Shawna Thomas I was born in a little town in Louisiana in 1950 of African-American parents. As far as I know, there was no history of cancer in my family.
0-19 years My father had been in the army before I was born. When he came home, he went to college on GI bill. After college, he became a history teacher in the local high school. We lived in a small but nice house on the outskirts of town. My mother had a garden and raised chickens, so we ate a lot of vegetables and eggs. I had asthma as a child, so I saw the doctor regularly. Other than that, my childhood was uneventful. I was a good student and dreamed of becoming a doctor myself.	20-39 years I worked hard in college and, after several tries, was admitted to a medical school for women in Philadelphia. After I finished my training, I returned to Louisiana to work in a clinic near the little town I grew up in. When I was 30, I married a local businessman and we started a family. I had two children. Because of my medical training, I was very careful about watching my body for any changes. One morning when I was 38, I discovered a spot in my left breast that just didn’t feel right. I went immediately to my doctor and he sent me for further testing. Sure enough, it was small breast tumor. I had a partial mastectomy (in those days, they often removed more tissue than they had to), followed by chemotherapy. ·
40-59 years After I recovered from the cancer, life was different for me. The shock of being ill had caused me to revaluate my priorities. I reduced the number of hours I was spending in the clinic, preferring to spend more time at home with my husband and children. I regularly examined my remaining breast tissue and also went for regular cancer check-ups. Fortunately we had caught the cancer before it spread, and five years after my surgery, I was still cancer-free.	60+ years My children are grown, and I am retired now, preferring to volunteer instead of work for pay at the small hospital the town finally built. My husband died last year of a stroke, and I decided to offer a scholarship in his name each year to a young person from the area who wants to go on to college. Life is good. After all these years, I have finally lost my fear that the breast cancer will return (but I still see my doctor regularly).