FEATURE EDITION
AN EDUCATION IN FORTITUDE CYNTRENA GREGORY IS CHEERED ON BY MEMBERS OF HER CARE TEAM AT WINTER HAVEN HOSPITAL. FROM LEFT, NURSE HEATHER OSBECK; APRN BETH BURGESS; GREGORY; AND NURSE EMILY FLOWERS. OPPOSITE PAGE: WINTER HAVEN ONCOLOGIST DR. HASSAM M. EBRAHIM JOINS GREGORY TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-EXAMS AND DETECTION.
Breast Cancer Patient Discusses the Lessons Her Journey Has Taught Her story by TIM CRAIG photos by MICHAEL WILSON
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hree truths have become readily apparent to Cyntrena Gregory over the past 11 months. Gregory, from Winter Haven, first felt a slight lump in her breast in late 2020, but didn’t really take serious note of it. “I had an inclination that something was there, but I didn’t feel any dimpling or anything else, so, really, I didn’t take it too seriously,” she says. “And with the pandemic going on, I just didn’t really want to go into a doctor’s office.” This is when the first truth became apparent: If you have any doubts, get it checked out. Her annual physical was coming up, so she decided to go. She told her doctor about the lump and scheduled a mammogram. At the ultrasound appointment, things began to turn. “I went into the appointment thinking it was probably just some fatty tissue or a cyst,” she says. “But on that day, I just knew that it didn’t look good, and it freaked me out. I immediately thought the worst.” Gregory went to her doctor, Dr. Paul Williams in Davenport. After looking at the X-rays and test
results, he immediately ordered a biopsy. When the results came back, Gregory’s fears were confirmed: Stage 2 breast cancer. “I was like, ‘What is all this?’ says the 41-year-old mother of two. “Am I going to die? What about my kids? My family? Williams talked her through the process. He assured her that the cancer was treatable and curable. He also made one other point clear: “He said, ‘You’d better get ready because I’m going to come at you like a Mack truck to treat this thing.” And that’s when the second thing became readily apparent: Mental fortitude. “I’m a fighter and a competitor, so when he told me that, I knew I had to be ready,” Gregory says. “I knew that I couldn’t let him or this disease get the best of me.” To make it easier for her to get treatments, Williams suggested consulting oncologist Dr. Hassam M. Ebrahim in Winter Haven at the beginning of March. For the rest of that month, checkups and chemotherapy preparations, Gregory was getting mentally prepared. centralfloridahealthnews.com
