Local Breast Cancer Survivors Urge Early Screening

La Grange Mayor Jan Dockery signed a proclamation Monday night designating the month of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in La Grange. Dockery, pictured seated above wearing her Cancer Survivor ribbon, was diagnosed with breast cancer last year after a screening. She encourages all women in the community to seek early screening for breast cancer. Also pictured are (standing, from left) City Secretary Janet Beyer and City Council members Kathy Weishuhn, Bonnie Busch, Violet Zbranek, Arthur Bosque, Katie Gross, Ken Taylor and Bryan Kerr.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and La Grange Mayor Jan Dockery, along with fellow cancer survivor Sherry Hebert, encourage local women to schedule a mammogram.

My chapter with a diagnosis of Stage 1 breast cancer was delivered to me on July 11, 2022. I arrived at the doctor’s office and when the doctor came in he asked if I was alone and I responded yes and even prior to that question the thought had went through my head about a diagnosis of breast cancer. Twenty years ago when during a routine mammogram the technician referred me for additional screenings which lead me to having bilateral biopsies being done which were benign and from that initial referral I’ve always taken scheduling and following up with mammograms very seriously. Sometime around 2020 the mammogram tech had noticed some abnormalities and forwarded my screenings to the radiologist that recommended another screening six months later and then another screening six months later. After that and from those screenings I was referred to the surgeon and I proceeded with another opinion and further testing and in all of this my diagnosis was confirmed from the start of July 2022 of Stage 1 breast cancer. By this time I was in my second term of my mayoral duties with lots of major decisions to make. I immediately took in the news I had been given. I prayed and I called my daughter to give her the news, which was very shocking and hard for her to accept. I knew I had to make some major decisions but I also knew that those decisions were not just about my personal well being but making sure I would be able to fulfill my commitment as mayor of our city. I prayed continuously and waited for the correct decisions to make and without any doubt I knew I needed to be in Houston with my daughter and her family so that I didn’t have to put an additional stress on her with me residing here and getting a medical plan set up with doctors in the opposite direction. So, with much more prayer and knowing that I needed to accept this diagnosis, my journey began. I have an amazing team at St Luke’s in Houston and I’ve received excellent care from the Daniel L Duncan Breast Cancer Center, CHI Radiation and Cyberknife and all of the love and support from my loving, wonderful family, friends, church family and a community of well wishers. I was blessed to have my daughter with me for all of my chemo treatments. I’m so blessed to have such an amazing family that has been here for me and always kept my spirits high. My son-in-law and my grand loves were some of the best medicine I could of had. My sisters are the best. They always checked on me which was not a hard task for any of us. We share a strong bond and we’ve always communicated with each other pretty much on a daily basis whether it was by phone or via a group text. The love we have for each other is totally beyond measure. My 76 year old uncle called to check on me daily and has continued to check on me since last July 2022. My aunt in Giddings has also been such a great support for me during this chapter. I encourage each and everyone of you to get your yearly mammograms. Get in a healthy relationship with God and follow the path He has laid for you. I know accepting diagnosis’ as this is very hard but accepting it and putting it in God’s hands is the best medicine one can ask for.