Breast cancer awareness is year-round

November 1, 2012

Judy Prather, age 57, stands on her front porch sporting her “Breast Cancer Survivor” pin on her shirt as she begins the healing process after having surgery on the 22nd of this month to remove the breast cancer that was found with the results of a biopsy done on Sept. 18. Staff Photo/Trudy Hart

Breast cancer awareness month may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean that the cancer stops there. It is important for women to know and understand the importance of being educated and seeing a doctor, and a local woman hopes that her story helps influence women to do so.
Not being able to afford a mammogram is something that many women come across as they get to the age when it is most important to have one done, and 57-year-old Judy Prather knows this all too well.
She went in for a mammogram when she was able to afford it earlier this year, and then after a biopsy on Sept. 18, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Prather’s reaction when she was told that she had cancer was a common response for many women at the time.
“I said, ‘Oh my gosh! How could I get cancer at my age,’” said Prather.
Judy’s family is not a stranger to cancer taking over family member’s lives, as her sister passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2006 at the age of 56.
Prather went in for surgery on Oct. 22 to remove the breast cancer and is now back in Guymon. She said that when she called in to get a refill on her pain medication, they told her some relieving news.
“The nurse says, ‘do you want me to make your day? We got your reports back. It hasn’t spread and we think we got all the cancer cells,’” said Prather.
She said she got a sense of relief after that information was shared with her and will be continuing to see her doctors and a couple of other doctors in the next few weeks, including a radiologist, to seek treatment and medication to help keep her cancer free.
Prather’s younger sister and parents have been, and will be, assisting her with her transportation to and from Amarillo for her surgery and future appointments, because those facilities are not available for her in Texas County.
During treatments, Prather said the nurses and different people are trying their best to find her a free room to stay in while she is going through her radiation treatments in Amarillo so that she doesn’t have to drive back and forth every day of the week.
She said her parents, Mike and Tillie had some difficulty getting used to the fact that she had cancer and was going to be going thru this procedure.
“I think it was a shocker for them more than it was for me, because I’m the one who usually took care of them,” said Prather.
Simple things, such as helping her father up out of his chair have now become a challenge for Prather as she has to take care of herself after her surgery until she is released. She is learning what she can and can’t do after her surgery, and is looking forward to getting released to do her regular routine walks and activities that she enjoys so much.
For obvious reasons, Prather is looking forward to her next appointment where they will officially let her know if they have removed all of the cancerous cells.
Prather credits her uplifting spirits and positive attitude to her faith and says that without her faith, she would have nothing.
As for her advice for women to help catch cancer as soon as possible, and hopefully early enough as she did, she says that having a little faith, hope, prayer, and getting a mammogram are all important factors.
“If you can afford your mammogram, get it done,” said Prather. “Pray a lot. I am still praying for it. I pray for healing every night before I go to bed.”
As she heads down her road to recovery from her surgery to remove her breast cancer, Prather will continue to hold on to that faith, and stresses the importance of women getting checked and making sure they get their mammogram appointments.