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KEY WEST WEEKLY / OCTOBER 21, 2021
‘Nobody walks alone’ Local woman shares her battle
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Martha Robinson: Bald, bold, beautiful MANDY MILES
mandy@keysweekly.com
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MELINDA VAN FLEET www.keysweekly.com
hayne Messina is a 20-year Marathon resident, local business owner of Sunmasters Elite Travel Inc., Upper Keys BPW member and a six-year breast cancer survivor and activist. She recently sat down to share her powerful story and information about the upcoming Making Strides in America Cancer Walk this coming Saturday, Oct. 23. It was six years this past August since my breast cancer was detected in my yearly mammogram, which is why I am an advocate for early detection. I got the postcard in the mail that it was time for my mammogram, and I had gone up as soon as I got the postcard. So, the appointment was actually a month earlier than a typical annual mammogram. When they see something suspicious in your image, they call you into a big room. I had a biopsy within two days; two days later, I had the diagnosis; and two days later, I had my surgery. Six weeks later, I was in radiation. The doctors responded to my cancer very quickly. There are many types of breast cancer. And once they diagnose you, you meet with a whole team of doctors — surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and even a geneticist. They are all giving you their opinion on what you should do. My breast cancer was caught early enough that it was able to be treated with surgery and radiation. After year five, I was able to go back to once-a-year visits instead of every six months. If you know someone who has been diagnosed or has been going through breast cancer, it’s best to be a good listener. If you are going through the process, find a good doctor you like and trust. My doctor is Dr. Joseph Collette in Boca Raton, and I trusted what he prescribed 100%. The process is very overwhelming; try to take someone with you if you can. The doctors are quickly sharing information with you, and you have to revert to what they shared. My husband came with me, and it was essential
‘I’M STILL THE LUCKIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD’
Shayne Messina, left, with Suzi Youngberg, Upper Keys BPW president. CONTRIBUTED
to have support. Cancer information, in general, is a lot, and often, you are in a state of shock. So, take notes and, at the very least, put your phone on record. My best advice is to start your annual mammograms at age 40. However, as you are doing your self-exams and feel something sooner, get it checked. One in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. This Saturday, Oct. 23, is the Making Strides in American Cancer Walk. You can walk individually or as a team. Last year, because of COVID-19, we did it as a parade. This year, since we are still not comfortable being in a large crowd, we came up with a series of neighborhood walks. Some of the organized walks include Crane Point, and if you show up Saturday morning at 8 a.m. in pink to walk, they will waive the $14.99 park entry fee. Julie Johnson is organizing a group at Duck Key at 8 a.m. There are also walks at Sombrero Beach at 7 a.m. and Coco Plum Beach at 7:30 a.m. The funds raised go to research and also local programs that help Monroe County residents. Two such programs are The Hope Lodge and Road to Recovery. These programs are critical; the Road to Recovery Program has volunteers who help patients get to and from appointments, especially since many need to go to Miami for treatment. I want to end by saying… “Nobody walks this walk alone.” They really don’t. When I went to get my surgery that was one of the most important things a nurse said to me. I said, “You don’t have to walk with me to the surgical center. I’m fine; I’m not even scared.” And she said, “Oh no, I’ll walk with you; no one walks this path alone.”
ald heads won’t sweat under a knit cotton hat. Scrambled eggs and bacon are a perfectly acceptable dinner. Underwire bras are a thing of the past. “It’s so bizarre the things you learn while going through this, but I’m the luckiest person you’ll ever meet,” said Key West Realtor Martha Robinson, whose doctor in April “saw a tiny, tiny shadow” on her annual mammogram. “So I had another mammogram,” she said. “Then I had a biopsy, which wasn’t fun. And then I knew.” Robinson had breast cancer. It was stage 1, but an aggressive type that would require surgery to remove the lump, then four chemotherapy infusions given four weeks apart, and finally 20 days of radiation therapy, which she’ll start Nov. 9. “So I’m still bald, but in a strange way, I like it,” she said. “I never wanted to wear a wig, so my hairdresser shaved my head for me. My amazing friend Kellee Bartley showed up with adorable hats for me. Another friend knit me cotton hats that reduce the perspiration. I have tons of hats now. One of my best friends sent me pajamas. Brenda Donnelly dropped off some of the best lip balm and skin cream since the chemo dries everything out. I’m surrounded by amazing people. And my boyfriend, Roy Bishop, is an absolute godsend. He cooked me scrambled eggs and bacon for dinner when it was the only thing that sounded remotely appetizing after my first week of chemo. I don’t know what I would have done without him and everyone else. I truly am the most fortunate woman in the world.” Robinson counts the GenesisCare Oncology Center in Key West among her local miracles. The center provides chemotherapy infusions and radiation treatments on North Roosevelt. “The treatment I received there was the exact same formula recommended by the most-revered Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa,” Robinson said. “They offered me a second opinion via Zoom, which was incredible. And to know I could
Key West Realtor Martha Robinson was diagnosed in April, had surgery, chemotherapy and begins radiation next month. MANDY MILES/Keys Weekly
get the exact same treatment protocol here in my hometown among people I know and love was a saving grace. Not to mention the Women’s Imaging Center on 12th Street that’s run by Lower Keys Medical Center. That place is incredible and so supportive. I can’t say enough about everyone.” For some reason, Robinson had always assumed she’d get breast cancer someday. “So I really wasn’t afraid,” she said. “But I am very glad that it happened now, when I’m 69, instead of when I was younger.” She’d even been a board member of the Cancer Foundation of the Keys for more than 20 years. “Mercy Hiller from the oncology center founded that group to help local cancer patients pay rent, mortgages, utility and grocery bills while they were undergoing treatment, and I was always involved. “I’d been getting annual mammograms since my 40s,” she said. “I’m 69 now, and I don’t care if you print my age, because I want people to know everything so they’ll get checked regularly, so women will get their mammograms, so men will get a prostate screening and everyone will get skin cancer and colon cancer screenings. They’re so important, because even if the news is bad, it’s manageable when you catch it in time.”
