October is breast cancer awareness month and WHAS11 is a proud sponsor of this weekend's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
We are sharing survivor’s stories with you; some will inspire you, empower you and will help you to appreciate life.
This story is about a woman who was once one of our co-workers here at WHAS11. At the age of 33, she was faced with one of her biggest challenges. We remember Reanna Smith-Hamblin with her long blonde hair hung down her back and her smile filled the newsroom. She was a producer here at WHAS11 a few years ago and she's moved on from the station and was in the middle of building a new career for herself when she heard the words no 33-year-old expects. “Got a phone call at work in the afternoon one day they said you have cancer,” she said. During a routine self breast exam she found a lump. “In March I had a double mastectomy very lucky we decided on that I was a candidate for a lumpectomy a much smaller procedure but when they did the double mastectomy they found another spot of cancer back behind the lump that we found,” said Reanna Smith-Hamblin, breast cancer survivor. Her days in chemo were spent with her family by her side. “Ii could not believe it I had a scare about a year before myself and I really didn't she'll go in there and they'll say everything is okay and I didn't ever expect it to be cancer,” she said. “The hard part is watching someone you care about and love go through all the pain and the fear and the worry but you just can’t show it,” said Reanna’s husband, Dave. Reanna is expected to have a full recovery and is determined to spread the word that you can get breast cancer at any age. “I said I am going to do something with this, I am going to become an advocate I’m going to talk to people whenever I can I don't care if it just sounds weird if I say I have breast cancer, check yourself.” It’s all about attitude for Reanna and she has plenty of it. Check out the shirt that her team will be wearing at the race for the cure event. It says, breast cancer took my B's and Dr. Thornton gave me D's! When her hair started coming out she decided to just shave it off and have some fun with wigs. “I’m gonna show you my big ole grand wig collection here,” said Reanna. Reanna also has a serious side where she reaches out to other young survivors online. She has an internet diary where she shares her lows, "I thought I was over the hump and today I am lying on the couch with a fever a headache coughing up green a sore throat and I’m just plain wore out." And she shares her highs, "well I think this is it. I think I am finally over the hump! Yeah I am still a little tired but I think I can finally say this is it. It is over. No more chemos." “I am a survivor but hopefully I will be around for a long long long time and be able to talk about this to as many people as I can,” she said. Reanna hasn't let cancer slow her down. She's gone through her last chemo treatments and plans to start running again and continue to try and achieve her dreams. Reanna will be one of thousands of people walking in the Komen Race for the Cure in Louisville this weekend. The race is Saturday, October 10th. WHAS11 will have live coverage beginning at 6:00 a.n. on Good Morning Kentuckiana Saturday. The race starts at 9:00 a.m. at Waterfront Park. If you want to run or walk, you can call 584-CURE for more information or visit www.komenlouisville.org .
