Survivor story: Penny Wake

Penny Wake of Kennett, Missouri, had her first breast cancer surgery in March and her second surgery the following month.

"I had a biopsy and they had to make the margins bigger," she says. "Then, they put a 'marker' inside my breast to make the radiation go right to the site."

Wake, whose cancer was in her left breast, required no chemotherapy. But her cancer journey was not yet over.

"Thirty days after the radiation, I had a EGD colonoscopy, and in August, I tested positive for the hormone that means it's most likely I will get cancer in my ovaries within the next three to five years. So, four weeks ago, I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy," she says.

Wake is now cancer free. But when she was first diagnosed, like many, she felt overwhelmed with the news.

"When I first got it, I was completely blown away," she says. "I'm a nurse, so this wasn't supposed to happen to me. I've always been on the other side (of the caregiving process)."

While Wake admits her faith was challenged when she got her diagnosis, she says it's ultimately what helped her through the ordeal.

"It was really hard and scary at first," she says. "But my faith is really strong, and it's one of the things that helped me get through it."

She also credits her family members, her church family and her co-workers with helping her get through her cancer scare.

"I have a good church family," says Wake, who is 50 years old. "I am in a Sunday school class where I am by far the youngest one. So I had women up to 88 years old coming over to cook for me, help me, pray with me and call to check on me. They were incredible."

Her sister-in-law, Tammy Wake, also helped her through her darkest hours.

"She is my brother, David's, wife," says Wake. "I could talk to her and she never questioned anything. She helped me financially and she'd listen when I'd cry, and she would tell me it was going to be OK."

Wake encourages all cancer patients to "use the elements around them" to get through the cancer diagnosis and treatments.

"The American Cancer Society gave me gas vouchers to go to Sikeston (for treatment)," she says.

Wake has one grown son and two grandchildren. She works as an LPN in Dr. Erica Scheffer's office in Caruthersville, Missouri.

"My work group was awesome," she says. "And, I have a strong rapport with our patients. They would call the office just to check on me."