“I’ve heard the doctors tell us that it isn’t genetic, but then can you explain why a mother and both of her two daughters would have it?” asked Edna Ruth Griffin.

After two mastectomies, Griffin is still amazed by the fact that she and her daughters have all been diagnosed with breast cancer.

She knows it’s a miracle they have all survived.

Edna Ruth’s husband Bert is playing the piano and signing, and she hums along. The verses of Amazing Grace have special meaning to this couple of  55 years. They have seen many “dangers, toils and snares,” and yet they have overcome.

Griffin  recalls the day she went for a routine mammogram, and the doctor requested further testing.

The tests and exams concluded there was a lump in her left breast and also a mass on the breast bone. A lumpectomy was performed. The cancer was in the advanced stage and it was soon apparent that a mastectomy would be necessary.

Griffin was hesitant and concerned about the prospect of losing her breast. 

“It was a really difficult decision, but I knew it was necessary and would give me the best chance of survival, so of course, I agreed to have the surgery,” she said.

Chemotherapy was the hardest part of cancer for  Griffin.

“I took it really hard,” she said. “I was very sick. I had to go in for IV fluids for seven days after each chemo session. I took the chemo for six months. The nurses were wonderful; they even took turns coming in on the weekends to give me my IV. I was really grateful for that.”

After chemotherapy, Griffin  went on to have 36 days of radiation treatment.

In October 2004, a mammogram revealed another tumor. This time it was in the right breast. Another mastectomy was the doctor’s recommendation

“Once again, I knew the mastectomy was necessary,” said Griffin.

Griffin continues  to go in for exams every two or three months at the oncologist. Blood work is also done every three months. 

“I want to make sure that I’m on top of things,” she said.

Griffin  has a presence of peace about her. Her battle may have hindered her body, but it has made her spirit stronger.

“I just roll with the flow. I keep my faith strong. My family and church lifted me up in prayer while I was going through the cancer. They were my prayer warriors,”  Griffin said.

She was surprised by the outpouring of support from her family and community.

“I got letters and cards from people all over the country, they had prayer chains. I still have the letters and cards. When I get to feeling down sometimes, I look at those cards, and it really lifts me up,” she said.

“My husband, my daughter Vicky and my whole family have always been very supportive and were there for anything I needed. My oldest daughter Phyllis moved in with me for a while and helped me. She cooked and cleaned.”

Phyllis was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.

After feeling pain and leakage in her left breast, she went in for an exam. A mass about the size of a kiwi was discovered. It was cancerous.

“When they told me I needed a mastectomy, it really knocked the wind out of my sails,” Phyllis said. “My son Jonathan was only 14 and Sherisa was 16 at the time I began my battle with cancer. I didn’t want to lose my breast, but more importantly, I didn’t want my children to grow up without a mother.”

Phyllis said her husband Bige and her children took over the responsibilities she was unable to complete as she underwent treatment.

“The whole family pulled together and rallied around me,” she said.

Bige cooked and cleaned, Sherisa did the shopping and physically cared for her mother, and Jonathan did the yard work and helped around the house.

Knowing her children and home were being cared for, Phyllis was able to focus on her recovery.

“I felt at ease to know they were taken care of. And I knew God’s will would be done, so I put all my trust in him. I wouldn’t take back anything that has happened,” Phyllis said. 

Battling cancer has brought Phyllis and her family closer together. 

And then it hit again — Vicky, Griffin’s youngest child, was diagnosed in 2008. 

”After a routine mammogram, the radiologist wanted to do an ultrasound because I had dense breast tissue and because of my family history,” she said. 

After the ultrasound, a biopsy revealed it was indeed cancer.  

“I  didn’t have a mastectomy, but I had endured some painful treatments in fighting my cancer,” she said.

Vicky began chemotherapy and by Christmas her hair was falling out.

“I had my faith in God and tried to keep a sense of humor during treatment,” she said.

But Vicky had something very special  to look forward to during her chemotherapy — she learned  she was going to be a grandmother.

Her last chemotherapy treatment was on Feb. 23, 2009  and her first grandchild, little Emma, was born on March 14.

Vicky said dealing with cancer, and being treated to prevent it is very hard to get through, but with faith and help from loving family, it is possible.

“Only God knows why so many in our family have had breast cancer. Even my mother’s sister had it,” she said, and added “only God knows why anyone goes through this. But with early detection and good medical care, you have a better chance of survival.”

Vicky now volunteers at a cancer treatment clinic.

“It feels good to help others who have cancer. It helps when you have been through it, you really know how to relate.”