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Two local women participate in 5K Race for the Cure
  
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By DIANE TEZENO
Two area Fort Bend County women, Rosemary Herron and Pat McWaters, joined thousands of racers and walkers in Downtown Houston on Oct. 4 for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
The 5K event, in its 18th year, was sponsored locally by Marathon Oil Corporation and consisted of a timed competitive run, a non-competitive run, 5K walk, a Family Walk and Kids K.
Both women, supported by local pledges, contributed to the $1.85 million raised by the event.
Herron, a resident of Sugar Land, met and exceeded her goal of raising $600 for breast cancer research, raising $625.
McWaters, a resident of Missouri City, set a goal of raising $1,500 and raised $925 towards finding a cure for the disease.
Both women are breast cancer survivors and have faced her own unique challenge in battling the disease, and both share the same optimism and commitment to living active, busy lifestyles.
Herron’s breast cancer journey began in 2001 when the Sugar Land resident felt a change in one of her breasts while conducting her regular monthly breast exam.
“I have fibrocystic breasts and had never felt a hard lump, but one of my lumps seemed to be closer to the surface,” said Herron of the self exam that lead her to consult with her doctor.
Herron informed her doctor and was referred for an ultrasound, in which a lump, an inch in diameter, was discovered in her breast.
The Sugar Land resident was diagnosed with Stage 2A invasive ductal carcinoma.
Herron, a registered nurse who had conducted regular breast exams and undergone regular mammograms, had been told by doctors that the denseness of her breast tissue made it difficult for a standard mammogram to pick up changes.
“I thought I was the picture of health,” said Herron, who has always exercised and eaten a well-balanced diet.
“I didn’t drink, or smoke and had no direct relative with the disease, other than a cousin who was diagnosed 35 years ago,” said the Sugar Land resident.
Herron experienced a period of disbelief after her diagnosis, but her background as a nurse and her natural inclination to always have a plan led her to “systematically begin doing what I needed to do.”
“Some women want to get it over and leave it behind them, but I felt this compulsion to try to educate other women about the disease,” said Herron.
Herron said she was motivated by another breast cancer survivor’s mantra to “get through it and then get through to others.”
The Sugar Land resident is now a member of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Educational Committee.
Members go out in the community to do breast exam seminars, man booths at health fairs and speak at various events about breast cancer.
She also serves as a M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Pink Ribbon volunteer.
She and other volunteers donate their time to sit in waiting rooms at M.D. Anderson to help alleviate the anxiety experienced by newly diagnosed patients, said Herron.
This year, makes Herron’s fifth year as a participant in the Komen Race for the Cure 5K.
For the past several years, she and her husband, Donald, have booked a room in the Double Tree Hotel in Downtown Houston on the weekend of the race.
A seven-year-survivor, 57-year-old Herron believes optimism is essential to battling the disease.
“It takes a certain amount of faith, perseverance, determination and optimism, because I have found in the women I’ve met with breast cancer, the ones who are optimistic tend to do better,” said Herron.
Missouri City resident Pat McWaters shares that optimism.
Diagnosed in 2003 with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, McWaters had also conducted regular breast exams and undergone regular mammograms.
Her condition, a rare form of breast cancer, was discovered through a routine blood test during a well-woman exam at her doctor’s office.
Abnormal levels in her bloodwork led doctors to conduct further tests that lead to the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Although her condition is described as incurable, the 69-year-old Missouri City resident has met the challenge of battling the disease head on.
“It has been five years and I’ve been really very fortunate and am doing very, very well,” said McWaters.
A retired medical technologist, McWater’s condition is being treated as a chronic disease.
“As long as we can keep my tumors from growing, I’m great,” said McWaters.
McWaters started out with months of chemotherapy that shrunk tumors in her liver and is in continuous treatment, undergoing regular checkups and scans every three months.
The Missouri City resident’s mother died of breast cancer when McWater was a child.
A member of Sugar Creek Baptist Church, McWater credits her faith, active lifestyle and a network of support from family and friends for her positive outlook.
“It can be a nasty disease. There are a lot of visits to the hospital, a lot of money that is spent, but it is important to have a good support system” said McWaters.
Her message to others diagnosed with breast cancer is to “keep right on trucking” and be positive.
“I’m a tennis player and a golfer and I’ve always been active in sports,” said McWater.
The Missouri City resident participated two years in the 5K race before her own diagnosis with breast cancer because of her mother’s death from the disease.
