Williamsburg Woman Thankful for Free Cancer Screening

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Before moving to Williamsburg three years ago, Sue Wilson and her husband were living comfortably in a home they loved in Michigan, where they planned to stay forever.

After Sue’s husband lost his job as a mechanical designer and the Wilsons both couldn’t find enough work to pay the bills, they had to sell their house. They decided to move to the Historic Triangle, but they were still unable to find work.

Just when the Wilsons thought their luck couldn’t get any worse, it did. In October last year, Sue was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. This black cloud has had a silver lining, though: if it weren’t for a screening program offered through Lackey Free Clinic and Riverside, Sue’s cancer would likely have remained undetected until it was too late.

Sue’s relationship with Lackey started while she was searching for a job in the area. She saw an ad seeking volunteers at Lackey and started helping out at the front desk soon afterwards. “Working for Lackey was great,” Sue says. “Mentally, just to go in and be able to help others was a wonderful feeling… their hearts are in it. Everyone is really committed who works there.”

Sue worked for a few months on one side of the desk helping local folks who needed it, and then unexpectedly got a taste of what it feels like to be on the other side.

In August, she participated in the clinic’s Healthy Woman’s Initiative, a collaborative program through Lackey and Riverside Cancer Services to test for various types of cancer.

Times had been tough for a while for the Wilsons, and Sue (now in her 50s) hadn’t gotten her annual breast cancer screening in nearly 5 years because there wasn’t money for it. When she heard about the free program, she thought it would be a good idea to participate.

Though her screening results were normal, she was offered a mammogram through an “Every Woman’s Life” grant program at Riverside.

Results came back showing she had tumors that needed to be taken out. After the surgery, doctors told her she had stage 3 breast cancer. “When they told me that, I thought, ‘that’s it, they might as well bury me,’” Sue says, remembering the day she heard the news.

“But then I realized that I was so blessed to find out. Another year would have gone by and I wouldn’t have spent the money for [screening] – we needed to think about food and a home. Who knows what would have happened if I had waited.”

When she was diagnosed, Riverside helped Sue apply for Medicaid so she could get surgery and then chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and they helped her find other support she needed to cope with her diagnosis.

“Riverside has been wonderful. They really reached out to help me. This was mentally a struggle, but it was good to have medical help and emotional support.”

Sue’s first chemo treatment was a few weeks ago, which was tough for her. She’s dealing with everything as best she can, and in the meanwhile she wants to make sure to share the lesson she learned with women out there: “It’s simple. Have a mammogram every year. Take care of your health.”

Mary Beth Gibson, co-founder of the breast health group Beyond Boobs, had the chance to chat with Sue and give her advice about resources available in the area, including a support group for women diagnosed with breast cancer after menopause.

Gibson is a staunch advocate of women making sure they always keep up with regular screenings. “We have worked with hundreds of women, and we know first-hand that early detection of breast cancer saves lives,” she says.

“Women need to use the screening tools they have at their disposal – breast self-exams, clinical exams, and mammography – to be proactive about their own breast health.

“Thankfully, seven out of eight women will never face a personal breast cancer diagnosis, but just by virtue of being a woman you may be one of the eight who does. If you are, don't you want to catch in its earliest and most treatable stage? That's why screening is so critical.”