Faith And Friendship Helps Cancer Survivors Cope

By Mac McLean
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: June 28, 2008

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Faith and friendship are coping tools cancer survivors at Friday night’s American Cancer Society Relay for Life said they have used.

“The first year was the toughest,” said Nancy Canter, a Bristol, Va., resident who was diagnosed with third-stage colon cancer 10 years ago.

Canter originally thought her cancer was a case of acid reflux disease and wasn’t diagnosed until she passed out in December 1997 and woke up in an emergency room.

Doctors had to remove a portion of her colon’s abdominal wall, she said, because it was perforated with cancerous cells.

“It seems to be in our family,” Canter said, adding her mother, her oldest sister and brother were also diagnosed with colon cancer. Her brother and sister died as a result of the disease or complications caused by it.

Canter herself also grappled with breast cancer in 2001 and thyroid cancer in 2005. But she didn’t let any of the battles with cancer impair her spirit as she walked in the relay with her sister and nephew.
“You just have to ask the Lord to help you and give you the strength that you need,” Canter said, repeating advice she gives anyone who either has cancer or thinks they might have the disease.

Cancer Society spokeswoman Amy Hopson said that while the goal is to raise $240,000 through the event, which was held from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. today at the Bristol Motor Speedway’s Hospitality Village.

But she said the Relay for Life was as much about increasing awareness about cancer in the community as it was raising money to fight the disease.

“Everyone of these people is going to learn something about cancer and spread it through the community,” Hopson said, adding about 1,000 people were expected to stop by the event, including 200 to 300 cancer survivors.

Linda Corum and Donna Harris, who work at the Eastman Chemical Company’s acetate fibers division, were participating in the event.

Harris was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998 and fought it with chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Since her diagnosis, she said she has always made herself available to anyone who thinks they may have cancer.

Her openness was especially helpful to Corum who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. While the two have always been friends, they said they shared a special bond now that they are both survivors.

“I don’t know what I would have done without her,” Corum said. “She’s been an inspiration in my life and given me a lot of courage.”

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