CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The Medical University of South Carolina hosted its third annual Breast Cancer Survivors Expo as an opportunity for several to build an understanding of the diagnosis.
The expo featured physical and mental activities and a handful of vendors with accessible resources and information.
Two attendees, Joan Simmons and Jennifer Annetta, found friendship from two very different places. At the time, Joan was a five-year survivor of Stage Three breast cancer, and Jenn was a year into her journey with a Stage Two diagnosis.
“The shock of diagnosis. Going through treatment and being broken down to bare bones,” Annetta said. “Building back up that sense of community and support and realizing I’m going to go out there and live.”
The duo met through a 10-week wellness program called Fit Club, which offers physical and mental activities to 12 survivors at a time.
“There’s more than just you going through something and how they’re dealing with it. It helps you mentally to know you’re not alone,” Simmons said.
A report from the South Carolina Department of Public Health names breast cancer the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women.
Both Joan and Jenn explained because every diagnosis is different, some symptoms can go undetected.
“It’s very important to have early detection. I pushed to get another one and had an ultrasound that was diagnosed with,” Annetta said.
Doctors emphasized the importance of screening as a clear way to catch a diagnosis. For more information on the resources offered by MUSC, click here.
“You just take it and you move forward. Because you’re here. You make the best of your day, the best of the moment. You move along,” Simmons said.
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Survivors share diagnosis journey at MUSC Breast Cancer Expo
