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closeLaughing for the cure helped her conquer cancer
Local woman walks, laughs and shares her story of cancer survival during Komen Race for the Cure last weekend in Seattle
Nate Hulings
Annette Perry’s family loves to laugh — especially when it’s in the face of cancer.
So when Perry and 20 of her closest friends and family walked in the Komen Race for the Cure in Seattle last Saturday, they laughed and remembered the seven years she has been cancer-free.
Those seven years have been an ebb and flow of emotions for the Perry family but they now realize that despite the initial fear and sadness cancer carried, the only emotions that can keep a family together are joy and happiness.
In fall 2001, Perry found a suspicious lump in her right breast and a month later was told it was cancerous. She was 32 at the time.
“The very moment I found out, the first thought was death,” Perry said.
At the time Perry and her husband were raising three young boys, ranging from 6 years to 16 months old. Her biggest worry was imagining Jackson, Dylan and Luke growing up without a mother.
But that anxiety quickly turned into a resolve to fight the cancer and do it with a smile on her face.
Mastectomy surgery left her right breast misshapen and Perry originally thought she would be permanently disfigured. She then had plastic surgery and the implant appeared square-shaped. While her new look could have been seen with insecurity and fear, the arrival of her new breast was met with humor.
“They called me Square Boob Fun Pants,” Perry said.
This is not to say that seeing their mother go through multiple surgeries with the thought of losing her was easy for the children.
“It was pretty scary and I cried a lot,” said Dylan Perry, who is now 11.
Between the laughs and the tears, Perry took the time to educate her boys on the seriousness of breast cancer and also let them know it was nothing to be ashamed of.
“The kids aren’t scared to talk about it. Because they are aware, they’ll be more involved.”
They also see the pink ribbon worn by survivors and countless others alike as more than a representation of cancer.
“The ribbon for them is about the fight, not the issue,” Perry said.
This year all three boys walked the five kilometers with their mother and a network of friends they’ve met over the years.
“The Race for the Cure is fun,” Jackson Perry, 13, said. “I get to hang out with all of my friends.”
Perry hasn’t kept the fight within the bounds of her household. The 39-year-old mother now spends time speaking to women and men about early prevention and proactive lifestyles.
“You can be doing all the right things but it can still happen to you,” Perry said.
She also sees a chance to use her story to help other cancer patients and families see the result of recovery and a return to a normal lifestyle.
“You can get though it in a positive way,” Perry said. “Just put one foot in front of the other and keep laughing.”
The Perry family also has gone through tough financial times, nearly losing their Puyallup home to foreclosure.
But despite financial struggles stemming from cancer, they still hold the resolve to keep laughing and spreading hope to others who are hungry to hear about a family who has gone through cancer and survived.
“There is a pride of surviving it. I’m proud to be a part of this movement.”