LaTonya Miller Brockington

In January 2002 I felt soreness on the upper right area of my right breast, causing me to further examine that area with my hand. I discovered a hard, rubbery lump the size of a plum seed. One cannot imagine the horror that raced through my mind upon this discovery. It was as if I knew instantly that it was breast cancer. Several weeks later my fears were confirmed when I was officially diagnosed with breast cancer.

After pulling myself together, I went through the traditional medical mill, which consisted of surgery and chemotherapy. My oncologist recommended the standard regimen of chemotherapy for a woman first diagnosed with my type of breast cancer. I received eight rounds of chemotherapy once every 21 days. As a result of this treatment and the manner in which it was administered, I was hospitalized on five different occasions.

I completed chemotherapy in October 2002, with hopes that my life would soon get back to normal. In December 2002, while conducting a self-check of my lymph nodes, I noticed a pea- sized lump under my right arm. Horror ran through my mind as I thought “No, not again!” I was run through the traditional medical mill of schedulers, which consisted of me attempting to get appointments for CT scans, MRIs, and biopsies while driving all over town for appointment after appointment. I recall that as one of the most stressful periods of my life. By mid-March my worst fears were realized with a diagnosis of a recurrence.

Again, my oncologist was suggesting that we go with the standard regimen for a woman experiencing a recurrence of breast cancer. However, at this point, I had lost faith in the traditional way of fighting and beating cancer and decided to place a call to Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). I recalled seeing a commercial for CTCA while I was going through treatment the first time and saying to myself, “Darn, I wish I had known about them before I began this treatment, but should I ever have a recurrence, I will go there.”

As I recall that first phone call to CTCA, I remember thinking that I had received more knowledge and empowerment from that one phone call than I had received in the past 12 months. I was immediately impressed with the way they took care of everything, from my insurance verification, to retrieving medical records and arranging my airline travel. I was further empowered by using their web site, which contains a plethora of information about CTCA, cancer and the treatment of it.

On April 22, 2003, I arrived at the airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma where a CTCA driver stood waiting to welcome me to Tulsa and to CTCA. I was so excited about my arrival, so much so that one would have thought that I were going to a resort!

Upon my arrival, I was taken to Guest Services where I checked into my room, received my schedule and orientation package.

Within a few days I had surgery to remove the malignancy and, prior to going home, received my treatment regimen, which was going to entail radiation and more chemotherapy.

I have always been a woman of faith . I was raised on faith and I have always lived my life by faith. I believe that God speaks to all of us, and thus, he spoke to me. God has guided my steps and decisions since day one.

God initially spoke to me regarding this crisis while I was awaiting the results of my first biopsy in early 2002. He told me that if this was confirmed to be breast cancer, that I was to have both breasts removed. Upon receiving the positive cancer diagnosis, I informed my surgeon that I wanted to have a double mastectomy, but he vehemently opposed my decision. He told me a mastectomy wasn’t necessary in this case and that if I were his mother or his sister that he would only suggest a lumpectomy. But God was screaming at me to have a double mastectomy.

My decision to have a mastectomy was validated when I met with Dr. Greeff, Oncology Surgeon for CTCA, in April of 2003. During my initial appointment with him, he told me “Your previous surgeon’s decision to remove the entire breast was a good one, because the pathology report reflected that cancer cells were found throughout the entire breast.” The mastectomy was my surgeon’s decision, but my surgeon’s name was God.

Again, God spoke to me in December of 2002 when he urged me to conduct self-checks under my arms, thus, leading me to discover a new lump just 2 months short of completing my last round of chemotherapy.

Most importantly, God led me to CTCA. Initially, I tried to reason with God, telling him, “You know that I am afraid of flying, especially since 9/11 and you know that I don’t want to be away from my family for weeks at a time.” But God told me that this was where I needed to be and that I could not allow fear and loneliness to prevent me from receiving the very best in cancer treatment. Needless to say, since that time, I have earned over 7000 flying miles and have found a surrogate family at CTCA.

In my opinion, CTCA is God’s remedy for cancer. Because of CTCA, I am much better armed to do battle with cancer this time! Knowledge is power and knowledge is the foundation of CTCA. There are numerous classes and forums on nutrition, naturopathy, chemotherapy, radiation, psychology and cooking. They even have pastoral care and healing classes here! How can the body be healed without healing the mind and soul too? Healing is a package deal, mind, body and soul and I am so grateful that CTCA recognizes that. I thank God for CTCA, its founder, Mr. Stephenson and all of the staff members who continue to touch my heart from miles away.

I felt compelled to tell this portion of my story for those who may read it, who hear the voice of God leading and directing their decisions but choose to listen to man. As cancer patients, we must learn to follow God’s directions, have the faith of a mustard seed and live life as if we were never stricken with this deadly disease!

LaTonya Miller Brockington
Wife and mother of two
Breast cancer survivor

Breast Cancer