Editor's Note: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Keep reading the Crestview News Bulletin throughout the month for news and feature stories about this issue.
CRESTVIEW — A breast cancer diagnosis can be devastating, but there are many ways to get through it, said breast cancer survivor Lizzy Swanson.
“You just got to deal with it and have a great attitude about it,” she said.
Lizzy, a loss prevention specialist for area Tom Thumb convenience stores, had two breast cancer scares: one in 1997; the other in 2011.
Her husband, Paul, said she handled each diagnosis “like a trooper.”
“Her mental state never quavered,” he said.
After the 2011 diagnosis, she decided to have a double mastectomy. The decision to remove both breasts followed positive results of a BRCA gene test, which determines whether breast or ovarian cancer is hereditary.
Lizzy said the procedure had no effect on her spirit or her sense of femininity.
“Breasts really don’t make the woman,” she said.
When facing such a diagnosis, she said it helps to get informed immediately.
“Get knowledgeable; the internet is so great,” she said. “Definitely read up on it and realize your life is not over.”
For support, Lizzy suggests talking to other men and women dealing with the same situation.
“When you talk with other cancer survivors, it makes you healthy, because (you realize) you’re not alone” she said.
One way to do that is to regularly participate in local American Cancer Society awareness events, like Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
Having her employer's support also has helped. At last year’s Relay For Life of Crestview, Tom Thumb donated $35,000 toward the ACS.
Paul remained supportive during his wife’s two bouts with breast cancer, and now Lizzy is supporting Paul while he battles stage five chronic kidney disease.
“We back each other up,” Paul said. “I love her to death.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: HOW TO BATTLE BREAST CANCER: 'Have a great attitude,' survivor says