FAMILIAR TERRITORY

By Mandy Jeppesen Features Writer

Resilient — the best word to describe the woman behind this survival story, CJ Mcpherson-Heaney. CJ has survived breast cancer not once, but twice in her lifetime. She was first diagnosed back in 1982 at the tender age of 31. Having been adopted, CJ didn’t know any of her family medical history at the time, making things even more challenging.

“My youngest daughter wasn’t even a year old when I found the lump — a rather large lump,” she said. “Now you must understand back then breast cancer was considered an old woman’s disease, not a diagnosis for a 31-year old mother. Needless to say, I felt scared and truly alone.

“Everything happened so fast — within a week I had my biopsy, diagnosis, and a botched mastectomy which landed me in the hospital for a week of recovery. After that I did a year of chemotherapy while working and raising my children. I was left with a prosthesis and my sense of humour which helped me get through some interesting experiences. Life is life, and if you take it too seriously, you’re going to miss out some of the sillier things it throws at you.”

And life did throw another curveball at CJ in 1988 when she was laid-off from her job, but CJ rose to the challenge and decided to return to college. After a long overdue divorce in 1995 things were appearing like it was to be smooth sailing ahead. Instead it was another curveball...

“It was 14 years and 2 weeks to the day, I was driving my car and hit a bump – and my breast hurt. I contacted my surgeon, but he insisted breast cancer does not hurt. My best friend was head of the St. Luke’s Breast Center. She performed an ultrasound and discovered the mass. It was less than a year prior that I had a mammogram. The cancer grew that fast in that little time.

“I was prepared this time,” she explained, “asking to be discharged 18 hours after the mastectomy. I wanted to recover back in my own space. I wanted my own kitchen (I’m a good cook), my own bathroom, my own bedroom. Looking at the bright side of things... for 14 years, I had to wear a bra and prosthesis and now I could literally throw it away!”

CJ not only survived this familiar disease once again but, after some detective work, found her own familiar connections that connected some of the dots in her medical history.

“I made the rare discovery that my biological father was a newspaper columnist. In a Mother’s Day tribute, he wrote about his mother dying of breast cancer when she was only 43 years old. He posted a photo of her which I treasure to this day, because she is my medical history. It was also astounding to learn that my father was a writer — a newspaper columnist for over 60 years; ever since I was just a little girl, I’ve always loved to write. Give me a scrap of paper and a pencil, and I’ll write you a story. In fact, about a year ago I finished my third novel in the Always and Forever trilogy (www. alwaysandforevertrilogy.com). Writing is literally in my soul.”

See, I told you, “resilient” is the perfect word to describe her! CJ’s story continues because of her resiliency, bravery, and joy for life.