Living with Purpose

By Michelle Zeigler

Sarita Jordan was 37 years old and enrolled in Widener University School of Law when she noticed a tiny bump by the nipple on her right breast. When she touched the area, she felt a small mass.

It didn’t feel very large, so Sarita wasn’t alarmed. She was busy with schoolwork and waited two months before making an appointment with her doctor.

"At that point, I still wasn’t thinking [it might be] cancer," Sarita says. "I thought it might be a [benign] growth or cyst that could be removed. After all, I was young, and there was no history of breast cancer in my family."

"You Have Breast Cancer."

Sarita had an ultrasound and a biopsy. On September 25, 2005, she received a phone call from her doctor. Always one to be organized, Sarita started writing down everything he was saying. Suddenly, she focused on a sentence she had written: You have breast cancer.

"Once I read the word ‘cancer’, [my] adrenaline kicked in. I didn’t have time to sit and think," Sarita says.

Making Decisions, Dealing with Side Effects

When it came to make treatment decisions, Sarita didn’t want to take any chances, especially since she was a single mother with three young children. After results of an MRI and ultrasound confirmed that she had stage I breast cancer, she had a lumpectomy followed by treatment with chemotherapy.

Before Sarita started chemotherapy, she cut her hair.

"I didn’t want to lose my hair all at once," she says. "I figured if I cut it short, it wouldn’t be as dramatic or shocking."

After she cut her hair, Sarita received many compliments. She began to grow confident that she could handle whatever treatment threw at her.

Coping with Emotions After Treatment

After Sarita’s treatment ended in March 2006, she slipped into a severe depression.

"Everything was over, and I didn’t know what to do with myself," Sarita said. "It was the strangest feeling."

Sarita’s children had a difficult time handling their mother’s depression. Her younger son began getting into trouble at school, and one of her daughters struggled with emotional issues.

To help them cope, Sarita took her children to a therapist where they learned to communicate openly with one another. She also found help through LBBC’s programs and services such as the annual fall conference in Philadelphia.

Unexpected Plans

In December 2006, a year after her diagnosis, Sarita discovered she was pregnant.

"I was in complete shock, because I didn’t think I could get pregnant after treatment for breast cancer," she says. "After chemotherapy, I didn’t have a menstrual cycle. My oncologist told me that if I didn’t get my period within a year after treatment, I would go into early menopause and be unable to conceive. I ended up getting my period right before my one-year mark."

Sarita’s doctor feared the pregnancy could increase her risk of recurrence and advised her against keeping the baby..

"I had to deal with my own mortality," Sarita says. "Do I go ahead with this pregnancy, even though I have three kids that depend on me?"

Sarita ultimately decided to keep the baby.

"I felt like my life had been spared for a reason, and that reason was to have this baby," she says.

Sarita’s doctor didn’t support her decision, so she immediately switched doctors. Her new doctor gave her a clean bill of health and didn’t find any medical reason why she shouldn’t go forward with the pregnancy.

Sarita knew she had made the right choice.

"I’m not going to make a decision based on everyone else’s opinions," she says. "I’m going to do what’s best for me."

Volunteering and Life Beyond

Sarita became involved with LBBC in April 2006 after she received a request to serve on a consumer advisory committee for the organization’s new brochure on understanding emotions. Sarita knew this was no coincidence.

"Everything happens for a reason," she says. "The right opportunities are put in your life at the right times."

Sarita’s involvement with LBBC didn’t stop there. The minute she heard of LBBC’s Survivors’ Helpline, she knew becoming a Helpline volunteer would be a perfect fit.

As a Helpline volunteer, Sarita answers calls from women who have just been diagnosed, are confused about treatment options or are struggling with relationships as a result of their diagnosis. While Sarita helps others, she credits LBBC for helping her.

"Being connected to LBBC is what keeps me going," she says.

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and want to talk to someone who knows what you are facing, call LBBC’s Survivors’ Helpline at (888) 752-LBBC (5222) to be matched with a trained volunteer affected by breast cancer who shares your circumstances. You may also request a call using our online form.

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