*This is the fourth in a series of articles on breast cancer survivors in recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Breast cancer survivor Jana Neely is a staunch believer in self breast exams and early detection. “I’ve always said it should be earlier than 40 when you start having mammograms.”
In July of 1997 Jana went to the doctor for her annual exam where he found a small nodule on the outside of her left breast. He found no breast cancer characteristics and thought it was nothing but told her to watch it and call if she noticed changes.
In June the following year Jana did notice the lump was a little bigger but was scheduled to see her physician the next month and opted to wait till then. At the visit he said he still believed it was nothing but decided to biopsy to be safe. Jana said, “I didn’t think anything about it. I think I just mentioned it to Allen (her husband).” The next day she received a phone call from her doctor who was shocked at the results; the lump was malignant. At 38, Jana began her survivor’s journey.
Initial plans had been for a segmental resection to remove only that portion that contained the cancerous tumor. However, when the pathology report came back indicating no clear margins and carcinoma in situ throughout the breast, Jana had a decision to make. She explained, “That means it’s not malignant now but will become malignant. We just decided to have both breasts removed. They said with me being as young as I was I had a 50 percent chance – that is if I lived a long life – that it would come back in the other breast.” The good news was there was no cancer found in the lymph nodes and it did not metastasize.
Jana had the double mastectomy recommended by her general surgeon along with reconstruction surgery. She also took tamoxifen chemotherapy pills for five years. No other treatment was necessary. She is now 26 years cancer free.
At the time of Jana’s diagnosis she was a teacher’s assistant at Simpson Central School, and her sons Josh and Kyle were 11 and 9, respectively. “I went through a really hard time. It took two weeks between the diagnosis and having the bilateral mastectomy. During that time I was having anxiety attacks and everything. I had to work to turn it all over to God and trust Him that if I live it’s okay, if I don’t live, it’s okay. Of course, I didn’t want to leave Allen, but my children being 9 and 11, I didn’t want someone else raising them if he remarried.”
Jana got beyond that though. “At 2:00 one morning I couldn’t sleep; I was miserable and I finally said, ‘Okay God, You made me in the first place. If you want me to live You can heal me; You can do anything that You need to do. And if not, it must just be Your plan that I die.’ I just gave it over to Him. I just had a peace that was unbelievable.”
Allen had his own concerns. “First of all it was a shock to both of us. She didn’t smoke, didn’t drink. She was healthy and played sports. It was not in the family history. We spent a lot of restless nights having conversations about what if this happens, what if that happens. To me personally I think as the expression goes - at the end of the day it brought our family, kids and everybody closer together than we ever thought possible.”
He continued, “I do remember the thing that bothered me the most the day Jana had the surgery … it kinda got me. I felt like I’m the husband, I’m the man and I should take care of her. I found me a quiet spot in the hospital – I can remember like it was yesterday – got on my knees and broke down. I said, ‘You know God, I can’t fix this.’ That was the painful part for me other than knowing what she was going through. I was thinking to myself ‘all these years I’ve said I believe in You, I believe in You.’ Until you get in a corner where you have to trust Him 100 percent, you have no choice. That was actually a low in my life and at the same time, a high in my life. When I got up I was okay. I came to the conclusion ‘I cannot fix this but You can,’” Allen explained.
Jana returned to work at SCS but kept feeling a tug from God, calling her to do something working with oncology patients. “I’d had such good experiences with doctors, nurses, and everybody was so nice. I just kept feeling ‘What, God, am I going to do?’ I don’t know anything I could do to help anybody.”
It soon became clear. When Kyle began his senior year of high school Jana began taking her pre requisites for nursing school at Hinds Community College, all the while working and being a wife and mom. Knowing it can often take time to be admitted to nursing school Jana began the application process early and to her surprise was accepted the first round, entering Hinds the fall of 2007. She commented, “Allen
had me, Josh and Kyle in college at the same time!” Allen quipped, “Oh…it was exciting.”
Once Jana graduated from nursing school she began her career working in the bone marrow transplant unit at University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC). She worked there several years before transitioning to the infusion center in UMMC Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants working with gynecologic oncology as a chemo nurse. It was a small unit, only seven stations. Jana got to know her patients well. She retired from full time work in September 2021 but continued to work as needed (PRN) through January of this year.
Now Jana and Allen spend their time enjoying each other’s company whether it is at home on their sprawling homestead or on the open road travelling.” We just enjoy seeing God’s creation, spending time together,” said Allen.
