Record South Whidbey
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2014 | Vol. 90, No. 82 | www.SOUTHWHIDBEYRECORD.com | 75¢
Think Pink! Breast Cancer Awareness Month
INSIDE SWHS
Homecoming See...A12
BEATING BREAST CANCER ‘When you survive, you can’t help but feel lucky.’ — Lynae Slinden
South Whidbey woman triumphs, goes on to embrace, live life to the fullest By KATE DANIEL South Whidbey Record For Clinton resident Lynae Slinden, the year 2000 was more than the beginning of a new millennium. It was the year she would celebrate her 50th birthday, the year she could finally and confidently say she survived breast cancer, and it was the beginning of a new and fearless adventure. When Slinden was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, she was working as an ultrasound, mammogram and x-ray technician. A mammogram she had received two years prior had failed to reveal the already-present cancerous cells and the disease was aggressively developing. “You realize, as soon as [you are diagnosed] that it is a life-changing event,” she said. “And it was, for me and for the people who were sharing my life.” Slinden said that she was suddenly faced with “compromising decisions” such as whether she would keep her house, and considerations such as whether she would be there to raise her 15-year-old daughter Tara, whose stepmother was also diagnosed with breast cancer soon afterward. Amidst the whirlwind of uncertainty and physical and psychological pain, Slinden remained steadfast and fought the disease with every element of medical artillery, from chemotherapy and surgery to radiation. Throughout her battle, Slinden said she regarded her daughter as a source of inspiration and received overwhelming support from family, friends, neighbors, her medical team and even strangers. “There wasn’t any one [person or helping factor]. That’s part of the beauty of it,” she said, adding that since her own struggle, she has witnessed instances in which numerous individuals in a person’s network will come to their side in a time of need. “It is a wonderful cultural thing,” she said. According to the National Cancer Institute, in 2014, there were 232,670 women and 2,360 men diagnosed with breast cancer. Approximately SEE SLINDEN, A14
Contributed photo
Lynae Slinden recently spent two years serving with the Peace Corps, nearly 20 years after surviving a battle with breast cancer. Here, Slinden poses for a photo during the Christmas holiday in Ukraine.