TUCSON, Ariz. — Here in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we're taking the opportunity to hear from some survivors, who push for a world where cancer no longer exists.
Stopping at the office for the group Tucson Cancer Conquerors at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, you'll meet some, like Amy Cojanis. The first time you talk to Amy, her laugh will make you question if she has ever been sad or afraid.
"I found the positive in it, I found the funny in it," she explained, refering to her experience with cancer. "I erased all the bad, and I just changed it."
Toward the end of 2016, when she was just 41 years old, Amy had no choice. She went into her doctor for a routine mammogram, and they found a lump in her breast.
"I honestly thought that I was going to be able to get everything done in the last month," she said with a laugh. "December is going to be rough, and we'll just, you know, get everything done!"
Through a biopsy and and an MRI, they found cancer, with the potential for more. So Amy opted for surgery, to get as much of it out as they could.
"I chose to do a mastectomy," she explained. "I did a nipple sparing mastectomy, and a year later, it found the minuscule little bit of tissue that was left in there, and so I had my second diagnosis."
The nipple-sparing surgery she chose to try and maintain some feeling of herself, led to her cancer coming back.
Even now, six years after her last treatment, she doesn't like to call herself cancer free.
"I prefer to say 'no evidence of disease,' just because I had a huge one year cancer-free party with my girlfriends, and we went out to play bingo and had a good time, and then it came back," she said.
Through her series of treatments and a handful of complications, Amy ended up having a total of seven surgeries over two years.
"But I always consider myself lucky," she said. "Because I was always doing my mammograms when I needed to, it was found very early. I had a lot of surgeries, but I didn't have to do chemo and radiation because I chose the mastectomy."
That positivity and her faith, along with her husband, friends, and dogs, are what Amy says got her through. And now she's extending that through the nonprofit, Tucson Cancer Conquerors.
She's the vice president of the group, which focuses on the well being of survivors and cancer patients, through exercise, social events and connecting with each other.
"We're one of those groups who, we know there are bad days and we know you're going to cry and you're going to have a hard time," she explained. "But what I like to say is, 'we're going to let you do that, but we're not going to let you stay there.' We know that the positive attitude makes a huge difference in how you heal and how you recover. So we want to help get you to that side of it."
Amy says they know no one has the same journey with cancer, but there's always common ground for anyone who has been through it.
"So to find a place where you can get that support, where you can have the people that understand, makes a huge difference," she said. "And even if you don't need it, there's somebody here who needs you. And so you get to be that person who says, 'hey look, I'm 10 years out, 20 years out, I'm 30 years out, and this is what it looks like.'"
On Sunday, October 20th, Amy and the Tucson Cancer Conquerors will be at the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk at the U of A Tech Park. The group be leading a warm up exercise for anyone who wants to take part. The event will be hosted by KGUN 9's Claire Graham. Check-in starts at 8am, with the walk starting at 9am.
If you would like to take part, you can sign up ahead of time by clicking here. You'll type in Tucson, AZ as your location, and select the local event.
Claire Graham is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. She grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in musical theatre. Claire spent a decade in Washington state, where she worked in journalism, met her husband and welcomed their baby boy, before moving back home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Claire by emailing claire.graham@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
