TAYLOR MILL, Ky. – One moment by yourself can change everything. Tami Starnes knows that all too well.
Starnes is a survivor. But before she survived breast cancer, she battled the disease full force putting strain on her children, her marriage and her life. What is generally a joyous time for most families, turned into a Christmas that the Starnes would never forget.
In December 1993, Starnes found a lump while she was giving herself a breast exam. The most devastating and difficult part was in the beginning.
"The shock of it being a reality ... it was out of the blue," she said.
The now-divorced mother of four grown children and grandmother to one was diagnosed when she was 32 years old, married and raising her children who ranged in age from 3 to 13.
"It disrupts your life. I was tired, exhausted all the time," Starnes said of the toll that cancer took on her body while she went through radiation treatments, surgery and chemotherapy for a year.
She found strength in her children during that time she said.
"The kids were brave and fantastic through it all," Starnes said of her son and three daughters, who are now 19 and in their 20s and are carefully watched by their doctors for any signs of cancer.
Four months after she completed her treatment for breast cancer, Starnes found out that she had cancer of the uterus.
"It was just a really rough time. Priorities in your life become very clear," she said, naming her family, children and faith on the top of her list. "The rest is ‘stuff.’"
When she was diagnosed, she used her friends, family, church and all resources available to help her through the hard time. But 16 years later Starnes is cancer-free and spreading awareness about breast cancer and giving hope to those who need it most.
The 48-year-old gives now her time to help others struggling with cancer, while making others aware of breast cancer and its deadly effects.
Starnes volunteers for three programs, which offer strength to cancer patients as well as awareness to the public. One organization wasn’t in existence when she had cancer. Reach to Recovery, through the American Cancer Society, matches breast cancer survivors with newly diagnosed women. Starnes is a coordinator who directly links survivors to patients.
"I feel like I’ve been very blessed and I want to give back and offer hope and encouragement to other people," she said, who also volunteers every year with the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
Starnes works with Look Good...Feel Better, an organization that gives free make-up to cancer patients, while cosmetologists teach those women about scalp and skin care and make-up application.
"[It] helps the woman take care of herself while she’s going through [treatments]," said Starnes, who said that while her hair thinned during chemotherapy, she was "very fortunate" that she did not lose all of her hair.
It is estimated that breast cancer was diagnosed in more than 182,000 women last year and resulted in 40,000 deaths. Nearly 2,000 men received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2008 and 45 deaths were estimated as a result of male breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the Cincinnati area will be holding a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 11 at Yeatman's Cove.
More About The Disease:
Risk Factors-
-Postmenopausal hormone therapy
-Overweight or obesity, especially excessive weight gain after menopause
-Use of alcohol, especially one or more drinks daily
-Physical inactivity
-Long menstrual history
-Never having children or having first live birth after age 30
-Previous chest radiation to treat different cancer
Detection-
-Women age 40 and older should have a mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
-“Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) by a health professional every three years. After age 40, women should have a CBE every year.
-Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care provider. Breast self-examination is an option for women starting in their 20s.
-Screening MRI is recommended for women with an approximately 20-25 percent or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer, including women with a strong family history of breast or ovarian cancer and women who were treated for Hodgkin disease.
U.S. Stats For 2009-
New cases
Women: 192,370
Men: 1,910
Deaths per year
Women: 40,170
Men: 440
More Information-
Susan G. Komen Foundation
(800) IM-AWARE
(800) 462-9273
Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization
(800) 221-2141
National Cancer Institute
(800) 4-CANCER
Information courtesy of the American Cancer Society.
