MY SISTER THE
WARRIOR
Queen!
Metastatic Breast Cancer When I think about the word survival, the first thing that comes to mind is my sister Tina, Chesapeake, Beverly, Dr. Bev, and the list could go on. The one thing that I know is that she was a true warrior and a fighter for the last four years of her life. But on July 3, 2020, she gained her wings and return to our Heavenly Father. She had metastatic breast cancer (MBC). She lived her life knowing and dealing with its effects. She was a powerful woman; she educated herself on the effects of metastatic breast cancer and prepared her life accordingly. I never saw her shedding tears of sorrow. She even told us; her children and siblings that she did not want us to cry over her departure. “No crying for me�, she said. Metastatic breast cancer is a little-known cancer to many women, but a cancer that does a lot of damage to the body and has no cure. Although Tina knew there was no cure, she kept living and enjoying her life.
BY VANESSA HENDERSON
22
Mother & DAUGHTER Bonding Magazine
Metastatic breast cancer can start months or years after you have finished treatment for an earlier-stage cancer. They call this a distant recurrence. Once the cancer has reached other organs, it forms new tumors. Treatments like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy helps in removing or killing cancer cells. But sometimes, they can leave a few cancer cells behind. Even a single cancer cell can grow into a new tumor that spreads to other parts of your body. This happened to my sister. She went through a lot with her fight, but she always kept believing that she could beat this monster. We were believers with her, and because she kept going, so did we. We learned a lot about trusting God, keeping the faith, and ultimately dealing with death,
