Cancer survivor advice: Take time to take care of yourself
June Breast Cancer survivor
Story by Sophia Spencer (Contact)
8:34 p.m. Monday, June 9, 2008
Whoever says you don't get lucky twice hasn't met our June Friend to Friend survivor. One cancer survivor's hobby helped her needle through the experience.
Darci Barrett spends a lot of time crocheting, whether a blanket for a baby or another project.
"It gives you something to do if you're waiting in the doctor's office or getting chemotherapy. It helps kill the time," she said.
And Darci has spent plenty of time at the hospital. Not only is she a breast cancer survivor, she's survived a brain tumor, too.
Does she feel lucky or unlucky?
"Lucky in that for the brain tumor that we found it early."
But Darci says the breast cancer wasn't caught so soon.
"In February, I felt a lump and called the doctor and everything went like wildfire from then."
It was 2006 and Darci had skipped her mammogram in September of 2005. Now she has this advice for other women.
"Make sure you take time out to take care of yourself."
In the meantime, Darci's son Austin did his part to take care of his mom. While he's not planning on picking up crocheting, he has picked up a lot of the household duties.
"I do laundry, clean the house more, be home more, not go out as much," Austin said.
That makes him a dream teen.
And Darci has a perfect person to give the baby blanket to.
"The girl at the cancer center at St. Francis who draws my blood is expecting. I did a pink one first and then she told me she was having a boy, so the pink goes for whoever else is next and has a girl."
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