'A powerful journey'
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on October 3, 2014 1:46 PM
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Rebecca Kinsey
Fourteen years ago, Rebecca Barnes Kinsey was celebrating becoming a new mother to her son, John.
The joy was interrupted, though, when she was diagnosed with ERPR negative breast cancer.
"I found a lump six weeks after he was born," she said. "I was 36. No family history (of cancer)."
The diagnosis came just three months after she and her husband, Jay, became parents.
Juggling motherhood and her career as an attorney, Mrs. Kinsey went to Duke for what wound up being a treatable "garden variety" type of cancer.
"It turned out I was able to clear margins, so had a lumpectomy," she said. "I had four chemo treatments, every three weeks, and 30 days of radiation."
The surgery included removing 20 lymph nodes, with no cancer found there.
"It's a powerful journey," she says now. "It shows you a lot about people -- who's with you, who stands behind you, just the outpouring of support in the community.
"There's some who just want to see the bald head, but for the most part people are just generous and compassionate."
The hardest part of the process, she said, can be the burden that accompanies such a diagnosis.
"It's wondering at first how invasive, what stage it is, is it Stage 4?" she said. "It's a burden you continuously live with. Will it recur?"
At the same time, cancer brings with it some lessons.
"To be more compassionate, to see what you can do for others, to appreciate every day, and there's no such thing as a bad hair day," she said with a laugh.
As many who battle the disease will attest, there is a newfound responsibility to pass along insights and encourage others who might be going through similar situations.
"Early detection is the key," Mrs. Kinsey said. "Get mammograms. Go see the doctor. Don't ignore symptoms. Don't ignore the signs, and help others. Just be there."