Janice Carter shared her story about her battle with breast cancer.
For Miles Lima – a standout Sierra High sophomore – it was retinoblastoma, a rare cancer that starts in the retina that eventually led to removal of both of his eyes.
Both were speakers at the first-ever Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness Tuesday at the Manteca Senior Center.
Spearheading this event was Gwendolyn Grace, who was involved in several Pink Parties while in San Jose.
She wanted to bring cancer awareness to this community – all proceeds will be donated to promote breast cancer research.
Grace shared trivial tidbits at the Pink Party, noting that the international pink ribbon symbol came about in the 1990s and that it was President Richard Nixon who first waged the war on cancer.
The local event featured live music – by Lima on piano – along with vendor booths, a raffle, and snacks.
“No one knows for certain on how one gets cancers,” said Carter, who believes she was at-risk due to her environment.
For that, she looked back at cotton fields of South Carolina, in particular, the insecticides used on the crops, and where her mother and grandmother both worked.
Both were later diagnosed with cancer as was her sisters. “Two lived and two died,” said Carter, who credited acting on her early warning signs on her own survival.
Her cancer was located on the breast bone, making it hard to locate initially. Carter said that one of her specialists pointed out: “We caught it early – it was like a bunch of grapes that dropped in blood stream but didn’t travel.”
She went to 4 ½ months of chemo therapy along with eight weeks of radiation. A port was placed under her skin – Carter said that getting the needle for the chemo into the port was sometime a painful process.
Lima shared the same experience. “The port is not an ‘X’ mark the spot,” he said.
“I am a cancer survivor,” Lima said, having first been diagnosed back in January 2009.
He went through eight months of chemo for both eyes, with his cancer going into remission in 2010.
But in May 2012, he was diagnosed again. “We went with a team out of New York – they were doing an experimental medical procedure,” Lima said.
His cancer was once again in remission by 2013 and he was able to live a relatively normal life.
But that changed in January 2019, with Lima now becoming an in-patient with sessions of three to four days and constant supply of chemo.
He described that time of being sick and lethargic from those treatments. “I was an invalid for a good month,” Lima recalled.
He later had both eyes removed which, he said: “I didn’t take it very well at first.”
Lima has moved on and even jokes about his physical condition. At age 15, he’s become an accomplished musician, performing on stage while singing and proficiently playing the piano (he credits GK Music).
During the past summer, he was part of the Sierra High delegation that took part in the World Scholars Cup Stockholm global round – the group won four trophies and 31 medals during that trip to Europe.
He also has a 4.3 grade point average.
Carter is also a survivor. Following her last treatments in 2009, she received clearance from her doctors to travel abroad.
“I went to Italy,” she said.
Carter, in addition, bought herself a gift. “I got a sports car,” she happily said.