Her courage gives others hope

Published 4:37 am Tuesday, April 12, 2011

On a sunny spring day in Moody, Diane Moseley took a moment to bask in the sun outside her home. While the day was not quite “picture perfect,” Diane has spent the last 15 years thanking God for the days given to her, after a bout with breast cancer threatened to take them all away.  

Diane’s story began in 1994, when she planned to go in for her yearly checkup and mammogram. Because she had her previous checkup done 50 weeks prior, her insurance company wouldn’t pay for another for two more weeks.

She rescheduled the appointment for two weeks, but didn’t make it in until September 1995, despite what she thought was a fibrous lump in her breast.

“After my mammogram, my doctor told me immediately, ‘I’m concerned,’” Diane said.

Soon after, she was sent to another doctor for a needle biopsy and a sonogram to further diagnose what was going on.

“I could tell by their reactions. You start to be able to read doctors’ faces, and you could tell thee was something more going on.”

Diane was told two days later that the lump in her breast was cancerous.

“I was numb. I remember stopping on the way home and got myself a sandwich. I pulled into the parking lot at Walmart to eat my sandwich, and I just laid my head down on the steering wheel and cried. The reality had set in.

“I had been in denial for a long time. It’s going to sound horrible, but I thought, ‘I’m too good for this. I’m a good person. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I’m taking care of my body.’ But, Christ died a painful death for me, and because of that, I really wasn’t too good for this.”

On October 5, 1995, Diane underwent a radical mastectomy, which was supposed to be followed by a breast reconstruction surgery. However, the surgeon decided it was more important to start chemotherapy than to rebuild at that point.

“My family told me I slept through the worst of it. There were 32 people in the waiting room for me while I was having surgery,” Diane said, with a smile.

Chemotherapy began October 31, 1995 at Bruno Cancer Center in Birmingham. Her body felt the effects of strong chemotherapy, which was administered twice per week, every three weeks.

“I was told there was a new drug on the market, but it hadn’t been approved for breast cancer yet. It would be two years before the FDA approved it,” Diane said. “So, when that was approved, I’d have to start all over again. But, I had my last chemo in January [1996], and it had just been approved then.”

Her insurance company had also approved the medication, which would have cost $24,000 per round otherwise.

“Physically, chemo was the toughest thing I have ever done,” Diane said. “I was weak, I lost my short-term memory. If it came back, I said I would never do it again. But, it took my percentages [likelihood of recurrence] from 75 percent to 5 percent.”

By June 1996, Diane was strong enough to have her breast reconstructive surgery. And since then, she has been cancer free and enjoying every day.

“My faith has a lot to do with my healing. The doctors told me that I really need a good support group. I have two grown children, I have one grandchild, I have my husband, and my sisters rallied around me, but my church family also rallied around me, too. I felt each of their prayers, they brought meals, they sent cards. When things would get the lowest, I would receive a card, a call or a casserole,” she said. “God has been very good to me. He had a purpose through all this.”

Since her battle with cancer, Diane’s family has been involved with the Relay for Life for the past three or four years in Leeds/Moody.

“I’m a big advocate for both Relay for Life and Race for the Cure. To see everyone from little kids to old people who have survived, and how they cheer each other on, it’s amazing.

For the last 15 years, Diane has also received calls from as far as Georgia to her own backyard from people who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and have nowhere else to turn.

“They ask me what to expect, and I’ve prayed with them all and helped to step them through it,” she said. “I think the biggest thing for people [diagnosed with cancer] to see is that I’m healthy, I’m happy and I’m active, and it gives them hope.”  

The Leeds/Moody Relay for Life is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. April 15 at Moody High School.