Barbadian-born breast
cancer survivor, ‘doing good’
Barbadian Cecile White in sanctuary at Fenimore Street United Methodist
Church in Brooklyn. Cecille White
Caribbean Life, Oct. 9-15, 2020 5
By Nelson A. King
The Sister “Give Me Your Hand
Program” at MD Anderson Cancer
Center at Cooper and the Sandra and
Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill
Cornell Medicine is urging the public
to join a discussion on “Breast Cancer
Facts, Myths and Resources” on Tuesday,
Oct. 20, at 6:30 pm.
The program said resources will
be available to women in Camden, NJ
and Brooklyn.
The discussion will be held under
the theme, “The Importance of Breast
Cancer & Screening in the Era of
COVID-19.”
“The coronavirus will be in our
communities longer than we anticipated.
It is important that we do
not put off health maintenance and
important screenings like mammography,”
said Francesse Antoine, MPH,
at Weill Cornell Medicine’s General
Internal Medicine in midtown, Manhattan.
“Doing so can lead to more
advanced disease, due to delay in diagnosis,”
added Antoine, stating that
breast cancer is the second leading
cause of cancer death in women.”
She also said that breast cancer
is the most common cancer among
Black American women, with Black
women in the US about 40 percent
more likely to die from breast cancer
than white women.
In addition, Antoine said Black
women are more likely to get breast
cancer at a younger age.
“Research finds that Black women
often have delays in follow-up care
after mammograms due to lack of
access,” she said.
Antoine urged interested persons
to register at https://sgmyhoct2020.
eventbrite.com.
Antoine can also be reached at
(646) 962-5016, or email: fra4002@
med.cornell.edu
By Nelson A. King
A year after telling her story
to Caribbean Life for the very
first time, Barbadian-born breast
cancer survivor Cecille White
says she’s still “doing good.”
“I’m still maintaining my doctor’s
appointment every six months,” said
the Brooklyn resident on Wednesday.
“I’m doing my mammograms
every six months, as
well.
“I’m still taking my medication,”
she added. “The doctors
say I have to take it for another
five years, because of the
aggressive nature of the cancer,
but I’m still in remission.
“I’m feeling good,” White stressed.
“Thank God for that!”
In quoting Dave Pelzer, an American
author, of several autobiographical
and self-help books, White initially told
Caribbean Life: “You can be a victim
of cancer or a survivor of cancer. It’s a
mindset.”
With this mindset, White, 63, a
Canarsie, Brooklyn resident, said that
she was determined to beat the odds,
with the help of family and close friends,
when she was first diagnosed with the
deadly disease in February 2015.
“It was very difficult to process, and
even harder to treat,” said White, stating
that treatment included 45 “long
rounds” of radiation therapy, as well as
“many lifestyle adjustments.”
She said it was “a battle” for her, but,
with the support of her children, family
and friends, she was “continuing on.”
White is an active member of Fenimore
Street United Methodist church
in Brooklyn, where she serves as a
Certified Lay Servant, United Methodist
Women member, choir member and
all-round “helping hand.”
“To be told you have cancer should
not be a death sentence,” she said. “I’ve
truly learned to put God first in everything.
He has been my nurse, doctor
and all-round healer.”
White — currently a rehab assistant
at Palm Garden Rehabilitation Center
in the Kensington section of Brooklyn,
and has been working there since 1986
— said the road to recovery has been
eased with the help of close friends,
family and church sisters, “some of
whom were there for me from the diagnosis
to this very moment.”
She identified retired, Trinidadianborn,
Registered Nurse Marlene Ferguson,
a former nursing administrator at
SUNY Downstate Medical Center and
University Hospital of Brooklyn, as one
of those persons.
“From the day of my diagnosis, she
helped me through making all the
tough decisions, took me to appointments
and was there for me when
I woke up from surgery,” said White
about Ferguson, who had initiated and
coordinated an annual Breast Cancer
Survivors’ Day celebration at Downstate
Hospital, and who also worships with
White at Fenimore Street United Methodist
Church.
White said her daughter, Candice,
who lives with her, helped prepare meals
“to abide by the many dietary changes
one has to make when they are diagnosed
with cancer.”
In addition, she said her sister Harriet
Griffith, as well as retired Jamaican
born Registered Nurses Glenner
Strachan and Doreen Thomas — both
members of Fenimore Street United
Methodist Church and United Methodist
women – “have also been a constant
source of care and concern.”
“I am still on medications, and I visit
my oncologist every six months for
check-ups,” White said. “But I am here,
living my life to the fullest extent.
“As I said, cancer is not a death wish;
it has only made me stronger,” she
added. “I will continue to celebrate the
life God has given me each and every
day until He calls me home.”
White said she was undergoing a routine
mammogram “when they noticed
a spot.”
“It felt so surreal and numb,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe it – how and why it
was happening to me.
“However, initially, my first reaction
was to think to myself, ‘okay, I can beat
it’, even though I was scared of the word
‘cancer’” she added.
A month after diagnosis, White said
she had a partial mastectomy on her
right breast at Brookdale Medical Center
and University Hospital.
“My surgeon at the time was Dr.
Wong, who was very kind and sympathetic
during his time there,” she said,
stating that she continued treatment,
through radiation therapy, at Brookdale
Medical Center.
White said the director of nursing,
at the time, at Palm Garden Rehabilitation
Center also “showed empathy, and
encouraged me to take care of myself by
allowing me to take as much time as I
needed off.
“My position remained open for me
to return, but they did hire temporary
assistance, and I was out of work for
three months,” she said.
White said the cancer remains in
remission, based on the last set of
scans.
“Everything was clean,” she said. “You
know, even though I know it can return,
I maintain a very positive attitude knowing
that God doesn’t allow you to carry
no more than you can bear.”
Sister ‘Give
Me Your Hand
Program’
discusses
breast cancer
/eventbrite.com
/sgmyhoct2020
/sgmyhoct2020
/med.cornell.edu
