• Rhonda Beard
Rhonda Beard, 58, didn't have breast cancer just once, but twice — and not the same kind of cancer each time either.
Although she was diligent about receiving regular mammograms and using self breast examination, and she worked hard to live a healthy lifestyle, the elementary school teacher was diagnosed in 2002 with stage 0 cancer.
She opted to have a lumpectomy since the cancer had not spread anywhere else.
However, the doctor did give her the choice of radiation for extra insurance.
“I said I could use the extra insurance so I did, but it wasn't too bad,” Beard said.
Her family and friends gave her extra support to help her through, both then and when she was diagnosed again.
So when, almost exactly four years later, Beard went in for her annual mammogram and discovered she had cancer again, she was shocked.
“There wasn't any cancer of any kind in my family,” she said. “I thought I had done something wrong, that the lumpectomy wasn't enough.”
As it turned out, the new cancer was completely different. The doctor assured her that she had done nothing wrong.
“The doctor told me I'm just really good at growing cancers,” Beard joked.
Since the breast cancer was stage 2 this time, the mother of three underwent a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation and continued teaching at Bacone College during her therapy.
“I kept on teaching because the key to everything is continuing life,” Beard said. “Don't focus on the disease; focus on what you enjoy doing instead.”
Beard did just that, continuing to teach, play organ for her church, and stay actively involved in her children's school activities throughout her treatment.
Today she continues to play the organ (a form of personal therapy for her), teaches sixth-grade at Sadler Elementary, and credits God, her friends and family with her continued survival.
“I could tell that people around me were praying for me, that they cared,” Beard said. “That always helped keep me going.”


• Sabina Beckman
In the 1970s, treatments available for breast cancer weren't as varied or certain.
Sabina Beckman, now 79, was diagnosed in April of 1973, and her only option was to undergo a right radical mastectomy and cobalt therapy.
“Cobalt is a very strong X-ray, like a super dose of radiation,” Beckman said. “It's one of those things that goes all the way through you and gives you blisters on your back.”
For the married mother of four, the treatment was painful but well worth it.
Her family and friends surrounded her, and faith was always there for her too, Beckman said.
For personal therapy back then she worked in her garden, something she's always loved to do.
She has been cancer-free since, and due to her ordeal, was asked to volunteer for Reach to Recovery, an organization that offers women personal support.
“I had to go to Oklahoma City to arrange things for Reach to Recovery,” Beckman said. “When I went over there, I discovered I was appointed coordinator for Muskogee County.”
She continued her volunteer work with the group for 25 years.
As a volunteer, Beckman called on women recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
She made sure they had breast forms before they left the hospital after a mastectomy, gave letters to husbands and daughters, and helped the women begin exercises to strengthen arm and body muscles left wasted by surgery.
“Reach to Recovery is when a person calls on a patient that is walking in the same shoes as you did,” Beckman said. “It helps the patient see that life goes on.”
Because her mother died of cancer, Beckman has a deep respect for the disease.
“You know, cancer to me will always start with a capital C,” she once told a patient.
Today Beckman still loves yardwork, needlepoint, volunteering at the local hospitals, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.


• Pamala Moore
Two years ago, Debra HorseChief stopped by Pamala Moore's house for a short visit. At that time, she let Moore know that she, too, was battling breast cancer.
“Because I knew she was my age, and had breast cancer, it weighed on my mind for a long time,” Moore, 56, said. “I thought, wow, I'm not invincible. I can get this.”
So the devoted grandmother of seven made an appointment to see her doctor for a mammogram and full checkup.
She was soon diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and possibly the early stages of uterine cancer as well.
“There had never been breast cancer in my family, so it really shocked me,” Moore, also diabetic, said.
She opted to have a sectional mastectomy in which the lump, a great deal of tissue surrounding the lump, and 13 lymph nodes were removed. She had a full hysterectomy during the same surgery.
After surgery, however, Moore developed a virulent staph infection in her suture area that delayed her radiation treatments for six months.
Quickly, her life changed from water aerobics, volunteer work, and babysitting grandchildren to sitting in a chair resting day after day, nauseated and exhausted.
“My kids were all there for me, doing what they could for me, even changing wound dressings on the weekends,” Moore said. “You certainly lose any modesty when you go through this.”
Moore's sister came from central Oklahoma to stay and give assistance, and her husband took time off work to help her through the treatment.
“My sister gets queasy anyway,” Moore joked. “But she came to the doctor with me, looked at the wounds and helped anyway.”
When she started going regularly to the wound clinic at Muskogee Regional Medical Center, she simply took her grandchildren along with her, and they enjoyed ice cream while they waited.
Her grandkids mean the world to her, Moore said.
Today Moore is an active grandmother again. She runs kids to and from the skating rink and the water park, school events and outings, and even attends all of their soccer games.
She babysits for her grandchildren as often as she can, and they all love having slumber parties at Grandma's house.


• Debra HorseChief
Debra HorseChief, principal of Muskogee's Early Childhood Center, found a lump in her right breast in 2006.
The busy educator put off seeing the doctor until the parent liaison at school accidentally bumped into her.
“It hurt, and I told her so she got very concerned,” HorseChief, 54, said. “She's actually the one who made my first appointment for me.”
The principal was surprised to find the cancer wasn't in the lump, but in tissue nearby instead.
“When Dr. Gregory told me, I just said okay,” HorseChief said. “He asked me if I heard what he said, that I had cancer. I just asked what the next step was. I was ready to fix it.”
HorseChief, who had no family history of breast cancer, decided on a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation.
She enjoyed the support of her family, friends and church, and her co-workers were especially caring, HorseChief said.
“After I told my church and we prayed about it, I just said that I was claiming to be healed,” she said.
During her treatment, she discovered that a former co-worker, Sue Riggins, also had breast cancer.
They shared the same doctor and surgeon and swapped stories about their treatment, providing support for one another.
“The year after that, she (Riggins) had a relapse, and she passed away,” HorseChief said. “Now her family tries to make sure I'm taking care of myself, showing their concern for me.”
She underwent chemotherapy over the summer, and returned to work in July before beginning radiation treatments.
HorseChief was so focused on work and staying busy that she didn't realize how much her appearance had changed.
“One day Mrs. Tate told me I looked fine without eyebrows,” HorseChief said, laughing. “I said, 'I don't have eyebrows?' and ran and looked in the mirror.”
Today, the principal continues to enjoy working and hasn't slowed down or changed her life in the least.
She continues to get regular checkups and make sure that the cancer stays where it's supposed to be — gone forever.