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This is a blog story done by a breast cancer survivor named Juanita Williams.
Juanita tells us that she was a single mom who raised four children with the support and help of her family.
Juanita’s survivor, backstory is, she was 25 years old when she first detected a lump in her left breast… actually it was her now ex-husband who discovered her lump.
It was after the discovery of her lump when Juanita immediately made a doctor appointment to find out what that lump was.
It was in the 1980’s and at the time, she was pregnant with their third child. The Dr. told Juanita that it was most likely that the lump was one of her milk ducts. Yeah, that Dr. was wrong because it was breast cancer after all.
Juanita didn’t just find out that she had cancer, she was also 7 months pregnant and was going in for a mastectomy on her left breast.
Juanita gave birth to her baby girl at 7 months of her pregnancy due to the the stress of her surgery. Her daughter was born weighing 4 pounds, 6 ounces in 1987.
Luckily, Juanita didn’t have to have chemo or radiation done on her stage 2 cancer and luckily, she had reconstructed surgery on her left breast too.
So, 24 years later, in 2010, Juanita was doing her self-examination and discovered another lump, but this time it was on her right breast. While crossing her fingers, Juanita went to the Dr. for a check-up with hopes that it was NOT breast cancer again… unfortunately, it was breast cancer.
And unfortunately, she wasn’t able to escape chemo or radiation this time either. Juanita says, “Chemo kicked my butt. They tell you the side effects when you do chemo, go figure that I needed up with most of them. I survived breast cancer for the second time. Cancer did not defeat me, I defeated cancer. ‘I am a survivor, hear me roar!'”
Juanita decided to get tattooed on her breast where she had her mastectomies done, on her right and left breasts, across her chest.
She tells us her reasoning behind her tattoos, “I am getting a tattoo of angel wings for all my sisters who died from breast cancer, and I mean all nationalities!! Because cancer doesn’t discriminate. Another reasons to cover the scars into a masterpiece of beauty. I try to remind any women I come in contact with to make sure to do their monthly self check and year mammograms.”
She tells us, “There is beauty after breast cancer and I say to myself what a wonderful world, to have ring people like Shane and Toni [Wallin, artist].
All breast cancer survivors int he world. This is for you -lve you. TO all my sisters who lost their lives, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Love you, Juanita Williams”
