Glenpool Woman Battles Breast Cancer with Family Support

It's estimated at least three thousand Oklahomans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.    

The earlier it's detected, the better chance of survival.   

The diagnosis can be overwhelming for patients and the family, and for most, it comes completely out of the blue. 

Danielle Spann makes sure to spend quality time with her family. She's the mother to 4 very active kids so when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, it turned her world upside down.

"It was all just scary. I hardly remember a lot of it because they said a lot... surgery was thrown out, there was probably chemo, possibly radiation and in my head, thinking it's cancer... you just cut the little thing out" Spann said. 

At the age of (36)Danielle didn't think it could happen to her. Surgery was the first line of defense... she went in for a double mastectomy.

"I woke up from my mastectomy and learned it actually had spread up my chest wall which they didn't know about and it was in my lymph nodes which they had done tests before and didn't think it was so that meant I was gonna get to go through the whole treatment."

The whole treatment included chemo which she just finished last year.

"I'm used to being that glue that just holds everything together and being down and sick on chemo, a lot of help is always offered and it was one of the hardest things for me to accept that help and to realize I really needed that help."

Then came radiation. Her family helped every step of the way especially her 14 year old daughter Lexi.

"I cleaned the house a lot and made food for the boys. I didn't really do much... probably babysit Gage a lot" Lexi said.

As a family, Danielle says they relied on their faith to see them through. She says her kids would often remind her that God's got this! 

"I think just seeing that it really reaffirmed my faith on some of the hardest days. Just throughout it remembering they're looking up to me, they're watching to see how I'm taking all of this, and I want to keep their faith strong too." 

Many survivors like Danielle will be out for this year’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Saturday, September 28th at River Spirit Casino. Form your own team or join LeAnne’s Team. Click here for details on joining LeAnne Taylor's team.