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Finding strength in the fight against breast cancer

Alexa John Breast Cancer
Posted at 8:17 AM, Oct 11, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-11 10:58:50-04

Alexa John was just 44 when she got the breast cancer diagnosis.

And while she knew there was a possibility, she says there is nothing that can ever prepare you for those words.

"Time definitely stops when you here those words," John says. "It's surreal when it's happening to you."

Her first call was to a dear friend battling the same disease.

"When I got the first call that they suspected something and I should come back in...I was in the parking lot at school," John says. "The moms had got together to get gift cards for Dodi because she had started chemo again, Dodi was my first phone call. She was very reassuring and said not to worry past what I knew."

It was that call and the months that followed that changed John's life.

She became more aware of how women go through their day to day not realizing a simple phone call can turn their world upside down.

She also became aware that it is how someone handles the situation that helps them get through it.

"Everyday is a good day...everyday," John says. "Nothing is that bad and I'm very blessed."

John is now cancer-free.

That does not mean that she has stopped fighting for others. She has become an advocate in the last few years.

"No kind word or deed is too small" John said. "Encourage them, reach out to them because it can be very isolating and paralyzing to have that fear."

With a smile and encouraging words, John continues to live each day to the fullest.

She said she will never forget the helping hands that have guided her along the way.