Author: Deb L Waters

The above picture is the last photo I have of my mom and I together. It was taken on May 30, 2010, during my daughter’s graduation/birthday celebration.

This month, October, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Why might you ask that I place my mom’s picture on a post and then proceed to talk about Breast Cancer? Well, let me tell you. Even though my mom is no longer here on this Earth, she was a Breast Cancer Survivor. My mom suffered from two (2) bouts of Breast Cancer. She received chemotherapy and radiation treatments both times. She endured a mastectomy after she was diagnosed the second time with Breast Cancer. She was strong, yet she leaned on Her Lord and Savior to give her the strength to endure and overcome her affliction.

Doyce Eileen (Watson) Waters [10-11-1931/0118-2019] through the years… From her younger days in Ohio, to her time picking strawberries down in Florida, and traveling across to San Diego, California.

Her high school picture, with my dad, and the last photo with myself.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer. This year’s theme is Together We RISE. This year, The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. proclaims to RISE to ensure every woman has access to the screenings she needs and the support she deserves. When we RISE, we Rally in Screening Everyone. It is raising voices to spread the word about the importance of breast cancer screening and support. You may or may not know someone who has been affected by breast cancer, however, it is important for everyone to be screened for breast cancer. No one is immune to Breast Cancer. One day you, a loved one, or a close friend may be affected by breast cancer. 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s one person every two minutes in the U.S. In 2022, it is estimated that nearly 44,000 people in the U.S. will die from breast cancer. When you or a loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer there is a real fear that it might possibly travel to other parts of the body. Diagnosed in the early stages, it is possible to go on and live a cancer-free live.

However, that is not the case for all who experience breast cancer. For some, the disease is metastatic at the time of diagnosis or later recurs. When breast cancer recurs at a distant location, for example to the bones, liver, lungs, and brain, it is no longer curable. My mom went through treatments for Breast Cancer twice. for several years she was presumed to be cancer-free. Being cancer-free was didn’t last for her. She developed skin cancer, having them surgically removed. A few years later she once again developed cancer. This time in her liver and bones. Upon this last diagnosis, she chose not to go through anymore cancer treatments. No more chemotherapy, no more radiation treatments. She felt her time was approaching and did not desire to go through that suffering again. She had previously watched my dad go through cancer treatments and later die from bone cancer. Her suffering ended on January 18, 2018, when she passed from this life into eternity with her loving Heavenly Father.

Now men, I know you probably think this does not apply to you. Although risks are higher for women, men are not immune to breast cancer. It is possible for men to develop breast cancer. About 1 out of every 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the United States is found in men. So please get screened and develop a routine of self-breast examinations.

In memory of my mom. God Bless. Thank you! I appreciate y’all,