Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
On Monday, Oct. 17, the Jefferson Senior Citizen Center was decorated festively in countless shades of pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition to the colorful décor, staff and guests alike donned the iconic shades of cancer support as they gathered for their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Walk. This event is held each year to honor the lives and memory of those who have been affected by the disease.
This year the traditional walk was foregone at the last minute, as additional advocacy items ended up running later than expected and the subsequent warm weather prevented many of the center members from being able to participate safely or comfortably in the walk. Nevertheless, the event was a great success, and activities included a raffle, fundraiser, a meal and two guest speakers.
The first guest speaker, Brenda Davis, spoke to the room about her battle with breast cancer.
“When I got diagnosed in 2017, I thought my life was over,” she stated bravely to the crowded room. She continued, describing the difficulties of surgery decisions, as well as the grueling nature of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that she had to endure to try to overcome the cancer. “That is something that I wouldn't want anyone to have to experience.” said Davis, describing the fatigue, nausea and pain that would follow each treatment, which caused her to rely heavily on family during that time. “There were days that I went through a lot of heartache, and a lot of pain, a lot of suffering.”
Davis recalls the day her son told her she would be a grandmother. “My son and daughter-in-law called me and said, 'you're gonna be a nana.' That totally changed my outlook on life. I had another reason to live. I had a purpose, and thought, 'oh my gosh... God has given me something to look forward to. Now I gotta work a little harder!'”
She recalls two friends that she had made after her diagnosis that were great sources of hope and support for her; Veronica Hightower and Theresa Hall. She describes them as “encouraging to the end,” even as they endured stages three and four of their own breast cancer. Both Veronica and Theresa did not recover, and both passed away in 2017. These beloved women encouraged Davis to keep fighting and to not give up, and in 2019, Davis was cleared of her cancer.
“Thanks be to God, I made it through,” says Davis. “I am so humbly grateful for my being here to see my son and daughter-in-law; I have a four-year-old grandson, and I have a one and a half year old grand daughter, and they are my life.”
The second guest speaker was Earnestine Keaton, who advocated in earnest for everyone to pay attention to their bodies when they felt something was wrong. After a sudden sick spell during a church trip over eight years ago, Keaton went to visit her doctor. Tests showed blood in her urine, and after additional testing, Keaton's doctor called her in and gave her the news that she had leukemia.
Leukemia is a broad term used to describe cancers in the blood. The type of leukemia depends on the type of blood cell that becomes cancerous, and whether it grows quickly or slowly. During her meeting with her doctor, Keaton was urged to contact her family, and was rushed to a specialist in Gainesville. During the transport, Keaton blacked out, slipping into a coma. Doctors in Gainesville were able to revive her, and Keaton began treatment. All treatments were successful, and for the next seven years, she remained cancer free.
In the beginning of 2022, Keaton began having persistent back pain and fatigue, and the pain reminded her of how she had felt when she had been sick with leukemia. “The Spirit told me, 'call your doctor,' so I called him,” she recalled. “He put me through a bunch of tests, but the main test he wanted to put me through was a bone marrow test.”
After a bone marrow biopsy, Keaton was told that she had bone cancer. For the last six and a half months, she has been undergoing treatments in the hopes of beating cancer for a second time.
“You all see me,” says Keaton, “I'm in good spirits, outside. I trust God, because I'm in a race now. I'm not even questioning him on the 'why.'”
Keaton spoke candidly about the burns she suffers from the radiation treatment. “I've got burns and blisters,” she says, “You don't see them. But they are there. I know the pain it is to go through cancer and the treatments.”
Throughout her speech, Keaton put great emphasis on the importance of taking care of yourself, understanding the risks of genetic predisposition to cancer, and getting regular check-ups to potentially catch it early. “My dad had lung cancer. My mom had bladder cancer. My grandma had breast cancer. Here, I had leukemia, now I have bone cancer. I don't want to see you go through what I go through. If you're putting things into your body, if you're not eating right, if you're not doing the right things... your body is going to let you know. I just want to say that on this journey, this cancer journey, we have to be here for each other. We have to be supportive. We have to reach out. We have to take care of us, and if you can help somebody else take care of them, do that. Get the mammogram. Take care of yourself. Do whatever it is you need to do. Get the pap smear. Men as well! Get checked. Our bodies give us warnings.”
“In this race, it gets weary. It gets painful. You'll want to give up. But, I refuse to give up,” said Keaton, to murmurs of encouragement from the audience. “He did it once. Guess what? He's going to do it a second time! That's my faith in Him. I'm running this race. I trust in God, and wherever he leads me, I'll follow.”
With the inspiring messages complete, guests were invited to participate in a raffle and a fundraiser. Brenda Davis holds a fundraiser each year. For just $5, anyone can donate for a chance to win a Breast Cancer Awareness bag, with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. To donate towards this fundraiser, stop by the Jefferson Senior Citizens Center to purchase a raffle ticket. On Oct. 31, the winner will be announced. The center is located at 1155 N. Jefferson St., in Monticello. For more information, contact Annie McDuffie at (850) 342-0242.