Survivor Spotlight Sue Cirencione Essay - 959 Words

Survivor Spotlight: Sue Cirencione The Coalition sat down with young survivor Sue Cirencione to talk about life a year and a half after receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer. Over coffee on a chilly autumn day in Geneva, NY, she shared her story. Sue Cirencione is an active woman with a penchant for getting involved in her community. Balancing a happy marriage and raising three beautiful daughters while working full-time, Sue is one busy lady. You could say that her breast cancer journey began before her diagnosis in early 2015. A former supervisor called her unexpectedly to tell her that one of the clerks in the office had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The woman â€Å"had no known risk factors†, and this made Sue feel uneasy. As far as she knew, she didn’t have any significant risk factors either. A little voice in her head told her: go get checked. Sue was in her early forties. An occasional procrastinator, she was overdue for her annual mammogram. Plus, she noticed a lot of conflicting advice in the media about routine mammograms so she wavered. But the little voice in her head persisted: you need to go. She listened and scheduled a routine mammogram. During the Friday appointment, the technician took an extra picture of her right breast, but didn’t indicate there could be a problem. But Sue â€Å"just knew it was breast cancer.† In church that Sunday, a song about needing strength was played. â€Å"It hit me,† she said. â€Å"The song was talking to me. I started to cry.†