Women pushed to utilize cancer tests [The Laurinburg Exchange, N.C.]

Oct. 31--LAURINBURG -- The annual breast cancer awareness event hosted by the Rho Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. on Tuesday proved to be cathartic as well as educational as five breast cancer survivors shared their stories.

"A lot of women are very secretive when they have an illness and they don't really want to share those kinds of things," said event organizer and Rho Alpha Omega member Barbara Ellison.

Kathie Cox, health educator at the Scotland County Department of Health presented information on the importance of mammograms and preventive self-examinations during the event, held at Jones Temple AME Church. Women aged 40 and up should have mammograms annually, while women in their 20s and 30s should have one every three years, Cox said.

"Sometimes they're uncomfortable for people, sometimes just slightly painful, but for 10 seconds worth of discomfort, if they find something early, it will save your life," said Cox.

Cox said that about 90 percent of women whose breast cancer is detected early, before it has spread beyond the breast, will survive. The disease is the most common cause of cancer death among African American women, Cox said, who typically receive mammograms at a lower rate than white women.

"Unfortunately, few black American women know about and take advantage of mammography," said Cox. "It's suggested that a lot of times black American women may not trust the health care system, also they may not have insurance."

According to Cox, 58 percent of black American women 40 and over have ever had a mammogram, compared to 65 percent of white women of the same age. Ellison recalled a time when basic medical care for African-Americans was a rarity, let alone preventive cancer screenings.

"We didn't have any insurance, I remember my grandmother and all of the older women in the community," she said. "You asked somebody who is your family doctor, it's your grandmother. They've got a cure for everything. We just did not have adequate medical care and some people still do not have it today."

Following Cox's presentation, a five-member survivor panel of Beatrice Blue, Betsy Ellerbe, Ida Jones, Marion McRae, and Charlotte Covington recounted their experiences being diagnosed with and treated for cancer.

Blue was diagnosed in January 2010 after detecting an unusual lump in her left breast by chance while tying her tennis shoes. She underwent a partial mastectomy and five weeks of chemotherapy.

"Chemo is no joke, cause that medicine is going through your veins and it's attacking every cell in your body," she said. "The pain in my feet, it was like nothing I ever could have imagined. It was like something was just stabbing the bottom of my feet; I could not even get up and walk. But that was the only thing that bothered me."

The loss of her hair was one of the most traumatic side effects of Blue's treatment, but provided a window through which she could find a sense of humor during her ordeal.

"I was devastated by that because I thought the only thing I had going for me was my hair," Blue said. "God got me through and I got over it and hey, these divas put on these wigs and they do it up, so I decided to do it up."

Despite yearly mammograms after having a fibroid tumor removed at the age of 20, Blue discovered a lump the size of a dime high in her left breast while performing a self-examination 19 years later.

"I had the privilege of having a wonderful sister-in-law," she said, "who was diagnosed with breast cancer and went home to be with the Lord at age 40 -- a year before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. When I was diagnosed I thought surely, I'm going to die."

Thoughts of the future with her 9-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter helped Ellerbe get through the pain of chemotherapy treatments.

"When I went to get that first chemo treatment, I said I wasn't coming back, and then I got home and I saw those little faces and I'm like Lord, I can't help but go back."

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