Teresa Smith almost didn’t go to her annual checkup back in the summer of 2015.
The Adult Education Coordinator at Mississippi Delta Community College was set to have her annual visit with her gynecologist on a Friday, but after a long work week, she thought about rescheduling.
“I almost didn’t go that day,” Smith said. “You know how you’ve worked all week, and it’s Friday. I said, ‘I just don’t feel like going today,’ but I thought, ‘Get your lazy self up, and get that taken care of, and you won’t have to reschedule it.’”
Smith had not experienced any underlying symptoms, nor had she discovered any lumps during self-exams.
Smith is thankful, however, she did make it to that appointment.
A week later, the doctor’s office called and told her that the mammogram had come back with some abnormalities.
She went back in for a biopsy, and it came back malignant.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer, but it wasn’t until a little later on in the process that she found out how serious it was.
“At the time, we didn’t think it was as extensive as it was,” Smith said. “When it came back, it showed that my cancer was a triple negative, which is a really fast-moving cancer.”
Smith’s daughter, Virginia (Myers) was present at the doctor’s office that day.
“Telling my family was really hard,” Smith said.
Her other daughter, Daphne (Heflin) was supposed to tell her grandchildren, but the moment ended up being emotional for her and her daughters.
Smith said she explained to her granddaughters, who were in elementary and middle school at the time, and tried to comfort them.
“They were upset, but I kind of calmed them down, and I said, ‘It’s going to be okay,’” she said. “My family was a big support for me. They were with me from the very beginning to the end.”
Prior to treatment, Smith had an MRI to make sure her other breast was clear. The results of that MRI ended up getting lost, and there was a month’s delay in starting her treatment“Mine went from Stage 1 to Stage 2, almost Stage 3, within that month. It would have been really bad had I waited,” she said.
Her treatment was strong, but the doctors felt like it got the cancer.
The first treatment was what is referred to as the “red devil.”
“They told me that if I survived the red devil, the second round would be a piece of cake,” Smith said. “Well, I survived the red devil, and it was hard no doubt, but the second round I thought was going to kill me…Every bone in my body hurt. I could not get comfortable. I couldn’t get rid of the pain.”
Eventually, Smith had to take heavy medications to alleviate the pain.
In the meantime, Delta Cotton Belles reached out to Smith with a gift basket that included a lot of necessities for women who are going through breast cancer treatments.
The organization helped her by providing her with gas cards that helped with travel expenses to and from treatments.
The American Cancer Society, she said, provided her with a wig after she began to lose her hair.
Her church, Beulah Baptist Church in Inverness, also provided spiritual and financial support.
The church held a fish fry fundraiser to help her offset expenses, and during Christmas, when she could not get out to participate in holiday events, church members came to her home and sang Christmas carols on the front lawn.
“That was so special to see them out in my front yard,” she said.
Smith is now five years cancer free.
Her doctors have told her that she would not get the all clear until after 10 years of being free of the disease, but she still celebrates each day.
“(The doctors said) after 10 years, it would be time to dance,” she said. “We’re celebrating at five, but at 10, we’re really going to have a party.”
Smith is seeing her oncologist every six months, but her surgeon just gave her the news that she would start visits on an annual basis.
She said she will have body scans conducted in the near future to make sure there is no cancer in her body, but other than that, she does not have to take any medicines related to the cancer.
She and her family have routinely participated in walks and fundraisers that help raise awareness for breast cancer.
