Eunice and Darce
Left to right: Eunice and Darce
By Eunice, a participant from North Carolina
Two years ago, I had 7 sisters, today, I have 6. Fifteen years ago, one of my sisters was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. Ten years ago, a second one was also diagnosed and treated for breast cancer. And I have an entire family of women who know more about breast cancer than any of us ever thought we would. And, through the Sister Study, we are determined to be a part of this effort to discover what is causing this disease. We are glad to share the word about the study with as many Native American women as we can!
My sister Grace was the glue that kept our family connected. With 16 brothers and sisters, staying in touch has always been a challenge. When Grace was first diagnosed in 1990 with breast cancer, she fought valiantly to overcome an illness that the rest of us had only heard of other people having. The treatments left her often very ill. After 5 years of treatment, she was cancer-free for 5 more years. However, in 2001, she was diagnosed with cancer in the other breast. This time, she lost her hair 3 times due to the chemo treatments but she always joked about her “hip” new look. Despite her advancing condition, she organized family reunions and called upon her brothers and sisters to stay connected, to come to meet with her when only she knew how advanced the disease had progressed. None of us knew that we wouldn’t have more time with her because she never shared exactly how aggressive the cancer had become. On March 28, 2004, breast cancer took the last of her strength and forever changed the 7 sisters.
During the whole ordeal with Grace, another sister, Darce, was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Instead of radiation treatment, she elected to have a mastectomy in 1995. The cancer recurred in the other breast in 2002. Darce had that breast removed, resulting in a complete mastectomy. My sister Darce is alive... and well... to this day.
In the Spring of this year, my daughter heard about the Sister Study on a Wisconsin television commercial. Because of her fear and concern, she called the listed number to determine if I qualified for the study. She encouraged me to follow-up and to join the study. I have been amazed that someone is looking at both the environmental and hereditary factors that we have always wondered about in relation to cancer. The depth of the questions and the extent of the information being collected by the Sister Study has been amazing. I am so happy to participate in a study that has begun to ask about some of these questions. I have encouraged many other Native American women to call and to join the study.
Grace’s daughter and my daughter are a part of getting the word out
about this study. Although my sisters and I may never see the scourge of
breast cancer eradicated from the Native American population, we can be a
part of the road to that investigation.
When you look at the picture of me and my sisters, how do you know which
one will succumb to the cancer statistics — which one will survive
cancer — which one won’t? Maybe that’s the answer
that the Sister Study will lead to.
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