My Breast Cancer Journey - a Guest Blog Series by Savanna James (Part 1 of 5 “My Diagnosis”)

This is the first in a five-part guest blog series by Savanna James discussing her breast cancer journey. I hope you'll read and share them all.

“You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” - Hamilton

At the start of all of this, in October 2019, I went into my yearly OB-GYN (breast appointment) thinking I was being preventative, as I had every other year. I didn’t feel different. I didn’t look different. In fact, I felt better than I had in years. I was in a new city (Charleston, South Carolina) where the possibilities for where my life could go seemed endless.

But quickly, that was shattered with what they found. 

It turned out that instead of being preventative, that appointment was life saving. I had a spot in my right breast. I was quickly sent to a surgeon who specializes in breast cancer and I prepared myself for what was coming.

I had watched countless family members and friends go through it. They were all older than me, but some, not by much. It was devastating. You began to see the shell of what once was such a lively person as the treatments went on. How was I supposed to go on like this?

From the day I met with the surgeons, I continued asking myself why I was put in the situation to have to make this decision at the age of 24. What haunted me even more so, though, was that I knew that most women my age were not even aware that this disease was a threat to them currently. 
But I didn’t have time to ponder and think about the greatness that could arise from this situation, as preparations began immediately. The surgery was scheduled. I felt like I had the death certificate for my future in my hands. 

I wouldn’t live whatever time I had left in vain. I reached out to the South Carolina chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation as soon as I discovered that I would be having this surgery. They work to help raise funds for both research and basic needs for patients. This includes funding for things like groceries, transportation, therapy and other items that are essential to everyday life. I sat with Lucy Spears in a local James Island coffee shop and I never felt more understood and heard. Lucy is now the Executive Director of Komen SC and that woman gives everything she can to an organization that means so much to her. You see, she’s a survivor as well.

Photo by
Deanna Webber Photography

 

We sat there for hours talking about how I was feeling, what my plans were, the struggles I was facing, my experience with Komen in the past, and then Lucy asked me a question that really did change my life...

“Will you share your story?”

And without a second of thought, I responded, “Absolutely.”

Did I know that there would be days that this answer would haunt me because I didn’t even feel like a human myself? No. 

Did I know that there would be days that this answer saved my life? No. 

But what I did know is that by creating awareness, we can catch breast cancer early enough that a patient is presented with options, not an ultimatum. Hope is crucial in fighting a disease like this, and I want others to know that they aren’t alone. 

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I hope you'll come back next week for the second installment of her story. To find out more about Savanna and her breast cancer diagnosis, visit her Section 36 Pageants profile page for links and more info.