Karla with daughters, Lauren & Megan
Local Community Theater Advocate Battles Breast Cancer with Grace and Humility Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photographer / Andy Janning
“That’s when I felt a lump in my breast,” Karla says.
Cancer is ugly, insidious and tenacious, but the resolve that it can produce in survivors is remarkably beautiful. Hendricks County resident Karla Janning is the perfect example of someone who has fought cancer with graceful fortitude.
She scheduled an appointment with an OBGYN, who suspected it could be a fibroid cyst. To be on the safe side, she ordered a mammogram and an ultrasound, which were followed by a needle biopsy. Then came the waiting game.
Two years ago Karla began experiencing small, fluttering chest pains on the left side of her body. A cardiologist examined her and chalked it up to acid reflux. But in July of 2019, a pain shot through her that was so severe that she clutched her chest.
Though Karla’s mother and grandmother had battled breast cancer, she hoped she wasn’t facing the same monster. When the phone rang on August 13, however, her worst fears were confirmed. Thankfully, Karla had her friends and family APRIL 2020
to help her navigate the roller coaster of emotions that were to follow. Her husband Andy, in particular, became her rock. “He’s been to practically every doctor’s appointment and chemo treatment,” says Karla, explaining how chemotherapy altered her taste buds, producing a bitter, metallic aftertaste. “He’s my note taker to be sure we don’t forget anything, and my errand boy. I’d send him to the grocery when something sounded good, but then he’d bring it home and it didn’t taste good so he’d run out and get something else. It was like dealing with a pregnant woman with cravings.” Friends offered meals, prayers, hugs and cards. Karla’s best friend Angela texted daily to check in, and regularly swung by the house to give Karla the gift of normalcy. Another woman gave her a book titled, “When Your World Falls Apart”. Written by Dr. David Jeremiah, a minister who also faced cancer, the book helped Karla