Since being diagnosed, she has continued to walk in the annual Komen 5K race, volunteers at M.D. Anderson Hospital and serves on a M.D. Anderson Network steering committee.
She also volunteers with Second Mile Mission in Stafford.
McWaters and her husband laced up and walked during last weekend’s Komen 5K Race for the Cure, marking her fifth year as a participant.
McWaters expressed her appreciation for her husband’s support.
“He is the most wonderful caregiver that ever existed,” said McWater.
An avid traveler, McWaters has maintained her active lifestyle and plans to travel to New York with several girlfriends she has kept in touch with since childhood.
“I have never seen the Statue of Liberty,” said McWaters, who also plans to visit Ground Zero and take in a Broadway play.
The Komen 5K Race and affiliated walks fund breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs.
A minimum of 25 percent of the net income from each domestic affiliate race supports the Komen Race for the Cure Award and Research Grant Programs to fund groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific conferences around the world, according to information on the Susan G. Komen website.
Also according to the site, up to 75 percent of the net income from each domestic affiliate race stays in the local community to fund breast health education, screening and treatment projects.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure screening guidelines:
Mammograms every year starting at age 40.
Women under 40 with a family history of breast cancer or other concerns should talk with a health care provider. Screening tests may be needed more often and/or started earlier.
Clinical breast exams by a health care provider at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year after 40.
Breast self-exams every month starting by age 20.
When should I do a breast self-examination (BSE)?
The best time to do BSE is the same time each month, for menstruating women, it should be performed after the menstrual period has ended when breasts are less tender. For postmenopausal women, it should be performed the same time each month.
•What is a clinical breast exam?
A clinical breast exam is performed by a healthcare provider. It includes visual examination and palpation (feeling) of the entire breast and underarm area, and is performed in both sitting and lying down positions.
•How often should I get a CBE?
You should get a CBE by a health care provider at least every three years beginning at age 20 and yearly after age 40.
(Above recommendations at http://cms.komen.org/Komen/AboutBreastCancer/EarlyDetectionScreening/FAQs/index.htm)
•Contact Susan G. Komen Houston Affiliate for information on free or low-cost mammograms:
2425 Fountain View, Suite 210
Houston, Texas 77057
Phone: 713-783-9188
Fax: 713-783-9187
Email Address: info@komen-houston.org
The 5K event, in its 18th year, was sponsored locally by Marathon Oil Corporation and consisted of a timed competitive run, a non-competitive run, 5K walk, a Family Walk and Kids K.
Both women, supported by local pledges, contributed to the $1.85 million raised by the event.
Herron, a resident of Sugar Land, met and exceeded her goal of raising $600 for breast cancer research, raising $625.
McWaters, a resident of Missouri City, set a goal of raising $1,500 and raised $925 towards finding a cure for the disease.
Both women are breast cancer survivors and have faced her own unique challenge in battling the disease, and both share the same optimism and commitment to living active, busy lifestyles.
Herron’s breast cancer journey began in 2001 when the Sugar Land resident felt a change in one of her breasts while conducting her regular monthly breast exam.
“I have fibrocystic breasts and had never felt a hard lump, but one of my lumps seemed to be closer to the surface,” said Herron of the self exam that lead her to consult with her doctor.
Herron informed her doctor and was referred for an ultrasound, in which a lump, an inch in diameter, was discovered in her breast.
The Sugar Land resident was diagnosed with Stage 2A invasive ductal carcinoma.
Herron, a registered nurse who had conducted regular breast exams and undergone regular mammograms, had been told by doctors that the denseness of her breast tissue made it difficult for a standard mammogram to pick up changes.
“I thought I was the picture of health,” said Herron, who has always exercised and eaten a well-balanced diet.
“I didn’t drink, or smoke and had no direct relative with the disease, other than a cousin who was diagnosed 35 years ago,” said the Sugar Land resident.
Herron experienced a period of disbelief after her diagnosis, but her background as a nurse and her natural inclination to always have a plan led her to “systematically begin doing what I needed to do.”
“Some women want to get it over and leave it behind them, but I felt this compulsion to try to educate other women about the disease,” said Herron.
Herron said she was motivated by another breast cancer survivor’s mantra to “get through it and then get through to others.”
The Sugar Land resident is now a member of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Educational Committee.
Members go out in the community to do breast exam seminars, man booths at health fairs and speak at various events about breast cancer.
She also serves as a M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Pink Ribbon volunteer.
