2010 Calendar
Welcome Friends of Sisters’ Journey!
Thank you for your ongoing and unwavering support for the endeavors of Sisters’ Journey over these past 11 years. We have just experienced one of our busiest and most fulfilling years ever.
Our Survivors have been out visiting and sharing their stories and still hosting their monthly support group meetings. We have been out training and learning to become better advocates. It is very inspiring to witness women reaching out for support and giving support to each other.
We hosted our first Mother/Daughter Brunch, which was a great success for our organization! The highlight at the brunch was the presentation of Sisters’ Journey scholarships to four young women who aspire to become doctors.
With all the work that went into these new endeavors and accomplishments, our greatest hope is that our presence in the community has succeeded in communicating strong and inspiring messages:
- Encouraging early detection by getting yearly mammograms.
- Younger women need to be proactive by doing self-breast exams.
- Practice better eating habits and include an exercise regiment in hopes of prevention.
- Find out your family health history, and share it!
- Always be hopeful and encouraged.
This is our 11th calendar of breast cancer survivors. Since its inception, the purpose has been to empower, support, inspire, educate, advocate and share to build bridges for women as we help them through their journey with breast cancer. Our Mission continues!
Be Well!
Dawn White-Bracey
President
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JanuaryI felt what I thought was a small lump in my right breast. I thought, “I must be imaging this, I better let my daughter Monica see if she feels what I think I feel.”
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FebruaryI was about 29 years old and was giving myself an exam when I noticed that one of my lumps felt a little different. So, I made an appointment for a mammogram.
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MarchThat Monday morning as I sat being examined by the nurse practitioner and being questioned about the length of time I’d had this lump, I recall thinking: “Could this be serious?”
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AprilMy story begins one day in May 1996. I noticed a lump in my right breast while giving myself a breast exam. The next day I went to St. Raphael’s mammogram van.
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MayIn 2003, while taking a shower, I felt a lump on my breast. I was only 39 years old. After sharing my concerns with my physician, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
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JuneI was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 1991 after having a routine mammogram. I was very frightened. I was forty-four years old at the time.
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JulyOn July 10, 1992, just a few days before the birthdays my sister Verlessie and I share in the month of July (I was born on July 20 and my sister on July 14 – three years apart.), I received a partial mastectomy.
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JulyOne day I received a call to get my checkup. She insisted that I go. Thank God I listened this time! As a result, they found cancer at its earliest stage in one breast.
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AugustIn June of 2006, I went for my annual check-up and the doctor told me it was also time to get my annual mammogram. This I did and when I went back to the doctor for my results, he told me my mammogram was positive on the left breast.
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SeptemberOne day while taking a shower, I discovered a lump. The lump seemed to get larger, so I made an appointment with my General Practitioner.
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OctoberOn February 12, 1990 I had a mastectomy. I never had chemotherapy or radiation, but I had to take a prescription medication for two years. Every year I have my mammogram, and I make sure my three daughters get their yearly mammograms.
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NovemberMy journey began in October 2005 when I did a self-breast exam. I felt something the size of a pea on my right breast. I didn’t think it was anything serious at first. But in December 2005, the lump got bigger – it was now the size of a golf ball!
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DecemberI still carry the paper in my purse that Doctor Graham, my surgeon, gave me after checking my mammogram and examining me.