Survivor Series

“You don’t have to go through this journey alone,” said Wendy Mang, Community Development Manager at the American Cancer Society (ACS), and a cancer survivor herself. When Mang was first diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, she began...

When surrounded by pain or fear, having unbridled resolve and a support system full of loved ones can help you move forward. Joan Hasse-Rodriguez has that, and more. Having lived with cancer for the past couple of years, Hasse-Rodriguez understands...

You would think that being a nurse would give you the upper hand when you learn you have cancer. Perhaps, in terms of the knowledge base, but not in terms of the fear factor. Just ask Shirley Edwards. “I found a lump in my breast and scheduled a...

In January of 2019, Esther Lewis, then 39, found a small lump in her breast. Having dealt with swollen lymph nodes before, she thought this lump was most likely that. But being cautious and proactive, Lewis sought confirmation that would end up...

Steve “Beaver” Lopez has never been one to let obstacles slow him down. It’s how, at age two, he got his nickname.  “I used to chew on my baby crib,” he explained. “I ate one of the wooden bars so my parents gave me the name...

A bell’s ring is a short sound, but resonates through time. It can be symbolic of the end of something, but also the beginning of something else.  A little more than a year ago, Joe Blandford, a Lowell resident and small business...

Jill Zilz, a math teacher at Lake Central High School, never thought that she would call herself a cancer survivor, but finds herself feeling proud to be where she is today. She taught math at Valparaiso High School for 14 years before finding her...

“If it weren’t for my grandson getting me sick I wouldn’t be here today,” said Jerry Swearington, who is celebrating three years of being cancer-free. Swearington had caught a cold from his oldest grandson, Corbin, while babysitting his...

Verne Schrader, a Chesterton native, wasn’t going to let cancer to stop him. At 95, he looks back on his journey through cancer as just another page in his storied life. It was the day before Thanksgiving when Schrader, then in his 70s, received...

When Brandy Manville first heard that she had cancer, she froze in stunned silence. She sat next to her husband at the doctor’s office, expecting to hear she tested negative. The two even had plans to go out to dinner to celebrate being told she...