SHINE A LIGHT ON PINK
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and all month-long Mix 1079 is Shining a Light On Pink. Each week we will spotlight local breast cancer survivors and thrivers. This week we are spotlighting Rebekah and her daughters Morgan, Emily and Katylin from Waxsaw. Rebekah’s journey the second time around tested her faith and was tested on her second battle with Breast Cancer.
Rebekah’s Story:
Rebekah’s story started in 2018 with bilateral breast cancer in 2018. Stage 1 on the left. Stage 2 on the right.
Morgan, my oldest daughter got married on September 3, 2022, and I noticed a swollen lymph node under my arm about two weeks after the wedding but had had Covid June 2023 so thought maybe it was from Covid. I had a good checkup in March 2023. I called my doctor, Dr. White and he had me in for an ultrasound and biopsy the next day. Results came back breast cancer. Dr White ordered a PET scan, and it hadn’t spread much but it hit a spot on my hip. I also had an area in my colon light up. I was scheduled for a bone biopsy a couple weeks later. It came back breast cancer. I had a colonoscopy, and it came back, Adenocarcinoma, colorectal cancer. A whole entirely different cancer and at that it was big 8 cm. I was diagnosed on top of having stage 4 metastatic to the bone breast cancer, I also had stage 3b colorectal cancer. So, the fight of my life had to begin. It was hard to find hope. I felt like I had been thrown away by God, life was feeling pretty hopeless. My Oncologist, doctor Tan was amazing. We talked about it, and she told me how we were going to fight the cancer and how it had to be approached. I also gained a second oncologist Doctor Hwang. So, the girls and I did what everyone facing a medical diagnosis of this magnitude would, we cried, prayed and got ready to fight. I’ll be honest. It seemed super hopeless. I mean, but no one can eat a dinosaur in one bite.
A dear friend of mine Annalise gave me a mustard seed necklace. I remember looking at the tiny mustard seed and thinking, do I even have faith that big. I mean a mustard seed is incredibly small, however this mountain seemed impossible. I ordered the same necklace for the girls. All three girls went to every doctor’s appointment, radiation appointment and every chemo appointment. We all wore our mustard seed necklaces and prayed together. We prayed for our doctors, our nurses, I would pray over the chemo. During the journey we tried to shine hope to those along the way who needed it. Other patients. To always be kind to the nurses and doctors. They were everything to me and I was so very grateful for each of them. I wasn’t skilled to understand what had to be done to get through the medical diagnosis, but these amazing doctors did. The girls got quickly known as the blonde squad. They were there when I would feel like I wasn’t going to get out of this. Halfway through I was put in the hospital for five days. The girls would take turns and stay overnight with me. They truly fought this battle with me. They were there for the scans at the end that came back clear, and we cried together all the happy tears. Truly in complete unbelief but the faith of those tiny mustard seeds, the power of God moved the mountain. All of our faith has increased immensely.
