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A Lot At Risk
arrollton resident Stacey Morin didn’t meet many of the risk factors for breast cancer – she had children, she was young, and had no history of breast cancer in her immediate family. When she received her diagnosis, her husband, Charles, and children Audrey and Nathan pulled together to support her.
Michelle Lewis, with her daughters Althea and Angela, believes God was behind connecting her with the treatment team at Tanner Cancer Care that helped her beat her cancer.
Learning to see the signs during a journey through cancer treatment Michelle Lewis, 56, believes that God gives us “nudges and whispers” to get our attention. “But we don’t always listen,” she said. Looking back on last February, she now believes He was literally tapping her on the back when she felt a strange twinge on her left shoulder that wouldn’t go away. “I thought I had just pulled a muscle or something,” she said. “So I ignored it.” She continued dismissing the subtle signs when she found a small knot in her left breast. “If my mother had told me that she had found something like that, I would have taken her to the doctor right away,” she said. “But I told myself that my lump would probably disappear.” Instead, it grew rapidly over the next month into a mass a little larger than a golf ball. “I was shocked at how fast it got bigger,” Lewis said. “But I still didn’t think it was cancer.” After consulting a homeopathic physician, Lewis was sent to Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica where she received a mammogram and was told that the lump was suspicious. “At that point, I needed to find a breast surgeon to do a biopsy,” she recalled. Soon after, she believes she received another sign from God. While grocery shopping, she met an acquaintance who had been going through breast cancer treatment with Raul Zunzunegui, MD, a board-certified and Susan G. Komen Fellowship-trained surgeon with Comprehensive Breast Care Center, part of Tanner Medical Group. Lewis had never met “Dr. Z.,” as he is known to his patients,
See MICHELLE, Page 7
Stacey Morin, of Carrollton, with her husband Charles and children, Audrey and Nathan.
Family, their support have been ‘absolutely amazing’ BY TONY MONTCALM
Stage 2. And it had spread to her lymph nodes. Raul Zunzunegui, MD, a board-certified Stacey Morin didn’t meet the risk factors for breast cancer. She was young, healthy, and Susan G. Komen Fellowship-trained surgeon with Comprehensive Breast Care had children and had no history of breast Center, part of Tanner Medical Group, cancer in her immediate family. called her with the diagnosis. When Stacey Morin found the lump in “When I first saw him, I had almost no her breast during a routine self exam, she expectation that it’d be breast cancer,” said had no reason to suspect it would be breast Morin, who lives in Carrollton and works cancer. There was no immediate history of breast cancer in her family, and at 35, she as a lecturer of English at the University of West Georgia. “I, like most women in knew she was at an age when there was my family, had fibrocystic breast tissue, relatively little risk of her developing the so I thought the lump was probably just a disease. benign cyst. I actually had the biopsy the So, she waited. week we were leaving for Disney World “It wasn’t time for my annual gynecologist appointment,” she said. “I was a little and left for the trip without worrying further about the biopsy. When Dr. Z called worried that my insurance wouldn’t cover with the results, he first asked if we were me seeing the gynecologist twice in one back from our trip. He was so thoughtyear. So, I waited until it was time.” About six months later when it was time ful that he wanted to make sure the news for her visit, her gynecologist, Christopher wouldn’t ruin our family vacation.” Since the cancer had already progressed Jewell, MD, with Carrollton OB-GYN and to stage 2, Morin’s options for treatment a member of the medical staff at Tanner had grown more limited. Still, Morin asked Health System, urged her to go ahead her team at Tanner Cancer Care to throw and get a mammogram at Tanner Breast everything they had at the cancer. Health in Carrollton. “I had two small children,” she said. “My A mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy later, the diagnosis was confirmed: it was See STACY, Page 7 breast cancer. It was in her right breast. FOR THE TIMES-GEORGIAN
Inside This Special Section
As a calculus teacher, Janene Browning, 38, starts every year by introducing the concept of mathematical limits. But last year, she gave her students an object lesson in moving beyond one’s perceived limitations. PAGE 3
West Georgians have felt the harsh impact of our soft economy. Many families have had to tighten their budgets. One family had adjusted to the challenging economy when they received unexpected news: a cancer diagnosis. PAGE 5
Pink for a reason We know what many of you are thinking: what is up with the pink paper? Well, that is just what we wanted to you to say ... October is recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month — the event each year touching the lives of millions of individuals around the world. And over they years the color pink quickly became a powerful theme for this hugely successful effort to raise awareness. From professional football players to children involved in a local fundraiser, the color pink has moved to the forefront as the banner color for helping people better appreciate and understand the impact of this movement. This year the TimesGeorgian and Tanner Health System decided to do something special to raise awareness — as you can see in your hands today. Together we joined to purchase a very special run of pink newsprint created just for this year’s drive. Inside you’ll find heartwarming stories as well as articles to help educate our community of opportunities and solutions to dealing should an event touch them or loved ones. Additionally, you’ll find the generous support from local businesses who wanted to help make this special publication a reality. Raising awareness is only one step. Carroll County is blessed with wonderful resources to address such challenges. Beyond the many caring people who work behind the scenes, there are countless volunteers who are there at every turn. This is a unique community to say the least. On behalf of the Times-Georgian and Tanner Health System, we hope you’ll find this very special edition a welcome addition to our community.
A group of women gather at Tanner Breast Health in Carrollton to enjoy each other’s company, share news about their families, discuss what they’re doing at work and learn something new. And, oh yes, to talk about their experiences with breast cancer. PAGE 9