Janell

A single woman diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999 age 35.

Janell G. is a single, 40-year-old breast cancer survivor of five years. Diagnosed with a Stage III, Her-2 neu positive and lymph node positive tumor, she underwent chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy. A community college communications professor, and the winner of numerous teaching awards, Janell opened herself fully to the transformative potential in the cancer experience. She went so far as to film her experiences through diagnosis and treatment to use as a communications teaching tool. As an individual who approaches life with an eye focused on learning and growing, Janell befriended every patient whom she met on the journey, seeking to learn from sharing this experience with others.

Janell is basically healthy and well, although she is bothered by weight gain and a body that she feels has been somewhat aged by the process of treatment. She finds that she fatigues a little faster and must listen more closely to her body. An intense, performance- oriented individual, Janell continues to learn from her breast cancer experience, attending to her physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs more meticulously.

Having had breast cancer does not deter Janell from seeking relationships. She fundamentally believes that "happiness is an inside job" and that being physically imperfect is not an issue. Her friendships have only deepened through the breast cancer journey as she has insisted on even greater honesty and authenticity. She modeled for her friends the type of support that she required by teaching them to relate to her as always - reminding them that she had not changed simply because she was diagnosed with breast cancer and requesting that they speak their fears for her and for themselves as the friendship changed in response to the diagnosis.

In the process, Janell learned that although there are many commonalities to the breast cancer journey - surgery, chemotherapy, etc, - cancer has its own message for each patient that can only be defined by that patient. That said, she profoundly believes that the cancer experience must be shared with other survivors in order to identify the common threads, the common experiences, which in fact bind survivors to each other.

When asked what she would tell others about breast cancer, Janell responds without hesitation with: "There's nothing to be afraid of, breast cancer doesn't scare me, treatment doesn't scare me." Breast cancer reminds us that there is always only so much that we can control in life - do what you can. In this moment, everything is manageable. Keep your head where your feet are. And, the most important question, "What are you really afraid of?"

Posted: June 2004