Breast Cancer

This Jack Ass of the Week is very personal to me. It is a tribute to the millions of strong beautiful women who fight breast cancer beast each year. For my family and I, October is so much more than pink ribbons and 5k runs. When I think about breast cancer, Susan G Komen isn’t the first name that comes to my mind.

My grandmother was the strongest woman I have ever known. She was so much more than a grandparent. She was a teacher, a disciplinarian, a motivator, and a role model. She baked pineapple cookies, made noodles, and baited fish hooks. I was born into a matriarchal family and she was our center. She might not have always told us how proud she was, but the rest of the world knew. It would be an understatement to say that she was stoic, but I always knew that she loved me.

She is still a mystery to me in many ways. I was the youngest of her grandchildren and a late addition to our family. I have no memories of her working, but she did. She had a career as a store clerk at Woolworths. Lafayette’s older generation often remember her from afternoon trips to the department store. The younger folks are more likely to remember her as “Grandma Helen”. I remember her house was always immaculately cleaned, sitting at the table for every meal, and family celebrations that where always held at her house. She and my grandfather had one of Lafayette’s best know Christmas light displays. There are so many questions I have for her. I would love know more about her life and the woman she was before she was my grandmother. There have been many parallels in our lives and I would give anything for her wisdom.

When my grandfather passed away, very little changed. My grandmother still did most everything she had done before. She started mowing the grass herself. She still went to Sugar Mill Lake every summer weekend and she still maintained her house the same. She never missed a Cubs game. I know she missed my grandfather, but her strength pushed her on. She seemed to have endless amounts of energy and could do anything. Her’s was my first home in Lafayette. Very little changed as the years passed and her energy and health were a constant through my high school and college years.

Then in 1994, it happened. My grandmother had never had a mamogram. She was 80 and women her age didn’t really think about them. He doctor found a mass and confirmed that it was breast cancer. He felt the best course of treatment was a masectomy of the effected breast. My grandmother didn’t even flinch. She agreed and scheduled surgery around Thanksgiving. Things went well, the lump hadn’t spread, and all the dangerous tissue was removed. The news was great and our family breathed a collective sigh of relief and took Grandma home.

I don’t remember my grandmother having ever been in the hospital before this surgery. The recovery from masectomy was extremely difficult. Procedures were very different back then and this was a painful healing. My grandmother never fully recovered. The scars healed, but she was never the same. Her energy never returned. I think fighting the cancer and healing her body was such a drain of energy that she stayed a bit more frail. The cancer battle started a very slow progression into chronic illness. Thankfully we had 7 more wonderful years with her.

My grandmother showed me how to be strong from the inside out. She kicked the crap out of cancer. I salute all the doctors, researchers, and scientists who are working to make strides in breast cancer. I salute the brave souls who battle this Jack Ass of a disease and win. So much has changed in breast cancer treatment and so many new discoveries have made the fight easier to win. Doctors know more than ever about breast cancer and there is more to come. To the women out there, do your exams and get your mamograms. If you feel something abnormal, get to the doctor! Men, please encourage the women in your lives to be proactive in this fight. It is a battle I believe that we can win.

When I think about breast cancer, the first name in my mind is W. Helen Klettheimer. My grandmother, the strongest woman I’ve ever known. This disease touches so many people. Who has it touched that you care about? If that woman is still with us, please take this opportunity to tell her how much you love her. I wish I could have one more day with my grandmother to tell her how much I love her.