After almost 10 years, 54-year-old Jill Slattery was living her life in remission, but a little while later, a new pain quickly turned things around.
What was supposed to be a simple back surgery turned into what she calls a terrifying discovery. Now Slattery is right back where she started all those years ago, and this time she is facing a new challenge.
“I thought I was one of the lucky ones, after all those 10 years,” Slattery said. “Now they found a mass in my lung, my hip and in my spine.”
Now with stage four breast cancer, she faces a number of challenges in her day-to-day life, but she said the start of the pandemic horrified her.
“I panicked worse knowing that if I get it I’d be gone fast,” Slattery said.
She trembled a little, recalling the days going to and from the doctors, going through chemotherapy. Now she is reliving some of her worst days all the while trying to avoid COVID-19.
“I’m almost in tears, I try to avoid the appointment,” Slattery said. “Anything and everything, because you just don’t want them to tell you anything bad.”
Her weakened immune system only makes this harder. It has been months since she last left the house for anything other than to go to the doctors. Seeing family and resuming a normal life through it all is hard, she said.
Nevertheless, Slattery lives each day like it is her last, because “that’s all you can really do,” she explained.
Those who are close with Slattery said it is a silent battle that she is working through. They describe her as selfless and tough.
“She still has to take care of her mother with dementia, she even went over there when she had her walker recovering from surgery,” Elizabeth Hampton, Slattery’s daughter-in-law said. “She doesn’t like to ask for help.”
Hampton said one of the hardest parts of it all is seeing her mother-in-law in pain. This being so hard because Slattery has always been there for her in hard times.
However, Hampton said that she was one of the lucky ones that had the opportunity to be with Slattery in the hospital during her last extended stay.
“I knew she wasn’t in the right state of mind, I knew she was scared,” Hampton said. “She said that every time she would hit the call button, no one would come.”
The short staffed hospitals, and heavy COVID-19 restrictions keeping close friends and family away from their loved ones made the journey even harder. Hampton, a healthcare worker herself, took advantage of her knowledge of the hospital and patient care and sympathized with struggling staff and confused patients.
Slattery laid alone in a small shared room, with a tiny curtain for privacy, and an inconvenient urinal during her time in the hospital, according to Hampton.
“People need to have advocates for themselves, even if they can’t be the ones to do it,” Hampton said.
Slattery lives with her husband, and they take care of each other. Slattery said she just wants to have the opportunity to spend more time playing with her grandkids. But the cancer “came back with a vengeance,” as Hampton described it.
Hampton has since been more than willing to give a helping hand back to her mother-in-law. She has been taking to Twitter and uses her platform to bring some form of financial support when things get tight.
“We’re still recovering from the first time around,” Slattery said. “I had to quit work, and yeah, we never could catch back up again.”
Slattery and her husband after she had finished radiation on her leg back in September.
Slattery, thankful for the support, now stands along side her daughter-in-law advocating for others in similar circumstances.
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hampton and Slattery now urge women and others to get checked and to learn the warning signs before it is too late.
“When she [Slattery] first got diagnosed she wasn’t going to ask. She felt a lump, it didn’t hurt, so she didn’t worry,” Hampton said.
“I always say, ‘can I get my sons tested?’” Slattery said. “I’m adopted, so I can’t say what runs in my family.”
Nevertheless, Slattery said she is hoping a cure will come through soon for those in the same situation as her. With her experiences, Slattery is hoping to inspire those struggling with breast cancer and spread awareness about the disease.
“Just try to live your day like you would any other day even though you’re sick and you feel bad,” Slattery said.
After over a decade battle, Slattery said she is most looking forward to being with her family and hopes to hear good news from her doctors soon.
“I just want them to tell me the chemo is working and I can get my life back on track where I’m a normal grandma,” Slattery said.
Slattery continues her journey to battle breast cancer for the second time now.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hampton
