A year ago, Jean Hanna Davis, a native of Charleston and now resident of Princeton, WV, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in 10 years. The first time, she was pregnant with her second child. She had to make the terrible decision to begin chemotherapy to save her own life while her child was still inside her. Julianna is now a strong-willed 10-year-old who helped her mother deal with the side-effects of chemotherapy during this second round. Throughout it all, Jean’s mantra was “Keep on, Keepin’ on.”
In the new book “Keep On, Keepin’ On,” Davis talks to author Eric Douglas about her experiences as a cancer patient and survivor. When she learned of her cancer diagnosis last year, she immediately began talking about the situation on Facebook. Jean believes in the concept of “Living Life Out Loud.” She believes that being open and honest about what she is going through can help other people facing the same or similar situations. For Jean, while cancer is something to deal with and work through, it isn’t something to hide or to be depressed about.
“I ran into someone this morning that I haven’t seen for a while. I used to teach with her. When I told her the cancer was back, her face just fell. I tell everyone this, and I told her this morning, my take on this is it’s been 10 years. If I get nine good years and one crappy year, those are pretty good odds. The last nine years have been really good. If I get nine more good years out of this, that’s pretty good,” says Davis. “I really want people to know that cancer is not, in many cases, a death sentence. Even the chemo as you’re going through it, it’s not fun, but I’ve always said my chemo days are my spa days. They take my blood, but they bring me blankets; they bring me breakfast and lunch. They take care of me. There is power in taking control of your situation. For me, it has always been important to put a positive spin on it.”
Not that everything in the book is sunshine and roses. There are times when the cancer—or rather, the treatment for the cancer—gets her down. She feels sick, tired, frustrated and scared: all natural emotions. And that is important for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers to remember.
“I had one experience that stands out vividly. I was six months post-mastectomy. I hated the prosthesis, but was still wearing it. Someone was talking about reconstruction. Even at that point, I never planned on reconstruction. This woman seemed to be offended by that idea. She got angry with me because I didn’t ever plan on having it. And she said very snotty-like, ‘If you haven’t had it done, you’re not ready,’” she says. “I’ve thought about that over the past 10 years and how that comment cut me. As a result, I’ve been very careful as I’ve talked to other survivors—that I don’t judge their choices. We all do this life thing to the best of our ability. Who am I to judge your choices?”
Her best advice for survivors is simple. “Remember what’s important. What is important for you might be very different from what is important for me. Randy Pausch says ‘Time is all you have. If you feel the need to clean out your inbox, okay, but it is going to take an hour or two. Time is all you really have. Don’t let people tell you what should be important for you.’ Ultimately, you have to decide what is best for you.”
While Davis believes strongly in supporting others through the trials they face with cancer, she has no patience for women who refuse to get themselves examined.
“I tell people to have their mammograms all the time. I show my scars. It infuriates me when women come up to me and say ‘My doctor wants me to have a mammogram, but I’m not going to because it hurts too much.’ I have raised my shirt and shown them my scars and said ‘Tell me how you think this feels. You can prevent this by having your mammograms. What do you think is going to happen if you don’t have it?” I have shocked people. I have had people not talk to me, but if you can’t do the minimum you should do to take care of yourself like have your mammogram, you are going to hear about it from me. That is as important as, if not more important than, getting up every morning and putting food on the table.”
“Keep on, Keepin’ on: A Breast Cancer Survivor Story” by Jean Hanna Davis and Eric Douglas is now available on Amazon in softcover and Kindle formats. This book includes interviews, stories, Facebook posts (to begin each chapter), essays written by Davis and private thoughts recorded in the evenings or on the way to her chemo appointments. It is a real look at chemo and breast cancer.
About the Author
Eric Douglas received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Marshall University and worked for several years in local newspapers, honing his skills as a storyteller. Afterward, he worked as a freelance journalist in the former Soviet Union. In 2008, Eric returned to Russia and photographed many of the people and places he knew from the 1990s. In 2010, he had solo photographic exhibitions of his Russia work in Russia, France and the United States.
In 2011, Eric completed a photodocumentary project on Harvesting Divers in Honduras, a project that earned him a Certificate in Documentary Arts from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. His documentary work was used as the basis for stories in The New York Times, NationalGeographic.com, “Rock Center with Brian Williams” and Central China Television.
In 2013, he completed the ‘West Virginia Voices of War’ documentary.
He has also published a series of adventure novels, two children’s books and a series of adventure short stories on Kindle.
You can learn more about Douglas’ other books or read the series of blog posts that became the foundation of the book at http://www.booksbyeric.com/
