Survivor Spotlight: Janet Smith Janet Smith and family On Friday, July 27, 2012 at 1:27 p.m. Janet Smiths world stopped. She had just come back from vacation with her daughter to find out she was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. By the time she saw her oncologist two weeks later, her cancer had progressed to stage 4. She was completely floored by the news. According to Janet, people have the misconception that you have to look sick to have breast cancer. The only one symptom that clued her to a problem was that her arm appeared swollen. Janet went to her previous primary care physician who told her it was water weight and gave her a diuretic. Janet knew it was something more, so she went to another physician based on a referral from a coworker. It was this physician who saved her life. Janet was encouraged to do a mammogram. Her mammogram revealed a 1 cm tumor hidden deep in her tissue. Her physician said Janet would have never found it doing her routine monthly exam. Diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, Janet has to have monthly chemotherapy treatments and keep up with her routine scans. Initially, Janet had health insurance through work; however, she lost it after having to quit her job due to her being sick. Janet now relies on Medicaid and unemployment. Janet doesnt plan on giving up. She says, I have this disease, this disease does not have me. No matter what is going on, I still tell myself that Im in control of me. Sometimes, when you tell yourself something long enough, you end up believing it. She also has an amazing support system through her daughter and mom. Although her mom lives in Arizona, Janet says she is a big support, even at a distance. Her daughter is her biggest motivation to fight the disease. According to Janet, My mom taught me life skills, how to be a young lady and whats important in life. I feel thats why Im here - to teach my daughter. Read Janets entire story by clicking here charlotte.info-komen.org/site/R?i=RxwlNA7k6Zyu_k0nFJjnWA
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 22:33:26 +0000
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