Century Park Blog

Breast cancer is not a diagnosis that anyone wants to receive. Even though the vast majority of breast cancer patients survive, the journey is one they and their families never forget.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we asked our residents and associates at Century Park communities to share how breast cancer has affected their lives. Four women shared their stories.

Residents

Bev Pedersen, a resident at The Inn at Garden Plaza in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a breast cancer survivor from years ago and was fortunate to find the cancer in the early stages. Her husband and other family supported her through her treatment, which involved a lumpectomy and medication. Unfortunately, she shared, "The medicine they gave me to prevent cancer from going to the other breast gave me uterine cancer."

Now, as a double cancer survivor, she shares that the experience gave her a new perspective on life: "Be grateful for every day!"

Ian Wheeler, another breast cancer survivor, lives at The Bridge at Orlando, Florida. Unlike Bev, however, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. For four months, she went through chemotherapy treatments almost every other day.

"It was an incredibly difficult time, but through it all, my faith in God, the support of my friends and family, and the power of prayer helped me," Ian shared. "I leaned on my family and friends for strength, hope, and courage every step of the way."

As a survivor, Ian has turned her story into a way to share her positivity with others, including fellow residents at The Bridge.

"I offered encouragement and good advice to those around me," she said, "hoping my experience could inspire and strengthen them as well."

Associates

Susanne Bozman, an associate at The Abbewood in Elyria, Ohio, is a two-time breast cancer survivor with diagnoses 10 years apart. The first time she went through breast cancer, she had a lumpectomy and radiation treatment, and the second time she went through a double mastectomy with five surgeries!

"Trying to heal and rest and stay still when you’re an active person is challenging," Susanne shared. What got her through, she said, was "my trust in God and the support of my wonderful friends and family."

Her blood family was not the only one that supported her, however; her Abbewood family did too. "All the managers made me a huge basket with gift cards and goodies for my healing time and made me a cake on my last workday before surgery. The executive director would call me to see my progress and to support me, and my team wore pink!"

Susanne learned this from her journeys with cancer: "You are stronger than you think when you have to be. Life is a gift – embrace it!"

This joie de vivre also lives in Shanal Dixon, an associate at The Bridge at Orlando. She is a survivor of another kind – a survivor of the loss of her mother to breast cancer when her mom was only 37.

Shanal and her three siblings helped their mother through her journey, and helped each other through the experience of losing her. They soaked up every great moment with their mom and hold on to those memories. Shanal has taken that legacy of strength and carried it on in her own journey as a mother of three children.

It also drives her in her vocation. Shanal shared, "Seeing my mother battling breast cancer at a young age gives me the motivation to help others, starting off in an assisted living/memory care setting. It gave me a passion to take care of someone’s loved ones, and I’ve continued helping others for over 10 years."

Thank you, ladies, for sharing your stories, passing on your wisdom, and using your experiences to bless others. We appreciate each one of you, and we will continue the fight, raising awareness, wearing pink and doing what we can to support those on their own journeys.