Breast cancer survivor keeps faith

LANCASTER — Sixty-nine-year-old Lancaster resident Beverly Smith credits two things to saving her life last year: an unwavering faith in God and the support of good friends.

Smith is conscious of her health. She keeps her medical records and her health in check, especially knowing her family history is riddled with serious health problems, including diabetes and hypertension, which have proven fatal to her relatives. Smith's parents died of heart attacks, and she lost four sisters to diabetes complications.

All of those problems were on her health radar when she traveled with a group of girlfriends to Myrtle Beach for an annual getaway last year. At one point on the trip, she lost her balance and fell. Several weeks after she returned, she noticed a red streak on her foot, which she guessed was a delayed result of the fall.

Regardless of the cause, Smith knew something was amiss and scheduled an appointment at Fairfield Medical Center. A doctor’s routine question prompted something that wasn't on her health radar at all: "When was your last mammogram?"

"I hadn't had a mammogram since I was in my 20s," Smith said. "Probably my early 20s.

"They found three places on the left (breast) and one place on the right (breast)," she said.

Smith had stage 1 breast cancer that was caught early enough for a double mastectomy that required no radiation or chemotherapy treatments. Smith is having breast reconstruction surgery in November, about 11 months after her first surgery.

Smith now takes the red mark that appeared on her foot as a sign from God, which is what initiated the long overdue mammogram.

Because Smith’s life was spared, she wants to share her story with everyone she can and hopefully save someone else.

Shelly Romine, the hospital's oncology nurse navigator, said there are avenues for free mammograms for uninsured women. The Fairfield Medical Center Foundation provides screenings and mammograms to women meeting certain financial and insurance requirements in Fairfield, Hocking and Perry counties through a Susan G. Komen for the Cure grant.

“If your insurance doesn’t cover it, find another way,” she said, stressing that missing a regular screening could be the difference between life and death.

What is equally important, Smith said, is the need to share family medical history. While she knew diabetes and other health problems ran in her family, she didn’t know two of her sisters had breast cancer and mastectomies themselves until after she had been diagnosed.

“Women need to talk to one another,” she said. “These are things that people need to know. ... If it’s in the family, everybody in the family should know.”

While Smith is now classified as a cancer survivor, she still helps other patients at Fairfield Medical Center undergoing cancer treatments by crocheting items to keep them warm. She never charges anyone for her work or for the skeins upon skeins of yarn she uses for her craft. Over the years, Smith has crocheted countless pieces for neighbors, friends, patients, strangers — anyone who wants or needs one.

"It keeps my hands busy and my mind clear," she said.

Smith has overcome many obstacles over the last several years, including the death of her husband in 2008, losing her house in 2009 and losing her job in 2010. By 2014, she had been diagnosed with cancer. Smith said her stubbornness and the rally of her friends around her kept her going.

“I’m fortunate,” she said. “I know I am. Just have faith in the good Lord.”

To determine eligibility for the Fairfield Medical Center Foundation's free mammograms, call 740-687-8814.

sroush@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4342

Twitter: @SpencerRoushLEG

Mammogram 101

• Women should begin annual mammograms at 40 years old unless there is a family history of breast cancer.
• If there is a family history, a woman's first mammogram should be scheduled five years before her relative's breast cancer was diagnosed.
• One in eight women will have breast cancer, regardless of family history.
• Breast cancer can be treated if caught early.
• Women need to know their breasts and see a doctor if there are any changes in them.

Source: Shelly Romine, Fairfield Medical Center's oncology nurse navigator