Survivor Stories

Sonya Black: Creating your own path to relief.

Sonya Black had never been ill a day in her life, aside from normal pregnancy sickness. “I’d never had a flu shot, never been in a hospital for anything,” Black said. She had noticed that she was tiring easily, but she had just chalked that up to weight gain and aging, more »

Sue Lynn Whitehurst: Giving others a shining example.

Sue Lynn Whitehurst, a veteran schoolteacher, has been working as a guidance counselor at Onslow County Schools for five years. She calls her job rewarding but difficult, especially when it comes to emotionally separating herself from her students’ predicaments, more »

Valerie Nichols: Considering herself one of the lucky ones.

Valerie Nichols counts herself among the fortunate ones. Though she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2012, it was caught while it was in its early stages, more »

Verna Edd: Have peace in the midst of the storm.

It was a regular Monday morning in January 2009 when Verna Edd learned she had breast cancer. “It rattled me,” she admitted, more »

Sherry Cowan: Beating cancer in my 30’s.

Sherry Cowan and her husband, Matt, were high school sweethearts. They married young, had children young, and did everything young. They had even planned to be empty nesters young – before turning 40. There was just one problem. more »

Betty Brittain: Emanating a heart full of joy.

Like many women battling breast cancer, Betty Brittain is determined to make the best of it. “I may have cancer, but it doesn’t have me.” Mrs. Brittain, 68, walks 3½ miles at the mall every day, enjoys painting, and volunteers her time on various committees. She is ardent in her faith, more »

Loyce Norris: Don’t worry, be happy … and bake.

Loyce Norris retired after 41 years as a base comptroller secretary, and had never been sick a day in her life. That changed this summer when she found a lump in her left breast during a shower. “The left breast was removed, and 11 of the 22 lymph nodes taken out were cancerous,” more »

Sheila Blue: Kindness is the best medicine.

Sheila Blue’s advice to women is simple: “Don’t wait till you get about dead before you go to the doctor. Learn to examine yourself.” Fortunately, Mrs. Blue, 63, practiced what she preached. When she found a lump on her breast, she went to see her doctor. more »