"I Have Cancer, But Cancer Doesn’t Have Me"

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

I believe in the saying that if you give to the world the best you have, the best will come back to you. I have tried to live my life inspired by this mantra—and I have tried to inspire and influence others to do the same. My fight against breast cancer and my work to educate and help others facing the same challenge have defined my life for the past four years.  My volunteer work in building stronger communities in Washington, DC and in my home state of North Carolina has been my passion for over thirty years. And while the impact of my efforts alone may be limited, I believe those efforts have been greatly magnified by the efforts of countless volunteers who have responded to my positive example and found ways to serve their communities in countless ways.

My dream of visiting the White House was realized when the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network nominated me as a Champions of Change, in recognition of my work helping to fight against breast cancer. When I was diagnosed in June 2007 with a rare form of breast cancer, my world and my life perspective changed drastically. The harsh treatments—chemotherapy, surgery and seven weeks of radiation—took a toll on me, changing the very essence of who I am and limiting my abilities to accomplish some of my dreams. Now, I am a breast cancer survivor, certified breast health educator, community navigator, youth worker, and Ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.

A major lesson I learned along the way was the value of family members, friends, communities, and colleagues--they provide identity, support, joy and comfort. They make the fight against this disease tolerable. No one who travels the breast cancer journey should have to make this journey alone.

Almost from the inception of my diagnosis, I vowed to fight back and use my voice to increase funding for cancer research and to make it a national priority. I have vowed to use my experience as a survivor as a beacon of hope and inspiration for others who have the disease or who have lost a loved one.

Today, I serve as a community navigator for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, where I regularly navigate 18-20 patients, providing moral support and a listening ear. I help arrange mammography appointments, connect patients with financial and housing resources, and identify other needs, such as transportation, lack of education, and fear about the disease.

Yes, I have cancer, but cancer doesn’t have me. I have a voice and a story that can help inspire and give hope to others who are fighting the disease.

Thelma Jones is a four-year breast cancer survivor who is a relentless cancer advocate and certified breast health educator for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and community navigator for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts.

Sharing Hope for a Cure

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

I volunteer in Nevada for The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. I volunteered for the American Cancer Society for 12 years following my breast cancer diagnosis to educate others about the importance of early detection. I wanted to share the hope that the American Cancer Society showed me when I was first diagnosed.

As part of my advocacy work this past year in Nevada, we have met with 46 of our 64 Nevada legislators and advocacy volunteers from all three of Nevada’s Congressional districts meet with their respective lawmakers. These face-to-face meetings are critical to the work we do advocating to increased cancer research funding to find cures and new treatments for breast cancer.

In 1983, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the treatment was a mastectomy.   I survived due to early detection. In 1999, I was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, for which there is no cure.  I have been on a clinical trial for 12 years in an effort to find a cure for myself and others with the same type of cancer.  I am alive due to cancer research.

Working with Congress is vital to securing important cancer research funds for the future, so that we can bring hope to all the women and families that are touched by this terrible disease.

Delia Oliveri was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983 and underwent a mastectomy. She credits early detection with saving her life and volunteered for the American Cancer Society for 12 years following her diagnosis to educate others about the importance of early detection, including serving as the only Spanish speaking volunteer in her area.

Dedication to Affecting Real Change

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

Sitting around in a circle with 14 other Champions of Change, I am overwhelmed by the intense passion surrounding me, the commitment of each one of the champions towards a common goal of finding a cure for breast cancer.

The women on the dais, and all those in the room, have accomplished so much in the fight against breast cancer. We have come a long way but we are not champions, only workers along that path to change.

Passion is not enough. I look at everyone and realize that we desperately need to have a directed, strategic approach towards solving the myriad of problems before us to enable us to reach our common goal.

It all begins in the research lab where careers are based on publications and collaboration is not rewarded.  We need to change the incentive system, to break down the silos that separate one institution from another, one specialized field from another, and promote cross fertilization so that we can better focus our limited funding resources.