Warrior Women: TBC's Fight Against Breast Cancer

Fighting for your health—that phrase so often thrown out within the walls of Title Boxing—those words take on a whole new meaning when an individual is battling cancer.  We see a lot of resiliency and determination from our members on a daily basis here at Title—from those tackling depression to chronic pain, or struggling against obesity, or even overcoming serious issues from their past like drug addiction and domestic abuse. But during the month of October, TBC Clarksville has chosen to share and bring to light the particular struggle against breast cancer, a fight very near and dear to our hearts that has affected the lives of so many of our members and their families, and to raise money for a local recipient battling the disease through a charity car wash on Saturday October 14th. We sat down this week with two of our members, Diedre Curtis and Barbara Munroe—both warrior-spirited women who are breast cancer survivors, but with two very different stories and experiences battling this vicious illness.

A former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, Barbara Munro was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 when she had just come back off of convalescent leave. She found the lump herself through a self-exam--it was too small to even do a biopsy at that point--so the doctors were shocked when the lumpectomy came back positive. “It couldn’t even be classified as Stage 1 yet, it was technically Stage 0--I was lucky I caught it so early,” she told me “If I had just blown it off, who knows—but I didn’t—I went immediately to my doctor and they reacted immediately and so I was lucky and I didn’t need chemo or radiation.”

Despite having caught the cancer so early, her tests still showed mild hyperplasia. In other words, good cells going bad, they might not be cancerous now, but five or ten years down the road they could be a problem. She underwent a double mastectomy as a prophylactic measure, and had her ovaries removed to decrease her estrogen levels that fed cancer cells, causing her to go into menopause at age 42.

“The second or third day after I’d had the mastectomy you look in the mirror and just go ‘oh my gosh’ but you think ‘ok I did the right thing’--I have kids to take care of,” she told me. “I have family to take care of, and I’d rather get rid of this then to have my normal boobs and wonder if the cancer is going to come back.”

Another Title member, Diedre Curtis, also found her lump through a self-breast-exam two years ago. She had always known that she had a strong possibility for contracting the disease--cancer runs in her family, especially on her Dad’s side where cancer has killed most of his brothers. Of the nineteen children born to her grandparents, only four are still living today. Her mother was diagnosed with esophagus cancer way back in 1979. Her Mom fought for years, then in the early 2000’s she found herself battling right alongside her daughter Michelle. Thankfully, Michelle survived and has been in remission for 17 years, but their mother lost her battle in 2001.

Fate dealt a terrible hand to Diedre in 2016. She was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer as her oldest sister Chrissy was fighting for her life against stage IV lung cancer that had been misdiagnosed and had spread to her brain and bones.

“I didn’t let any of my family know of my findings until Chrissy made her transition,” Diedre told me. “My test and exams I had to endure by myself—no one was ready to battle this disease again so soon.” For the sake of her family, she underwent treatment without any support and even traveled to and from the cancer treatment center in Illinois alone. “It bothered me at first,” she said, “But I learned not to be selfish real quick.”

Cancer is an equal opportunity employer, genetic predisposition plays a role to be sure, but at the end of the day this unspeakable disease can find anyone: young or old, fit or unfit, active or inactive. “You don’t know why things happen to you,” Barbara told me about her unexpected diagnosis in 2008. “I’m a really religious person, and I think God puts things in our path and these trials and tribulations all the time--and so did he create breast cancer for me with no family history ever? Maybe so, and maybe it was to keep me and give me more time.”

In a strange way, breast cancer might have saved Barbara Munro’s life. She was set to deploy to Kandahar for nine months when she was diagnosed so her physical state disqualified her. “I said to myself ‘alright God, if this is your way of keeping me from being deployed, thank you—it’s kinda weird but ok,” she told me. “The person who was deployed in my place was actually shot on the base—she was shot with another friend of mine who is a runner who I used to run with all the time—if that would have been me, I would have been there—she was shot and killed.”

Whether divine intervention or a twist of fate, the diagnosis stopped her from going and that horrible tragedy was not meant to be for her and her family. Now, ten and half years post cancer, she’s still doing ok.

Because cancer is abnormal cell growth instead of a foreign virus or bacteria attacking, chemotherapy and other treatments can be as devastating to the human body as the cancer itself. “I started my journey with a lumpectomy and reconstructive surgery,” Diedre Curtis told me. “After that came chemo: four treatments every 21 days.”

“I was a student at Daymar College pursuing my degree in medical assistant,” she said. “I was almost done, so I had to push on. My son moved in with me to help with bills and whatever else I needed while I was being treated--I went from being self-sufficient to being dependent on others.”

The physical effects are usually so devastating that cancer patients have to take a leave of absence from work putting further stress on families’ finances. “Cancer takes a toll on your life--especially if you are not one of those people that doesn’t have money saved for unexpected emergencies,” Diedre explained, “I was working part time to finish school which didn't give much room for saving any money.”

“The hardest part for me was that I didn’t have control,” Barbara Munro said. “That’s a horrible thing because the cancer takes control and makes decisions for you; I’m a very control-oriented person so that was where I was like ‘I have no control over my life, this thing has invaded my body and it’s just going to take what it wants’”

Barbara has thankfully been in remission for ten years, but Diedre was only just declared cancer free this spring and still has a test awaiting her at the end of the month at the cancer treatment center in Illinois. She is currently battling acute pain in her legs and joints, a complication from the chemotherapy.

“I keep telling people this isn’t something I asked for,” Diedre explained. “Sometimes I’m so evil--and I’m not an evil person, so I know that I’m evil because I’m in so much pain all the time--the littlest thing irritates me.”

“This is not me,” she said “This disease has made me into somebody that I’m not comfortable with--I don’t know who this person is, it’s not me.”

“It’s testing your character,” I said.

“It’s beating my character,” she replied, distraught.

What can the rest of us do for our fellow humans who are suffering? Breast Cancer Awareness Month is about a lot more than wearing pink. They say it takes a village to raise a child, I believe it also takes a community to save a life. Whether it is the financial burden from medical expenses or loss of work, the physical debilitation, or even just the mental exhaustion that comes with it all—the most important thing for those of us looking on is to try to understand and be empathetic to those around us in the midst of their fight.

“I didn’t even get a chance to mourn my sister because I had to start treating it myself,” Diedre explained. “Then this year in June, my brother was killed--we lost two siblings within 11 months.”

“That’s why I always tell people, don’t judge me get to know me and then you can understand me,” Diedre told me as tears welled in her eyes. “Get to know me and what I’m going through…because I don’t look like what I’ve been through.”

“Once I start giving up this stuff has got me…and I’m not giving up,” she said. “I’m going to get me back.”







Article by Kirsten Hall





*Tomorrow, October 14th, Title Boxing Clarksville will be participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month by hosting a charity car wash to raise money for a local recipient in cooperation with Mathew Walker Comprehensive Health Center. The event starts at 8 a.m. and will go until 2 p.m.. For solidarity, our brave Title men will be bearing the elements to wash cars in decorated bras and all of the proceeds will go to a local family in need. To RSVP—check out our Facebook event page here*