FACE OF HOPE Sherry G. Yeomans of Waycross shares her story of faith, courage and determination while facing breast cancer. Yeomans was diagnosed with Stage One, Hormone Positive Breast Cancer on October 16, 2023 at the age of 63. She has been married 24 years and has six children, four sons and one daughter, ten grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and one on the way.
Yeomans has been a registered nurse for 42 years and now works as a Clinical BI Analyst for Parallon-HCA.
Yeomans’ cancer was found by an annual mammogram. The mammogram indicated “something” which prompted the radiologist to do a breast ultrasound the same day. This confirmed the radiologist’s suspicions. Yeomans was scheduled with surgeon Dr. David Wykstra for a biopsy. The biopsy confirmed a malignant neoplasm of the lower-inner quadrant of her right breast.
In her own words: When we received the diagnosis from Dr. Wykstra, my husband and I were both numb. My husband began asking questions before I did. I was okay, but shaken. If I did not have a personal relationship with the Lord, I do not know how I would have handled this. This is a diagnosis “other” people get...not me! But in my quiet time with the Lord, I thought, “Why not me?” Yes, I am a child of God. I wouldn’t think I would have to go through this, but that was the key word... “through.” God has always promised to be with me through anything, to never leave nor forsake me. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, when you pass through the rivers of difficulty, you will not drown, and when you walk through the fire of oppression, the flames will not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2, NLT. I heavily leaned into the Lord!
I had my first surgery on November 6, 2023. The pathology report was not clear and Dr. Jha, my oncologist, was not satisfied. While meeting with my husband and I, he explained that the report did not indicate clear margins. Dr. Jha personally called the pathologist and asked them to look at the OPspecimen instead of the report. He was correct, the margins were not clear, which meant going back into surgery on December 15, 2023. I am so very grateful Dr. Jha had followed up on that report.
It is so important to surround yourself with family and friends who are believers and prayer warriors to do war on your behalf. I know I had a lot of people...friends, family, and church members praying for me and they will never know how grateful I am to them for their prayers.
After surgery and recovery, Dr. Jha offered the Oncotype blood test by Geononic Health Inc., which would indicate whether I would need chemotherapy or just radiation. I had the test done and thanks to the Good Lord, I did not need chemo. Chemotherapy can be a harsh, ravishing treatment and I have seen firsthand what it can do to a person physically, emotionally and mentally. I had a beautiful sister whom I adored and cherished and I saw what chemo did to her. It did give her several more years with her family and I witnessed one of the smallest women I’ve ever known fight this disease. Her mainstay was God. She never hesitated to let you know it is God who gets you through. She was diagnosed in 2004 with a different type of cancer and passed in 2020.
I was one of the fortunate ones who only had to have radiation. I did radiation treatments every day for four weeks under the care of Dr. Violotti and his staff. They were always great at lifting my spirits with their genuine care, conversation, and smiles.
If I could advise anyone going through cancer or treatment, I would want them to not feel guilty for saying ‘No’ to people when you can’t or don’t feel like participating in something or going somewhere. This is a time when you have to put yourself first. Yes, someone will end up disappointed, but this is a stage you are going through.
Pamper yourself! Get a massage, go to the beach and sit under an umbrella and listen to the waves; read a good book and relax while you heal.
I have been blessed to have my family’s support through all of this. I am still healing and still have issues. It has been nine months since my last surgery and five months since completing radiation treatment. It is amazing what the body does.