She and other volunteers donate their time to sit in waiting rooms at M.D. Anderson to help alleviate the anxiety experienced by newly diagnosed patients, said Herron.
This year, makes Herron’s fifth year as a participant in the Komen Race for the Cure 5K.
For the past several years, she and her husband, Donald, have booked a room in the Double Tree Hotel in Downtown Houston on the weekend of the race.
A seven-year-survivor, 57-year-old Herron believes optimism is essential to battling the disease.
“It takes a certain amount of faith, perseverance, determination and optimism, because I have found in the women I’ve met with breast cancer, the ones who are optimistic tend to do better,” said Herron.
Missouri City resident Pat McWaters shares that optimism.
Diagnosed in 2003 with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, McWaters had also conducted regular breast exams and undergone regular mammograms.
Her condition, a rare form of breast cancer, was discovered through a routine blood test during a well-woman exam at her doctor’s office.
Abnormal levels in her bloodwork led doctors to conduct further tests that lead to the diagnosis of breast cancer.
Although her condition is described as incurable, the 69-year-old Missouri City resident has met the challenge of battling the disease head on.
“It has been five years and I’ve been really very fortunate and am doing very, very well,” said McWaters.
A retired medical technologist, McWater’s condition is being treated as a chronic disease.
“As long as we can keep my tumors from growing, I’m great,” said McWaters.
McWaters started out with months of chemotherapy that shrunk tumors in her liver and is in continuous treatment, undergoing regular checkups and scans every three months.
The Missouri City resident’s mother died of breast cancer when McWater was a child.
A member of Sugar Creek Baptist Church, McWater credits her faith, active lifestyle and a network of support from family and friends for her positive outlook.
“It can be a nasty disease. There are a lot of visits to the hospital, a lot of money that is spent, but it is important to have a good support system” said McWaters.
Her message to others diagnosed with breast cancer is to “keep right on trucking” and be positive.
“I’m a tennis player and a golfer and I’ve always been active in sports,” said McWater.
The Missouri City resident participated two years in the 5K race before her own diagnosis with breast cancer because of her mother’s death from the disease.
Since being diagnosed, she has continued to walk in the annual Komen 5K race, volunteers at M.D. Anderson Hospital and serves on a M.D. Anderson Network steering committee.
She also volunteers with Second Mile Mission in Stafford.
McWaters and her husband laced up and walked during last weekend’s Komen 5K Race for the Cure, marking her fifth year as a participant.
McWaters expressed her appreciation for her husband’s support.
“He is the most wonderful caregiver that ever existed,” said McWater.
An avid traveler, McWaters has maintained her active lifestyle and plans to travel to New York with several girlfriends she has kept in touch with since childhood.
“I have never seen the Statue of Liberty,” said McWaters, who also plans to visit Ground Zero and take in a Broadway play.
The Komen 5K Race and affiliated walks fund breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment programs.
A minimum of 25 percent of the net income from each domestic affiliate race supports the Komen Race for the Cure Award and Research Grant Programs to fund groundbreaking breast cancer research, meritorious awards and educational and scientific conferences around the world, according to information on the Susan G. Komen website.
Also according to the site, up to 75 percent of the net income from each domestic affiliate race stays in the local community to fund breast health education, screening and treatment projects.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure screening guidelines:
Mammograms every year starting at age 40.
Women under 40 with a family history of breast cancer or other concerns should talk with a health care provider. Screening tests may be needed more often and/or started earlier.
Clinical breast exams by a health care provider at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year after 40.
Breast self-exams every month starting by age 20.
When should I do a breast self-examination (BSE)?
The best time to do BSE is the same time each month, for menstruating women, it should be performed after the menstrual period has ended when breasts are less tender. For postmenopausal women, it should be performed the same time each month.
•What is a clinical breast exam?
A clinical breast exam is performed by a healthcare provider. It includes visual examination and palpation (feeling) of the entire breast and underarm area, and is performed in both sitting and lying down positions.
•How often should I get a CBE?
You should get a CBE by a health care provider at least every three years beginning at age 20 and yearly after age 40.
(Above recommendations at http://cms.komen.org/Komen/AboutBreastCancer/EarlyDetectionScreening/FAQs/index.htm)
•Contact Susan G. Komen Houston Affiliate for information on free or low-cost mammograms:
2425 Fountain View, Suite 210
Houston, Texas 77057
Phone: 713-783-9188
Fax: 713-783-9187
Email Address: info@komen-houston.org
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