FREMONT, Neb. (AP) - If you learn anything from Maxine Herring, you learn the importance of being positive.
That’s something the Fremont woman said helped her get through a breast cancer battle - 13 years ago.
Decked out in pink blouse, Herring cheerfully talks about her family, travels and other activities.
Breast cancer was just one chapter of her life that started in 2005.
For years, six little dots had shown up in one of her breasts during a mammogram. But that year, they looked a little different.
Herring found a pea-size lump about a month later.
“I went to the doctor and they confirmed that it was a cancer,” she told the Fremont Tribune .
A biopsy determined the lump was malignant. She had a lumpectomy and 26 chemotherapy treatments followed by radiation. A second round followed as a preventative measure.
Herring lost her hair during the first round of chemo, but not the second. She had no nausea.
“I never lost my appetite, but you lose your appetite for different things because your food tastes like metal,” she added.
She also was very fatigued and had difficulty concentrating a couple days after treatments.
“But with the second round, I didn’t have any of these other problems. And I didn’t have any problem with the radiation,” she said.
Herring cites the importance of maintaining an upbeat attitude.
“To me, it’s all in God’s hands and you need to have a positive attitude,” she said.
“Your attitude is part of your treatment,” she added. “Regardless of what you have today - whether it’s illness or something else in your life - if you don’t have a positive attitude, it’s hard to go through everything.”
Herring’s treatments concluded in 2006.
“I went on with my life and here I am 13 years later,” she said.
She’s had no recurrence and has been involved in various activities.
This was the 10th year that Herring, 86, has served as a volunteer at Camp Quality Heartland for children with cancer and their siblings. When she started, Herring helped in the kitchen. More recently, she and another volunteer have run the Snack Shack.
“I love those little kids,” she said.
Herring enjoys her family which includes three sons, a grandson and a great-grandson.
She also would travel in the years following her cancer treatments. Her travel destinations have included Epcot Center in Florida, the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico.
“I love baseball games,” she added.
So she’s gone to watch spring training games in Arizona for teams such as the Chicago Cubs.
She enjoys other activities such as baking cookies and cinnamon rolls, canning beet pickles and sweet chunk pickles, volunteering at her church and serving as a member of the Luther’s Lifesavers Relay for Life team.
She has a yearly mammogram and encourages other women to do the same.
Herring isn’t the only one in her family to be affected by cancer.
Almost 33 years ago, her husband, Bob, was diagnosed with bone cancer and lost his battle with it.
“He had a very high tolerance to pain and he only knew five weeks from the time they diagnosed it until he passed away,” she said. “He was 59.”
Herring appreciates the life she’s been given. She encourages other to trust God and pray.
And she’s thankful.
“I thank God for every day he gives me,” she said. “I have a real healthy faith in God and I know that without him I couldn’t have managed.”
For women recently diagnosed with breast cancer, she notes the benefit of having a doctor in which they have confidence. It also may help to talk with someone else who’s had breast cancer.
She encourages people to try and avoid self-pity.
“Don’t just sit in a chair and feel sorry for yourself,” she said. “You’re your own worst enemy when you do those kinds of things. If God gives you another 10 years or whatever you get, enjoy it. Enjoy your family.”
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Information from: Fremont Tribune, http://www.fremontneb.com
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