Breast cancer isn’t just a statistic. There are names, faces and stories attached to each diagnosis. It’s someone’s wife, mother, aunt, sister or friend. And it deeply affects the family members, friends and co-workers who love and support them.
North East ISD employees are strong in the face of many challenges. This is one of a series of articles this month that will highlight a few of NEISD’s own through their journey with breast cancer. Their stories are filled with hope and courage.
Cheryl Grothues has been a teacher for 25 years, with the last 15 spent at Bradley Middle School. The student and staff there have become a second family who has always come through for her, especially this year.
With a family history of breast cancer, Cheryl knew that she had to stay on top of her recommended health screenings. And when the results of a biopsy came in on Valentine’s Day this year, she got a call at work with the news she hoped she’d never hear. It was cancer.
“Right away, one of our secretaries who also went through cancer treatment two years earlier came to speak to me with suggestions and encouragement. I didn’t know it then, but she was the first of many people that would help me in this fight.”
And it is a fight.
“Because my cancer was aggressive, they had to have an aggressive treatment. The plan was four months of intravenous chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and then follow up with oral chemotherapy. The treatment in total would take almost a year. With my husband and my friends’ support, I could do this, then the coronavirus hit.”
As we all know, the COVID-19 outbreak shut everything down and hospitals were extremely strict about who they could allow in. For that reason, Cheryl had to go to her appointments alone.
“I felt alone, but my friends at Bradley stepped up again. Before my first treatment, they brought me a gift bag full of wonderful things to help me through my treatment, as well as gift cards for ordering food when I was too tired to cook. I was overwhelmed with their generosity, but more by the mental support it brought me. I wasn’t alone in this even if we were facing a pandemic. My Bradley family has been there with me through it all. Calling, sending encouraging texts, bringing over dinner are just a few examples. The night before my surgery my principal, Brenda Cerroni, surprised me with dinner for my family. She and all the administration have been so supportive and helpful. I am so thankful for her and my school coworkers.”
Her principal can’t say enough about her amazing spirit.
“She is a strong willed, student loving, hardworking, cancer fighting, beautiful, faithful individual who, through all of her own pain and worry, has given everything she has to her students and her students,” said Cerroni.
That spirit and positive attitude have carried her through this whole journey.
“Someone once asked me if I was mad and if I wondered why me. I responded with, ‘Why not me?’ So many people in the world are affected with hardships every day worse than mine. People have lost jobs, including my husband. People have lost homes due to fires, hurricanes, and family due to the virus. How can I complain, especially when I am gifted with an enormous support group that others may not have? I am still fighting this battle, but with the love and support of my family, friends and coworkers, I can say with heartfelt hope, “I got this!’”
We know you do, Cheryl!
For more information on breast cancer awareness and research, visit cancer.org
