Cancer survivor Barbara Burnett: 'I knew God would take care of me'
Editor's note:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to bring focus on this disease that affects both women and men, Meridian Community College will host the Queen City Race for Life and Street Strut Saturday, Oct. 21, beginning at 8 a.m. on the MCC Track. The event pays tribute to breast cancer survivors, increases breast cancer awareness, and raises funds for the Anderson Cancer Patient Benevolence Fund.
Four ambassadors for the race are to be honored this year: Barbara Burnett, Donna Creel, Mary Eades, and Mack Phillips. Burnett, Creel, and Eades are breast cancer survivors; Phillips was his wife's caregiver. All expressed their faith as instrumental in their journeys.
"The word cancer is a small word, but it is a scary word.”
That's what Barbara Burnett shared when she remembered her emotions five years ago when she was diagnosed with Stage Two breast cancer. "The day I found out, I thought my world was ending," she said.
"I lost my faith – for a minute," she recalled.
A retired Meridian Public School District employee, Burnett said her cancer was detected during her yearly mammogram exam in 2018. "I was 69 years old," she said. "I went through eight risky chemo treatments and 25 radiation treatments," she said.
Amidst the challenges of her drug treatment, Burnett crossed paths with Leigh Ann Key, a Meridian attorney, wife, and mother battling Stage Two breast cancer. "She was the angel I needed," Burnett said of Key. "She was there for me during my first chemo treatment."
There were others in her corner, too. "I wasn’t alone in this battle. My family, church members, and friends were there for me."
Burnett added, “Most of all, I knew God would take care of me."
There's a tradition that when cancer patients complete treatment, they have the option to ring a bell to signify that they are going to start a new chapter in their lives, and Burnett was eager to do her part. "What a joy it is to ring that bell after radiation treatments," Burnett said.
"My message to others fighting cancer is to remember you aren't alone. God will not leave you. He didn't bring you this far to leave you," she said.
To learn more about Queen City Race for Life and Street Strut, visit meridiancc.edu/streetstrut.