Caribbean L 24 ife, OCTOBER 18-24, 2019
Barbadian-born breast cancer survivor Cecille White
Barbadian-born breast cancer
survivor tells her story
By Nelson A. King
In quoting Dave Pelzer, an American
author, of several autobiographical and
self-help books, Barbadian-born breast
cancer survivor Cecille White says “you
can be a victim of cancer or a survivor of
cancer. It’s a mindset.”
With this mindset, White, 62, a Canarsie,
Brooklyn resident, told Caribbean
Life, over the weekend, in an exclusive
interview, that she was determined to
beat the odds, with the help of family and
close friends, when she was first diagnosed
with the deadly disease in February
2015.
“It was very difficult to process, and
even harder to treat,” said White, stating
that treatment included 45 “long rounds”
of radiation therapy, as well as “many
lifestyle adjustments.”
“It has been a battle for me, but, with
the support of my children, family, and
friends, I am continuing on, and am a
4 1/2 year-SURVIVOR,” added White, an
active member of Fenimore Street United
Methodist church in Brooklyn, where she
serves as a Certified Lay Servant, United
Methodist Women member, choir member
and all-round “helping hand.”
“To be told you have cancer should not
be a death sentence,” she continued. “I’ve
truly learned to put God first in everything.
He has been my nurse, doctor and
all-round healer.”
White – currently a rehab assistant
at Palm Garden Rehabilitation Center
in the Kensington section of Brooklyn,
and has been working there since 1986 –
said the road to recovery has been eased
with the help of close friends, family
and church sisters, “some of whom were
there for me from the diagnosis to this
very moment.”
She identified retired, Trinidadianborn,
Registered Nurse Marlene Ferguson,
a former nursing administrator at
SUNY Downstate Medical Center and
University Hospital of Brooklyn, as one of
those persons.
“From the day of my diagnosis, she
helped me through making all the tough
decisions, took me to appointments and
was there for me when I woke up from
surgery,” said White about Ferguson,
who had initiated and coordinated an
annual Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day celebration
at Downstate Hospital, and who
also worships with White at Fenimore
Street United Methodist Church.
White said her daughter, Candice, who
lives with her, helps prepare meals “to
abide by the many dietary changes one
has to make when they are diagnosed
with cancer.”
In addition, she said her sister Harriet
Griffith, as well as retired Jamaican-born
Registered Nurses Glenner Strachan and
Doreen Thomas – both members of Fenimore
Street United Methodist Church –
“have also been a constant source of care
and concern.”
“I am still on medications, and I visit
my oncologist every six months for
check-ups,” White said. “But I am here,
living my life to the fullest extent.
“As I said, cancer is not a death wish;
it has only made me stronger,” she added.
“I will continue to celebrate the life God
has given me each and every day until He
calls me home.”
White said she was undergoing a routine
mammogram “when they noticed
a spot.”
“It felt so surreal and numb,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe it – how and why it was
happening to me.
“However, initially, my first reaction
was to think to myself, ‘okay, I can beat
it’, even though I was scared of the word
‘cancer’” she added.
A month after diagnosis, White said
she had a partial mastectomy on her
right breast at Brookdale Medical Center
and University Hospital.