I Was Anchored in Faith During Breast Cancer

When an anchor charm on Lisa's bracelet constantly caught onto her sweater, it reminded her that she was anchored in faith during breast cancer.

On Friday, Aug. 17, 2012, five days before college classes started, I was told I had breast cancer. I had been attending college and had changed my study from Business to Human Service in June of 2012.

That weekend my husband and I went to a neighboring city to walk around and kind of take some time for ourselves. We wanted to go somewhere where we didn’t know anyone. While walking around the mall, we stopped at a jewelry store where my husband Matt bought me this beautiful charm for my bracelet that had a heart, cross and anchor. At the time I had no idea how much this would impact my everyday life as we made this journey.

The following Monday, I spoke with the head of the department to make them aware of my diagnosis. She asked me if I was sure I wanted to continue. I said, “Yes, having breast cancer just confirms I made the right decision to change my studies.” I had originally thought — when I changed majors to Human Service — that I would be working with teenage mothers because I was a teenage mother. But instead, I would be working with breast cancer patients.

During the next several weeks, I began my classes along with chemotherapy treatment. I wore my bracelet with my beautiful charms every day, but a few times a day, the anchor would get caught in my sweater. This was frustrating, it felt like every time I moved it was getting caught. And then one day as I was untangling the anchor from my sweater I started smiling and laughing. I realized that my anchor charm reminded me that I was Anchored In Faith. From then on, I would not get frustrated but smile every time my anchor charm would get caught in my sweater. Having Joy, real Joy.

This was very important for me. To have something that physically reminded me during the difficult times. Everything I was going through was preparing me to help others.

My treatment included chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation, several reconstructive surgeries and several emergency room visits, all while attending college classes. My fellow classmates have seen the physical changes along with the challenges I experienced.

I graduated from Virginia Western Community College with cum laude. This was important for me because as a teenage mother, I had not graduated high school and received a GED.

Since my graduation, my husband and daughters have joined me in helping others going through breast cancer. We have started a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, Anchored In Faith Together, Inc. AnchoredInFaithTogether.org

This post was written and submitted by Lisa Allagas. The article reflects the views of Allagas and not of CURE®. This is also not supposed to be intended as medical advice.

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