Meet Nana Kathy Bray
Please meet Nana Kathy Bray and read about her life, her battle with breast cancer and her grandchildren. I met Kathy on NanaHood’s Facebook page and asked her if I could share her story. There are so many women our age fighting breast cancer that I felt like many of us could relate. Leave her some comment love and encouragement and show her how supportive the NanaHood Community really is!
My name is Kathy Bray and I have 3 children; 1 boy and 2 girls. My son has 3 boys ages 15, 13, and 10 and my youngest daughter has one son who is 3 and one on the way. My oldest daughter is pregnant with her first boy. This will be 6 grandsons. The girls babies are due 2 weeks apart. These babies are such a blessing for me as I have been battling breast cancer since October 2014. Now I will have them to focus on .
I have always kept my grand babies . I have always had a home daycare for the last 26 years but I retired after my cancer diagnosis. The hardest thing about having cancer was not being able to keep my youngest grandson everyday like I had for the first two years of his life. I missed him so bad.
I went through chemo then a mastectomy and finally radiation. I finished treatment at the end of July. My daughter would bring my grandson on Friday nights and they would spend the night. Of course my husband of 39 years loved it too. The older grandsons came over on weekends and would help around the house. I have been blessed with wonderful children and their spouses and of course the best grandsons in the whole wide world.
More pictures of Kathy’s family!
Kathy’s blessed with a loving supportive family and says she has, “The best husband (pawpaw) anyone could ask for.”
Recent Information on Breast Cancer:
From BreastCancer.org
U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics
- About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
- In 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 60,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
- About 2,350 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2015. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
- Breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. began decreasing in the year 2000, after increasing for the previous two decades. They dropped by 7% from 2002 to 2003 alone. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
- About 40,290 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2015 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1989. Women under 50 have experienced larger decreases. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
- For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
From National Cancer Institute an article about the 4 types of Breast Cancer.
Please leave Nana Kathy a comment and some encouragement!
Thank you for linking this inspirational story on my weekend blog hop! So sorry for the battle that Kathy is going through. Sending a prayer her way.
Thanks for commenting!
Kathy, what an awesome reply! Thank you so much!
You are so sweet to comment Linda!
Thank you for commenting, Jeanne!
You are an inspiration to many of us, Kathy! I will keep you and your family in my prayers. Our grandchildren are the BEST medicine we have! Thank you for sharing you story.?
Hi Kathy, thank you for sharing your story with us. I just wanted you to know that I am praying for you and your family, sending positive thought’s your way. I too am a Cancer survivor, although mine was Colon Cancer. Four years Cancer free now and have 4 beautiful grand children. They really do give you the fight and determination you need to get through some of the tough stuff. Sounds like you’ve been blessed with a lovely family and I wish you all the best that life has to offer…..
Hi Kathy- from another Kathy. I am a two time 12 year cancer survivor. It sucks but it did put things in priority for me. I also have babysat my grandkids (I have 4). I developed breast cancer the first time right when my daughter was getting married. Then about 18 months later I developed it in the other breast. Had lumpectomies both times. Radiation, no chemo- bad infection etc. Won’t bore you with the details BUT here I am 12 years later doing fine.MY grandkids played an important part in my life. I wanted to be with them as much as possible and be an influence on them because at first I was SURE I wouldn’t be here for the long haul. Well, 12 years later I am still involved. It is funny because they are really aware of anything about breast cancer. We do our own Race for the Cure with just our family because the Pittsburgh one is too crowded to take the little ones. Please feel free to contact me if you want- krogerson@zoominternet.net. Good thoughts.
As a breast cancer survivor–who had the Top Breast Cancer Blog for several years–did you also know that 25% of American husbands leave their wives after they’re diagnosed with breast cancer? I wrote this post recently to raise awareness about that. http://www.1010parkplace.com/women-dying-alone/ Brenda