Share Your Story: Wanda Johnson

For three months, Wanda Johnson was a full-time caregiver for her sister who had advanced gallbladder cancer. Then Wanda was diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer. That diagnosis lit a flame of passion. She became a breast cancer advocate, where new opportunities have led to diverse experiences.  

01:27: I'm there for my routine mammogram.  03:30: I was living in Houston, Texas, and before my diagnosis, my sister was living in Mobile, Alabama, which is our home.   05:33: The technician didn't pay any attention to it because of where it was located.  06:32: I'm not going to take you on as a patient.  10:25: We also have noticed something that didn't quite appear right. But we didn't say anything about it.   11:46: Do I make a very deliberate choice to live?   14:35: Why is it so hard to make a change?  16:30: My best moment, I would say, was during the holidays, and I had to go for a treatment to the main building,   21:14: How was your experience as a caregiver different from your sister as she was a patient? 25:53: I respected those boundaries.  26:48: How do you look at your life differently now than before either your diagnosis or your sister's diagnosis?  28:25: It told me that I've got a lot of resilience.  31:13: What is the one thing that you wish you had known at the beginning of your cancer journey?  33:35: My voice has power. And it's okay to use it.  36:20: We have the right to speak up and demand that they see us as like human beings.  37:04: If you could only do one thing, just one, to improve health care in the US, what would it be and why?  38:15: Thriver Rapid Fire Questions   40:00: what is one resource that you would recommend for cancer patients and our caregivers? 

 Resources

BreastCancer.orgEmail Wanda at [email protected]