JOHN COFFELTEditor

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

When retired hair stylist and breast cancer survivor Monie Lundquist was diagnosed with breast cancer in early April of 2013, it was the support of those around her that got her through her treatment and recovery.

“I had some great support,” Lundquist said. Her friend and fellow cancer survivor Rita Young was there every step of the way.

“You have to have your family support and your friend support. That’s what pushes you and gets you through,” she said.

“It’s so nice to have somebody (tell you), “hey, that’s normal or “maybe you ought to call your doctor.”

“Rita was so cheerful. She called every day,” Lundquist said. “I had a couple of people who would do that.”

Young said that when someone comes to you with a cancer diagnosis, “You have to give them hope because if they give up hope from the beginning, (it’s tragic).”

When Lundquist’s diagnosis came, everything changed in a moment with the word “cancer.”

More than six letters, the word, when the diagnosis comes, becomes dreadful and sinister. There’s superstitious tendency to avoid using the term. It’s like acknowledging the word will make the condition real.

Lindquist even tried to return a get well bouquet of flowers. “Why am I getting these? I’m not sick,” she told the florist.

But that silence is a seething malignancy in its own way.

“‘Cancer’ is just not a word that you want to repeat, but once you said the word, you kinda accepted it, dealt with it and pushed on,” she said.

Young said that when she heard that she had cancer, it was like hitting a wall.

“I was at school, at my desk. There was no one around… it’s bad to hear it, but in a lot of cases we can overcome (the disease). There are cases that we know of that did not overcome, but we were, I think the fortunate ones,” Young said.

Both Young and Lundquist were diagnosed early and their tumors small.

Lundquist’s tumor was only a few millimeters wide. In fact, during the biopsy, the entire mass was removed, and then during the surgery that followed, her surgeon mostly just cleaned up the tissue around it. Radiation treatments were scheduled twice a day for five days following the surgery. A SAVI catheter-type applicator was used to administer radiation to precise tissue near where the lump had been.

Early detection and regular mammograms are important the two survivors say.

Following her mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer, Young was prompt with her annual mammogram until she skipped one in 2010. She realized the mistake in 2011. She went in anyway, late and a lump was detected in 2011.

Playing a what-if game, Young wonders had she not have skipped the 2010, would the mass been large enough to be detected or had she waited until the next scheduled one how much worse would the mass would have been worse.

“Mammograms are important,” she stressed. “The numbers show how many success stories are way above the sad stories. In the 13 years since mine, they have made so many improvements with treatment.”

“Talk to people,” Lundquist said. “Tell people. I didn’t want to tell anybody. When I could talk about it and have friends and support, it helped a lot. Don’t hide it. You need to be open and talk to people.”

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.