four sessions with the Red Devil, DeWeese's hair began to fall in clumps. She made an appointment with her stylist, Julie Burleson, to shave her hair – which she considered her essential feature -.
"I've always had a lot of long, thick hair. But there are not many things that I can control at the moment and how and when I will lose my hair. I cried twice, but it was stimulating, "DeWeese said.
Instead of wearing a wig, she decided to kiss her bald head.
"I've been rocking him ever since. My close friends said, "Your hair does not define you, you define yourself." That's so important to me, "said DeWeese." Some strangers came up to me and said, "You're so beautiful." A McDonald's driving lady told me that's the other way around. day. It made my whole day. "
She described these comments as "little blessings".
Since her diagnosis, DeWeese has experienced "little blessings" every day, ranging from the neighbor who mowed her lawn to the wooden cross that a nurse had given her on the first day of treatment. There are the pink and white pom-poms of her neighbor's daughter, the hand-made rosary beads made by her friend's mother, and the photos taken by a DeWeese photographer and her best friends before she loses her hair. She writes each act of kindness in a pink notebook.
"I think of the outpouring of love and sincere support that I have received. Every person on this list has made me stronger and made a difference in my life, "DeWeese said.
Blessings include a pink cover with "911 on my back" in pink letters, a Decatur Fire & Rescue "Cancer Fighter" hat, and a 911 Morgan County item basket, where DeWeese works as a supervisor.
"I could retire, but I do not intend to do it. I plan to go back there. That's not going to be what makes me. I am stronger than that. I'm disabled right now, but it's only until I stop cancer, "DeWeese said.
After five other weekly chemotherapy sessions, DeWeese will undergo another MRI to determine if she will need additional treatment. In the absence of cancerous activity, she will undergo a double mastectomy and a reconstruction.
DeWeese's mother, who had a left breast mastectomy in 2012, is fighting breast cancer again. She will begin her chemotherapy treatments this month.
"My mother waited to tell me that her cancer was back until my plan was established. I told her, "Next time, instead of having breast cancer together, let's go on a trip." Once I discovered hers, I started telling everyone. She is no longer a private person and was a bit hesitant at first, but she agrees with that now. The more people who pray for you, the better you will be, "said DeWeese.
Both Falkville Police Services and Decatur Fire & Rescue are selling t-shirts to raise funds for DeWeese. Other events planned to honor DeWeese include a Peggy McCulloch Cookin 'for a Cure at Priceville's Smokehouse BBQ on October 14 at 2:30 pm. and Barbells for Breasts at Golden Ape CrossFit in Decatur on October 20th at 9am.
"I believe in God, I believe in the power of prayer and I believe things happen for a reason. The only reason I found the mass, it is because I have undergone the operation. It was an affair of God. I really believe that there is a reason why I fight cancer. It may be so that I can share my story and encourage other women to get control. If they are afraid, I will go with them. You are not alone, "DeWeese said.
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Information provided by: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
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