October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Radio One’s has joined in the fight against this terrible disease. Our mission, this month and beyond, is to Inform, Prevent, and Defeat Breast Cancer. With our #SurvivorSeries, we are highlighting women who are helping win the battle against Breast Cancer.
Today’s spotlight is on Marva Williams. Read her story below
Source: Mark Dennis / Mark Dennis
I was always current with my mammograms. But I admit I didn’t perform my self-breast exams as I should. Late last year, while looking in the bathroom mirror, I saw a bump on the upper part of my chest near my collarbone. It didn’t look like the diagrams I had seen of breast cancer. This lump was small. It looked and felt like a mosquito bite that swells after you scratch it. However, it wasn’t something normal for my body, so I contacted my doctor. She ordered screenings and a biopsy.
In January, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive breast cancer. When I heard, “Ms. Williams, you have cancer,” my heart sank, my mind wandered, and I cringed in fear. There was some promising news… the cancer was detected early.
In March, I began the fight to beat the cancer beast by choosing to have a mastectomy. My fight continued in late April with six weeks of daily radiation. Today, the cancer is in remission.
I’m living a new normal. That’s how cancer survivors describe our lives after cancer. My new normal includes MRIs & other scans, medications, being different physically and being observant of changes & feelings in my body. I ate a quite healthy diet before my diagnosis but I’ve made even more dietary & lifestyle changes, such as eating organic foods and eliminating other foods from my diet, such as tilapia and foods with sodium nitrates.
My mental journey has been just as tough as the physical journey but with my faith in God and the love and support from family, friends and other survivor sisters, I got through and continue to press on. I’ve supported charity fundraisers for breast cancer and other chronic illnesses. Never imagined I would be wearing the survivor pin. To God be the glory for his goodness and for having my back.
So many people say they are in awe of my strength over these past nine 10 months. But God!
