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Karen Eggart of Greensboro is a breast cancer survivor and is anxious to share with others about her 15-year journey with this dreaded disease.

Eggart particularly wants other women to know there is hope and a life after breast cancer.

Eggart describes herself as a 60-year-old wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and all round good friend. She has a bright smile, warm personality and enjoys laughing and telling stories.

Eggart has never been told that her cancer is in remission, but she has continued to have a positive attitude. “I have so much to live for,” she said. “So giving up has never been an option.

“Cancer can become a positive tool and experience because we are more than our cancer,” Eggart said. “It does not define us, so we need not give it the power to control us, but we must have the will to own and control it.”

When Eggart was 36 in 1984, she discovered a lump in her left breast. She went to a OB-GYN doctor who did a needle biopsy and said, “It’s negative, and young women don’t get breast cancer, particularly after having had three breast-fed children.”

The lump was still there in 1986. The uncertainty about the lump worried Eggart as she remembered that her grandmother had breast cancer in her 70s, but she had a mastectomy and the cancer did not reappear.

Eggart decided to have a lumpectomy to remove the suspicious lump.

By 1995, the family had moved to Greensville, S.C., and Eggart dropped her medical insurance because it was an HMO and her husband, Charles, had HMO insurance that included the family. Because of her history, the insurance company said Eggart must have a pap smear and mammogram to prove she was insurable.

“I thought, no big deal,” Eggart said, “so I made appointments that week for the tests.”

During a required physical exam, the doctor said, “Karen, you have a mass in your breast.”

Hoping for the best, Eggart insisted that what he felt was only scar tissue from previous surgeries. The chief radiologist reviewed Eggart’s mammogram and sonogram, confirming a mass in her left breast.

“Suddenly, I felt like I was in the twilight zone. A nurse hugged me and gave me a referral to a general surgeon,” Eggart said.

“I remember sitting at a sandwich shop with my husband, Charles. We tried to digest our lunch and the bad news. Looking at the people around us, I thought, 'It’s just another day for them, but we have had our world turned upside down.’”

Eggart was not insurable. Now, the Eggarts’ focus was to beat the cancer.

Later, Karen Eggart also received a stem cell transplant, which she said was very difficult. She did not think she was going to survive and even dreamed about her funeral.

A complete mastectomy revealed that she had stage four breast cancer.

During Eggart’s long struggle with cancer, she has had nine surgeries, which included hip replacement and reconstruction breast surgery, which Eggart said was “to make me feel whole again, both mentally and emotionally.”

Eggart said the cancer is now attacking her bones, but is kept in check through chemotherapy and radiation.

“Once the cancer chooses to attack a major organ, I’ll be dealing with a whole different kettle of fish,” she said.

“One of my truly enormous miracles has been the three Fs — Faith, Family and Friends,” Eggart said. “God is my strength, family is my support, and friends are my safety net. My faith has always sustained me through down times in my life. The lower I got, the more my faith increased and Christ sustained me.”

Eggart’s advice to other breast cancer survivors is to “let your faith, family and friends wrap you in their love, support and good work.”

Eggart believes that God, in his infinite wisdom, has a plan for each person.

Eggart always dreamed of becoming a grandmother. She feels God has smiled on her, as she was blessed with three children, Richard, Glen and Kristen, and they have given her five grandchildren.

“Miracles abide,” Eggart said. “But for this journey to have true meaning and purpose, one must love themselves enough to be vulnerable and open to love and support — even if you have to ask for it. This doesn’t make you weak or negative. To the contrary, it makes you human and that’s about as good as it gets — another miracle.”

Eggart said she is 100 percent Irish and always wanted to go to Ireland. Her children and friends have pooled resources to send her and husband, Charles, to Ireland for a week. Eggart never thought she would live long enough to go to Ireland, so this is very special.

Eggart’s husband, Charles, is a hero in her eyes, as he has always been loving and supportive throughout their 22-year marriage.

“Karen’s initial hospital bill was in excess of $45,000, and payment was requested,” Charles Eggart said. “The hospital and I agreed upon a monthly payment plan and now every month I actually look forward to paying the bill because she is still alive.

“The best part of my day is going to bed with her at my side and waking up in the morning with her in my arms.”

To nominate a person who has or is making a difference in the lives of others, contact Peggy Longmire at rlongmire@triad.rr.com or 288-9040.