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Having cancer has changed Harris in many ways, she said.
“I am incredibly blessed,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” she said. “God has seen me through so much.”
Eight years have passed since Harris learned she had cancer and her life has changed drastically. She is happily married, cancer-free and expecting a son in three weeks.
Harris was young, healthy and had no family history of breast cancer, so the doctors advised her to take ibuprofen because the lump could be a result of her menstrual cycle.
But the lump didn’t go away.
Susan G. Komen for the Cure reports that 1.3 million women worldwide will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Harris said the pregnancy was a “happy accident” because she was unsure if she could even have children after undergoing chemotherapy and taking Tamoxifen, a nonsteroidal antiestrogen drug.
A quarter auction will be held Oct. 26 at the Elks Multipurpose Building to benefit the Relay for Life. According to Pam Ollison, organizer, doors will open at 5:30 p.m., dinner will begin at 6 p.m. and the raffle will follow.
“I went into survival mode,” she said.
“It was a hard decision,” she said, “but I didn’t want to live in fear.”
Moore’s Greenhouse and Flower Shop, located at 3311 Greenridge Road, is holding a bra contest throughout October. Residents can visit the business and vote on their favorite bras, which were decorated by area talents. Votes are $1 and all proceeds will be donated to the Relay for Life in memory of Cathy Berlin.
“I want to pay it forward,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],” she said. “I hope my son will never have to experience cancer.”
When each item goes up for auction,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the participants will put the pre-determined amount of quarters in a bucket and hold up a paddle with a number on it. After all bids are in, the auctioneer will draw a number from a basket and the person holding the paddle with the corresponding number wins the bid.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since the program began in 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older and breast cancer deaths have declined.
At age 33, Harris was single and loving life. She joined friends for a game of volleyball at Convention Hall and, after returning home and removing her sports bra, she felt a lump in her right breast.
Attendees will have the opportunity to bid on donated items, which have been given a value of two,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], three or four quarters, based on their retail value.
She graduated from La Monte High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Missouri.
“It was a humbling experience and something I will never forget,” she said. “There was an outpouring of support from family, friends and church members.”
Doctors scheduled Harris for an ultrasound and a mammogram. Both tests came back inconclusive. A biopsy revealed the answer. It was breast cancer.
“Eighty percent (of lumps) are benign,” she said. “Who wouldn’t take those odds?”
She credits the love and support of her older sister, Carol Harbaugh, with helping her through the process. “She was my extra set of ears,” Harris said.
“By the grace of God, I took it seriously,” she said, “and I called the doctor immediately.”
After being forced to postpone her initial appointment due to an ice storm, Harris finally saw her doctor a week after discovering the lump.
Ollison said tickets to the event are $10 and include a bid paddle, dinner, dessert and a drink.
Harris gives back by participating in the Relay for Life with her coworkers from Callis and Associates. She said she walks each year to raise money for a cure for all cancers, not just breast cancer.
Four rounds of chemotherapy followed. The drugs took her hair, her appetite and her peace of mind. But, she didn’t let the disease rob her of her will to live.
Harris said chemotherapy was frightening and the atmosphere angered her.
Harris, 41, grew up on a farm north of La Monte. She was active, athletic and healthy. A self-described tomboy who played volleyball, basketball and softball, she got good grades and participated in choir.
“I just wept,” Harris said. “I was shocked and grief-stricken. It was overwhelming.”
Harris said the cancer diagnosis hit her hard because she hadn’t let herself “believe that.”
She is a respected professional, a wife, a friend and a sister. Linda Harris also is a brave breast cancer survivor and soon-to-be first-time mother.
“I didn’t want to be there,” she said. “I just wanted privacy.”
After reviewing her options with her doctor, Harris made the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy, which is a surgical procedure to remove both breasts.
A fashion show, which will benefit local breast cancer patients, will be held at 2 p.m. today in the Celebration Center at 1701 W. 32nd St. Tickets are $5.
According nbcam.org, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is held to urge women to take advantage of early detection.
In just three weeks, Harris and her husband, Shawn,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], will become parents of a baby boy — a child Harris never expected to welcome into her life.
Harris said knowing a plastic surgeon would step in immediately after the double mastectomy and begin reconstructing her breasts made the surgery slightly easier.