Ballywho News

By Sharon Wernlund

PORT ST. LUCIE—In her 23 years at the St. Lucie Medical Center, Sonya Schlesselman has performed over 70,000 mammograms on women and men in hopes of saving lives through the early detection and treatment of breast cancer.

The Supervisor of Mammography at the St. Lucie Medical Center always believed she was safe. Breast self-exams and annual mammograms were an important regimen in her life. There was no family history of breast cancer.

Still, the odds were against her. In 1990, the killer disease set its sights on her. Odder still was her reaction.

“I know it sounds silly but it’s been one of the best things that has ever happened in my life,” says Sonya, 63 of Port St. Lucie.

“I counsel so many women about breast cancer. They have questions, fears and concerns. When they realize I’ve been through it, they know I understand. It’s made me better at what I do.”

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death – after lung cancer – in American women. In 2009, there were 192,370 new cases in the U.S. and 40,170 deaths.

In June, South Florida mourned the loss of Kristin Hoke, WPBF-Channel 25 news anchor, who succumbed to breast cancer at 42 after a courageous and public 5 ½ year battle. Ms. Hoke shared her personal struggle to survive in Emmy-winning video diaries that inspired viewers, family, friends and fellow cancer patients.

Breast cancer was not as cruel to Sonya. The disease announced itself with sharp pains in her left breast. That prompted an impromptu mammogram screening. The tiny tumor on the X-Ray confirmed her biggest fear.

“Mine was small—only six millimeters,” says the bespectacled grandmother of three. “The mammography saved my life. I didn’t feel a lump at all. I didn’t know I had it. The doctors gave me a 95 percent survival rate.”

Sonya underwent a lumpectomy where surgeons remove only the malignant tumor and surrounding tissue. Six weeks of radiation followed at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce. Though exhausted and weak, she dutifully reported to work every day.

Initially, the diagnosis was devastating and plunged her into a “pity party” with plenty of tears and pleas of why me? But while the radiation was healing her body, a sense of empowerment was curing her troubled mind.

“I decided I wasn’t going to live my life this way,” says Sonya. “I believe that God uses us to help others through our experiences. I made up my mind to make this into a blessing rather than a curse.”

Not everybody knows about her bout with breast cancer. Sonya shares her story when she can personally attest to the importance of a mammogram, dispel a myth or help someone overcome the fear of their first exam.

“I had a lady who died because she was terrified of having a mammogram,” Sonya said. “Finally, she had a lump and it was a big lump. So she came in and I did the exam and she said, ‘that’s it? I put this off all this time and it didn’t even hurt?’ But it was stage 4 and too late. She died.”

Fortunately, the rewards of her job outweigh the bad.

“I’ll hear somebody say I can’t believe you do what you do all day long,” Sonya says. “That always bothers me. Not everybody can say they come to work every day and save lives.”

Sonya speaks before women’s groups to advocate mammograms as the best tool for breast cancer detection. The American Cancer Society recommends women 40 years and older to have an annual mammogram and clinical breast exam. Senior citizens are no exception.

She is an instructor for breast self-exams.

She’s been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery that helps newly diagnosed breast cancer patients cope with education and peer group support.

Six months ago, Sonya led her hospital’s renovation of the waiting room for mammogram patients from choosing paint colors to artwork, silk plants and the waterfall fountain. Aesthetics wasn’t her main goal.

“I wanted the atmosphere to be relaxing like a spa –not a hospital.”

Her sense of humor is also represented by her own hand. On one of the walls is the framed caricature of a cow with a puzzled look that asks, “What is a Mamm-Moo-Gram?”

Recently, she joined Pink Tie Friends, a non-profit charity of cancer patients, survivors and supporters. Since 2005, the organization has raised awareness as well as financial assistance for breast cancer treatment for women and men in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.

Cancer free for 19 years, Sonya is busy living life and realizing her dreams now instead of waiting for retirement. Travel abroad is just one example. So far, she’s made a dozen trips to Europe, including London, Paris, Scotland and Amsterdam.

She’s 50 pounds lighter, eats healthy and regularly exercises. Sewing, stained glass and arts and crafts are favorite past-times. Time spent with family is especially precious. The mother of two has been married 45 years to Henry Schlesselman, a retired Port St. Lucie police chief.

“I had my last radiation treatment in January, 1991 at Lawnwood,” says Sonya. “My grand-daughter, Taylor, was born the same day in the same hospital. It marked the end of something and the beginning of something else. That was special to me.”

For more information about breast cancer, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or visit the website at www.cancer.org.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sharon Wernlund is a former staff writer for The Palm Beach Post and is now a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Stuart, FL (wernlunds@aol.com. Her younger sister, Shari, is a breast cancer survivor.

4^th ANNUAL PINK TIE FRIENDS LUNCHEON

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, August 21^st

WHERE: Port St. Lucie Civic Center, 9221 SE Civic Center, Port St. Lucie, FL

TICKETS: $35 each or $350 for a reserved table of 10.

HIGHLIGHTS: Elvis impersonator, buffet, silent auction, raffle & door prizes.

CHARITY: Provides financial help to uninsured & underinsured individuals diagnosed with breast cancer

For tickets and information, contact Vivien Coniglio at (772) 344-1365