CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 39 Erin Champion and Jana Sell are breast patient navigators at Cape Fear Valley Health. "Erin was such a great support coach. She told me what to expect. She told me about her own journey, which helped," Ford says. "She was so transparent and open." Initial tests included another biopsy, an MRI to make sure the cancer had not spread, and a heart scan. Before her first treatment, Ford spent some time traveling. "I went to the Biltmore Estate and then to the beach. I took time for myself. I knew that once people knew that their focus would be on the cancer and not on me. I needed that time," Ford says. She came back refreshed and ready to fight. "From that October to December, I had chemo every Tuesday," Ford recalls. Her first chemotherapy treatment was on Oct. 5, and Ford decided she was going to make it something to remember. "I came in with a pink wig on and did a Facebook Live video," Ford says. e response was overwhelmingly positive. "I found people in my life who had also had breast cancer. I had an inbox full of resources, donations and words of encouragement. I discovered a great village of support," says Ford. e pink wig was just the beginning. "I decided I was going to dress up each time. I wore a nice outfit, a hairpiece. ere was no way I was going to wear pajamas and a bonnet. If someone saw me on the street, they would have no idea that I was going to a cancer center," Ford says. Aer doctors found two more spots of cancer, a second course of treatment began that spring. A mastectomy and a more aggressive round of chemotherapy followed. "e second round from January to April was called 'the red devil' and was every three weeks. I started getting sick in February. Earlier, I had complained about gaining weight from the steroids, but the nurses were right. I needed that extra weight," Ford says. She eventually made it through. As she rang the bell to symbolize her final chemo treatment on April 5, 2022, she thought of her grandmother, Magnolia Cobb, who had died from pancreatic cancer on the same day five years before. "I rang the bell to celebrate my life but also to remember her life as well," says Ford. As she healed from her mastectomy, she traveled to Cancun for her daughter Tatianna's birthday. "I had expanders in my chest to get me ready for implants, but I still wore a bathing suit. My thought was, 'I can't let this stop me.' e whole year I was in treatment, I could not go anywhere, and traveling is my thing. is was my first real trip aer my mastectomy. It was a celebration," Ford says. Ford is so grateful to her family and friends for their support. She has advice for others going through a similar journey. "First, find a purpose. I had my best conversations with God and really tapped into my faith. If you believe in something, now is the time to believe," says Ford. Support is vital. "Don't try to go through this alone. You will need your village. And everyone from the front desk to the nurses to the phlebotomists are amazing. I made lasting friendships," says Ford. It's also important to focus on something you love. "For me, I love to travel, so I spent time making travel plans. I also love my cat, Cammi, and I spent so much time loving her." Ford also suggests that people have a cancer insurance policy in place. "I had two cancer policies and they helped. It helped provide a stipend during my chemo treatment and covered my hospital stay," says Ford. Her last bit of advice is an important one: Get annual mammograms. "Don't wait. Get checked, get screened. If it had not been caught so early, it might have been treatable, but not curable. I'm thankful that it was caught early enough to be able to fight it." At 47, Ford is now back in the classroom teaching full time and making even more travel plans, both of which she could not have done without swi detection and action. And, she says, her experience has made her stronger. "at's the silver lining to all of this. I have a second chance to do something in life. I have become more vocal, more opinionated. I was born a preemie, so I've always been a fighter. is was the second time I've been in a fight for my life, so I know God has me on this earth for a reason. I'm going to live and live well. I'm a breast cancer survivor." Toscha Ford credits Erin Champion, a breast cancer navigator at Cape Fear Valley Health, for helping her better understand what she was about to go through.

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