SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Every 2 minutes a woman in the US is diagnosed with breast cancer.
We sat down with a woman who faced an unexpected challenge at 41. She shared with us how she fought a killer.
“That is powerful to me because that is me, my daddy and William praying”.
Christy and William Merritt dated 11 years ago. They found true love 11 months before marrying on June 25, 2022. Just 3 months after exchanging vows, Christy received the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer.
“I just went in for my normal mammogram,” Christy explained.
“And they found that it was one centimeter at the top part. So we’re talking the size of a pea or a bean? Like a pencil eraser,” she continued.
Christy added, “I was scared very scared. Very scared. I was told at first, well I found that on the portal…And I was like, Oh my gosh, what does that what does all this mean?”
She recalled her oncologist wondering if her dense breast tissue delayed her diagnosis.
“So I guess it could have been hiding in there. But I know they were like, kudos to you for doing your mammograms every single year,” said Christy.
Her health setback led to months of treatment with her loving husband by her side every step of the way.
William told News 3, “Many mornings I went to work I would cry on the way there praying to God everything was going to be fine, and everything would pass you know, and thank God it did.”
Christy tapped into her unwavering determination. Her sole focus — beating breast cancer.
“I said, I’m gonna go ahead and do a double mastectomy. I’m not gonna play with this. So I went on October 24 and had a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction.”
In spite of the challenges, Christy is doing remarkably well. She credits support from her daughter, parents, co-workers, and friends.
“Thank the Lord, I’m still here and I’m cancer-free. Because a lot of people can’t say that, you know, makes me wanna me cry. You know, but I’m very thankful,” Christy said.
Christy hopes her journey will help raise awareness.
Christy made it through. She takes a breast cancer pill daily and has a shot once a month.
You can meet her at our ‘Healing Heroes Tribute to Breast Cancer’ survivor’s fashion show on October 21. For tickets, click or tap here.
