Positive mindset is a key to cancer battles

RUSSELLVILLE — Faye Massey was no stranger to breast cancer when she received her own diagnosis around six years ago.

Three of her aunts survived the disease, as did a cousin on her mother’s side of the family.

Now, two of her three daughters have been diagnosed, too.

“At times, [cancer] is devastating, and at best, it’s hard,” Massey said. “But it’s doable. You just can’t let it dictate your life. You have to live, and you can’t think about it all the time.”

Despite a family history riddled with breast cancer, neither Massey nor her daughters have the BRAC1 gene mutation that causes Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Disease Syndrome, which passes from generation to generation.

The women are unsure what has led to their unique family history with the disease, but they share characteristics they know makes all of them survivors — faith, positivity and a healthy dose of laughter.”

“You’ve got to rely on God; God’s in control,” Massey said. “God is the creator of the universe, and our destiny is mainly in his hands.

“We’re told not to worry. We’re told in the Bible to keep good thoughts, and if we apply that, it makes for a better life.”

Massey’s diagnosis came after her general practitioner noticed a “thickening” in her breast tissue during a MRI for her back.

A biopsy confirmed that she had malignant tissue present. A surgeon recommended she have a partial mastectomy, or lumpectomy.

When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she held onto the knowledge that her aunts fought the disease and had no reoccurrence, and they died from age, not cancer.

Then, she underwent 20 proton radiation treatments and five years of hormone blocker.

Nearly a year after wrapping up treatment, Massey said her body is truly recuperating.

Also, she is making sure her daughter, Renee Vandiver, is maintaining her faith and positivity as she journeys through her own fight with the disease.

Vandiver was diagnosed with breast cancer on Aug. 26 after a routine mammogram.

“I opted to have a double mastectomy for the security of knowing I could likely get rid of the chances of it coming back,” Vandiver said. “I had the double mastectomy on Sept. 10, and I found out on Sept. 17 that the cancer had not gone to my lymph nodes.”

Like her mom, she will be on hormone blockers for five years.

CONTRIBUTED/DAN BUSEY
From left, Renee Vandiver, Faye Massey and Jamie Vandiver sit together at Renee’s home in Russellville. Two generations of Massey’s family have been diagnosed with breast cancer, a disease that has also affected several other relatives.

For years, she said her favorite phrases have been “it is what it is,” and “we’re going to take care of it.”

“They’ve been a little more common in the last few weeks,” she said of the phrases. “You can either mope around or have a positive attitude and push forward.”

Jamie Lane, Vandiver’s daughter, said the family is close-knit and spends a lot of time laughing instead of focusing on the negative aspects of life.

However, she admitted that given her family history, she and her own two daughters will make sure they take their health seriously.

“It makes you more aware … what could possibly happen,” Lane said. “It makes you realize you have to follow through with checkups.”

Knowing her family is filled with survivors helps Vandiver keep a positive mindset, as does the knowledge shared with her mother, sister and other family members regarding what she is currently going through.

“I want everything to be like normal; I’m just recovering,” Vandiver said. “If I could tell anybody anything, it’s that it ain’t the most horrible thing you can have.

“No, it doesn’t look good right now, but that’s fine. I’ve got to get a new wardrobe — it’s all about perspective.”

Massey agreed. Having a positive perspective is a daily choice for everyone, and something like a cancer diagnosis does not change that.

Instead, she says she encourages anyone faced with a breast cancer diagnosis to take advantage of every resource at their disposal, but to refuse to dwell on negativity.

“Life’s fun!” Massey said. “It’s not always going to be smooth, it’s not always going to be pleasant, but a good day is a choice, not a result of a perfect life.”