“Cancer free now for five years, University of Akron graduate Rebecca Shepard has recently wrote a book about her experience with breast cancer. Shepard was diagnosed after a series of struggles with doctors. I was 39 years old and went to the doctor because every woman is supposed to have a mammogram at age 40, Shepard said.”
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Cancer free now for five years, University of Akron graduate Rebecca Shepard has recently wrote a book about her experience with breast cancer.

Shepard was diagnosed after a series of struggles with doctors.

I was 39 years old and went to the doctor because every woman is supposed to have a mammogram at age 40, Shepard said. The doctor asked if I had any family history and I said no. He told me not to worry about it and to come back in a couple of years. I went back when I was 41 and had my first mammogram and they found a tumor. They didn’t think it was cancerous but they decided to take it out anyway. After that I became more cancer aware because I was scared of what could have been.

She went back for her post-operation follow up with her doctor and consistently told him that she felt a lump that had not been there before.

The doctor reassured Shepard that it was only scar tissue from the surgery.

After 6 months Shepard went back and had another mammogram.

After reviewing both x-rays the doctor found a lump which was cancerous.

There are four stages of breast cancer and Shepard’s was caught about half way through the second stage.

After being diagnosed, Shepard’s first thought was, My children. I don’t do anything for myself, I do everything for them. They are teenagers just starting out. I wondered who was going to take care of them and how they were going to manage. It really wasn’t about me, it was about my kids.

She wondered if she did die, who would take care of everything.

Not only was Shepard facing a difficult time in her life, her family was also feeling the hardships.

Her mother had been diagnosed with colon cancer 6 months earlier, which was caught in the fourth stage.

Some of her family went through denial and couldn’t handle that two members of their family had just been diagnosed with cancer.

Shepard used several outlets to help her face her cancer.

Her mom was 73 years old when diagnosed and battled for three years before she passed away.

During that time, Shepard says, she was extremely strong and courageous, and she was totally my inspiration.

Another way that she dealt with the news was by talking to a lot of survivors.

By hearing what they went through really helped her.

The last thing that helped give Sheppard the extra push was the journaling she began to do, which led to her writing her book.

Shepard believes that having had breast cancer completely changed her outlook on life.

Material things don’t mean anything it is all about the family, Shepard said. Things that used to bother me just don’t bother me anymore because life is so short, and I now realize how short life actually is.

Shepard had been smoking since she was 15 and once she found out she had breast cancer she quit smoking even though the two aren’t directly linked.

Later on Shepard found out that colon, breast, and uterus cancer are all inter-related.

When her doctor asked if she had any family history, she responded no because she did not realize that these three cancers were related to each other.

Shepard decided to write a book because of the very unusual circumstances of her and her mother both having cancer at the same time.

We are African American and are willing to talk about it. So many people do not talk about cancer. Cancer is like a hush word, you don’t tell people you have cancer, but we were willing to talk about it, Shepard said. We want to let the community know that cancer is alive and we are promoting early protection. You should go to the doctor to get regular checkups because pre-op’s can save your life.

Shepard has always wanted to be a writer and has written about many different things but never finished them.

This was such a significant subject that she had to finish it.

I felt I had always been inspired to write, but this gave me inspiration to finish it, Shepard said.

The book is called Joy Comes in the Morning: A Mother and Daughter’s Cancer Journey, which is about all aspects of her and her mother’s life before, during, and after the cancer, as well as mainly promoting cancer awareness and early detection.

At first Shepard’s mother, who is co-author of the book, was hesitant in wanting to participate, but after much convincing from her daughter about the reason why it was important to write this book, she decided to do it.

Shepard has stopped publishing the book because when you go to the publishing company they take most of your rights away from you and they have the right to change anything. With my mom’s death being pretty fresh I didn’t want them to change any of her words, Shepard said.

She may decide to start publishing at a later date.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Shepard believes that it deserves more than just one month of awareness.

She thinks it is important to recognize that it is Breast Cancer Awareness month and that should encourage people to go get a mammogram because hopefully that could save lives.

Shepard is part of the Reach for Recovery Program.

This is a mentoring program where newly diagnosed cancer patients can call Shepard and talk to her about their experience.

She also lectures for the American Cancer Society and on her own.

This year on October 19th at Aero Stadium at 9:00 AM there will be a Breast Cancer Walk where Shepard will be selling her book and giving half the proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

Anybody can come and participate in the walk.

Shepard’s book is now being sold in the Student Union Bookstore for $13.00.

It is not enough to just have a mammogram. It is a two-part process; you need a mammogram and a self-breast examination, Shepard said.

One won’t do without the other. The mammogram can miss the lump, but the breast exam can find it. You have to know your body, as well as your family history.

To those who are fighting breast cancer, Shepard recommends to stay prayful and be strong.

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