Brighton Librarian Advocates Awareness After Surviving Breast Cancer

It's been 14 years since Mary Johnson was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer.

The Howell resident found the lump herself. She said early detection is key because while she was having yearly mammograms, it hadn't shown up on the last test.

"For some reason I just checked then -- I didn't do it every month -- and for some reason, something made me check when I did and I found the lump," Johnson said. "My daughter-in-law is a doctor and she knew right away what it was so I went to the doctor."

Johnson's daughter-in-law's suspicions were right and Johnson received a call at home with her diagnosis.

"You go through a lot of 'why me' sort of thoughts when you get that diagnosis," she said. "I was the first in the family, there have been other people since, but I was the first in our family so it was kind of a surprise. My mother didn't have it, my aunt didn't have it, I have no sisters. My cousin has been diagnosed. It was a huge surprise for all of us."

After that life-altering call, Johnson underwent surgery to remove the lump. Thankfully, it had not spread to her lymphnodes. She then had 42 radiation treatments at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti every Monday through Friday for seven weeks.

During those weeks, Johnson's daughter, her son and his wife all rallied around her. All three also happen to have red hair.

"I told people I had a red-headed support group," she said. "And since then, with my cousin and such, she and I have become our own support group."

Johnson and her cousin are now both cancer-free.

Advocating awareness

Johnson has participated in Relay for Life for the last 12 years and is now the team captain of the "Country Cousins," a team made of about 40 family members and friends.

"We call ourselves that because almost everyone on the team is a cousin on either my mom's side or my dad's side," Johnson said. "There's actually like six families."

Johnson's 11-year-old grandson has walked in 10 Relay for Life events - one each year since he was 1 year old.

In addition to Relay for Life, Johnson has also walked in the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event for about eight years now.

"I believe in their (the American Cancer Society's) mission of raising awareness and money for cancer research," Johnson said. "They found a lot of new drugs just in the years we've been endowed have saved many lives and they continue to do that. And they fund Nobel Prize winners and they do a lot of work in research. They're also one of the charities that doesn't take much for themselves. Their percentages are one of the lowest in the country. They're in the top five charities in the country for being fiscally responsible."

Johnson said she likes the togetherness in participating in Relay and Strides.

"Everybody knows everybody," she said.

Johnson's advice: ask questions

As an Adult Services and Outreach Librarian for the for more than a decade, Johnson sees patrons coming into the library who just got a diagnosis from their doctor.

"They come to the library to look it up and you should be asking your doctor these questions and getting information from the American Cancer Society," Johnson said. "If they have questions, they don't need to be asking their best friend or their neighbor, they should check with their doctor and valid sources of information and get an idea of all the treatments. There's all kinds of options and choices they can make.

Johnson also advises people to trust in God and their own intuition.