Believe… 
in gratitude
Cindy Bean
I will forever be grateful for my workplace, my second home, St. Bernardine Medical Center. If it were not for the wellness program they promoted in 2010, I would tell a different story.
To encourage health and wellness, our hospital promoted the importance of having regular mammograms, something I had not done in four years. Thanks to that campaign, I had a mammogram, and I discovered I had lobular breast cancer.
A bilateral mastectomy and hormonal therapy followed. Those early years were rough, with many challenges, both physically and mentally. My joints ached, and my hair thinned. I laugh now, but in those early years, I just wanted to be “normal” again, but as time progressed, I discovered that “normal” differs depending on the day.
I have come to appreciate that a cancer diagnosis is not just your diagnosis but your family’s diagnosis. They, too, have gone through a cancer transformation.
I cherish the little things and am immensely grateful to experience the milestones in my children’s and grandchildren’s lives. I tell all women I meet about the importance of a mammogram because that saved me.
I am a proud survivor of my breast cancer journey.
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