Tia Rice, 65, never had any big health scares until last September. It was then that the mother of two received word that her mammogram showed a cancerous mass in her left breast. Rice, who works as A-B Tech’s procurement and equipment coordinator, recalls the moment at work when she first checked her patient portal. There was the news written out in an email. Upon reading it she felt her body go numb.
“All of the sudden you get life-changing news, and it comes to you in an email in your portal,” she said, adding, “Could they not have called in person?”
Rice carried her phone to her boss and showed her the email. “I couldn’t even talk,” Rice said. “I told her I have to go home. Then I went home in tears, crying all the way.”
From that point, time sped up and Rice’s life filled up quickly with doctors’ appointments. Meanwhile, Rice began asking around in her circles of friends in hope of finding someone else who had walked this road before. People came forward, both at A-B Tech and at Rice’s church – Mars Hill’s Blue Ridge Baptist – to share their personal experiences. Rice took notes, scrawling down the names of surgeons and compiling questions to ask her doctors.
“It helps you mentally because you know you’re not on a journey by yourself,” she said. “You have people you could call, people who text and say I’m checking on you to see how you are. That means so much.”
A lumpectomy was scheduled November 5 followed by reconstructive surgery the same day. Soon afterwards Rice got a call from her doctor.
“She didn’t get clear margins,” Rice said. “I had to go back for a second less invasive surgery December 8.”
A-B Tech was on holiday break, making it the prime time for Rice to take time off for recovery. Her husband, two daughters and granddaughter helped with housework and other simple daily tasks such as dressing and showers that suddenly became hard to manage.
In the end, Rice was happy with the results of her surgeries. She pointed out that Mission Hospital’s outpatient surgery center came through for her with amazing care.
The final step of Rice’s journey began with 15 days of radiation treatment last January after returning to work. “I didn’t care if we had a snow day. I was going to make it every day,” she said.
Through only 10 minutes from start to finish, the radiation sessions were incredibly draining. While under the machine, Rice had to hold her breath and expand her chest, which prevented the radiation from touching her heart. She jokes about the three tiny dots that the surgeon made to guide the radiation beams onto her chest saying, “I had no tattoos before. Now I can’t say that anymore.”
In September, Rice had her first mammogram since her diagnosis. After awaiting the results with trepidation, she felt immense relief when declared cancer-free. Going forward, she is on medication to prevent reoccurrence and follows up with her oncologist every three months.
Having crossed over to the other side, Rice experienced a major shift in life perspective. She feels both humbled and grateful for her family, friends and for her personal faith, which helped her get through.
“I told everybody I’m fine because God’s going to take care of me,” she said. “God was there with me the entire time and he’s going to continue to take care of me. He showed me who’s in control, and it’s not me.”
Rice is eager now to join the ranks of the wise women who helped her navigate her own breast cancer journey. She hopes to start a support group on A-B Tech’s campus for those whose lives have been touched by breast cancer, whether it’s someone experiencing it firsthand or someone who is traveling alongside a loved one.
“If I can share anything with anyone going down this path, I’d be more than glad to,” she said. “I don’t want anyone to feel they’re going down the path by their selves.”
If you are interested in meeting to talk about starting a cancer support group, which would be open to both genders, feel free to contact Tia Rice at tiaerice@abtech.edu.