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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It serves as a reminder for women to be screened for the disease. Today, the Gwinnett Daily Post is printed on pink paper to help increase awareness and remind women to see their doctor because of the importance of early detection.
Gwinnett Daily Post WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2015
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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Lending her voice
Vol. 46, No. 13
COOLRAY FIELD
Judge: BOC violated Survivor advocates on behalf of people who can’t constitution in rezoning By Danielle Ryan
danielle.ryan@gwinnettdailypost.com
By Joshua Sharpe
A Grayson breast cancer survivor is using her experiences to help others battling the disease. The Rev. Jill Henning wants to change the future of cancer treatment, giving patients more options and better success rates. She wants the government to fund cancer research and is vocal about the needs of cancer patients, visiting with members of Congress at the end of September. Henning is a breast cancer survivor, though her rare form of cancer can reoccur at any time. While she is in remission, however, she has chosen to be a voice for others. In the spring of 2014, months after a double mastectomy to fight her aggressive breast cancer, Henning was at a Relay For Life event when she met one of the grassroots coordinators for the American Cancer Society. She discovered the need for people to speak to legislators and decided she would contribute. “I’m not a doctor, lawyer or politician. I’m a mom, a pastor, a PTA president, but somebody has to tell these legislators that the decisions they make affect people,” she said. Henning believes not only in the importance of cancer research, but also in the importance of caring for the emotional needs of people with cancer. “I had so much support, but not everybody has that,” she said. “That’s one thing the American Cancer Society does. They have a phone line and they’re there 24 hours a day to answer questions and just to talk.” Insurance covered the cost of her wig, but for many that is an additional expense added to a long list of cancer-related costs. ACS provides free wigs to individuals going through chemo as well, allowing them to feel a little more “normal.”
joshua.sharpe@gwinnettdailypost.com
A Gwinnett County judge has ruled against the Board of Commissioners, finding that a 2009 rezoning near Coolray Field violated the constitutional rights of the couple who owned the land. The ruling, handed down by Superior Court Judge Randy Rich, is a victory for Garland and Shirley Roberts, who have said they couldn’t sell their land after Brand Properties had commissioners rezone it “without their consent” in 2009. The couple’s daughter, Wansley Lockridge, is also an affected property owner and plaintiff in the case. A county spokesman declined to comment Monday, saying the judge’s order was still being reviewed. The family’s attorney, Doug Dillard, expressed relief Tuesday. “This situation has been a tremendous burden, financially and otherwise, to the Roberts, their daughter Wansley and the entire family,” Dillard said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to seeing these good people have the ability to use their property and move forward with their lives.” The case dates back to 2008, when the developer put the couple’s plot, off Buford Drive near a Publix shopping center, under contract and started making payments. It was planned to be used as part of a larger development, including a luxury apartment complex called The Views at Coolray Field. But the deal with the Roberts family was
See REZONING, Page 11A
Above, breast cancer survivor and activist Jill Henning sits in a chemotherapy treatment chair at the Center For Cancer Care of Gwinnett Medical Center in Snellville. She spoke with members of Congress at the end of September to encourage lawmakers to increase funding for cancer research. At left, Henning hugs Monique Campbell, one of the nurses that took care of her during her chemotherapy treatment at the Center For Cancer Care of Gwinnett Medical Center in Snellville. (Staff Photos: Danielle Ryan)
See VOICE, Page 11A MORE INSIDE
Breast cancer awareness events being held in Gwinnett................5A
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Genetic tests give women prevention options By Danielle Ryan
nificant family history of breast cancer or has a personal history of breast cancer at a young age or other characteristics that Genetic testing is giving more women might indicate a hereditary risk, she can be a chance to stop breast cancer before it seen. We can do a genetic test to try and starts. determine if that’s the case.” The practice made headlines in 2013 One thing Snyder says many women when Angelina Jolie elected to have a don’t know is that a family history of other double mastectomy after doctors informed cancers can indicate a predisposition for her of her high risk of breast cancer. Jolie breast cancer as well. A hereditary breast carries a “faulty” BRCA1 gene, which in- cancer predisposition can also show up creases a woman’s chance of breast cancer as ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer or to an average of 65 percent. prostate cancer in male relatives. Advanced practice nurse Cindy Snyder Snyder recommends looking at both with the Cancer Genetics and Risk Assides of the family as one big picture to sessment Program at the Cancer Institute see if there are patterns on either side that of Gwinnett Medical Center is an expert might indicate a hereditary cancer risk. on cancer genetic testing and is helping “We like to generate a diagram of a women determine their risk and what they family history that includes at least three can do to prevent breast cancer. generations,” she said. “The person’s “The genetic testing that I do is a simple generation, which includes siblings and lab test done with either blood or saliva,” cousins, then their parents generation and Snyder said. “When a woman has a sigtheir grandparents generation.” danielle.ryan@gwinnettdailypost.com
For women with a hereditary breast cancer risk, if they have not yet been diagnosed with breast cancer, there are a number of preventative options available. Increased surveillance, annual mammograms, annual MRIs and medications are available for many women. For those with a high risk of the cancer, prophylactic surgery, such as a mastectomy, is an option. Snyder says there are things every woman can do to help lower their risk of breast cancer. She recommends limiting alcoholic beverages to one per day, maintaining a healthy weight and getting lots of exercise. Most importantly, she wants people to pay attention to their bodies and recognize when something isn’t right. “The No. 1 risk factor for breast cancer is being female. I have seen women at 19 years of age get diagnosed with breast cancer,” she said. “It’s not common, but the point is that we want women and men to be aware of their bodies for any changes.”
Cops: Father stabs baby’s great-grandma outside DFCS By Joshua Sharpe joshua.sharpe@gwinnettdailypost.com
LAWRENCEVILLE — A 67-year-old woman was released from the hospital Tuesday, after being stabbed in front of her six-month-old great-grandson Monday outside a Division of Family and Children Services office. The child’s father was meanwhile held in the Gwinnett County jail on $14,700 bond, charged with aggravated assault and cruelty to children in the bizarre incident that reportedly ended with him fleeing across a busy Clarence Howard Lawrenceville street with the infant. A city police officer, who was nearby when the 911 call came in, pulled up to 33 S. Clayton St. about 12:15 p.m. Monday while the chaos was still unfolding. Immediately, the bloodied woman, stabbed multiple times, flopped on the hood of the cruiser, said Capt. Greg Vaughn, Lawrenceville police spokesman. The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Clarence Howard, made it across the road with the baby carrier and stopped. “I guess he realizes he can’t out run the police with a six-month-old baby in tow,” Vaughn said Monday, adding: “The baby’s fine. The baby wasn’t even upset or anything, wasn’t crying. I stood there with him for a while. Cute little old baby.” Robin Martinelli, whose private investigations firm is located behind DFCS, said the scene was harrowing, with workers in
See STABS, Page 11A
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