Page 91 2024 PAINT THE PAPER PINK Lincoln Daily News Oct/Nov 2024 “I had no blistering, my skin didn't change a bit. Many people said they hated the idea of radiation because of that.” Katie laughed and said, “I put on all my creams and Aquaphor through radiation, sometimes I wondered if the machine was working because my skin wasn’t changing! It wasn't really stressful for me; I was really lucky to be healing so well.” When asked about her last day of radiation, she exclaimed, "Oh, that day was great! I said, ‘You gotta take my picture while I ring this bell! Ring ring ring, I'm free!’ They are the best group of ladies at St. John’s. Sometimes it feels like I still have my nipple even though I don't. Since my boobs are smaller, they don't choke me when I sleep at night,” she laughs, “and I can wear button downs!” Now, Katie only has to worry about yearly mammograms and a breast exam every few months. She feels that with her own athome checks, it's hard to tell what might be a lump or scar tissue, but now that she is on her doctor’s radar, she can relax. “If I could have done anything differently, I would have reported nipple collapse sooner and maybe caught the cancer sooner. But when you’re my age you think these changes are age-related. I wish there would have been a bone marrow test on Ray long, long ago, but no one thought of that.” Ray would pass just under a year later, and while Katie misses him dearly, she carries on with her family and friends. Katie is a force to be reckoned with and has stood the test of time over and over again. There is not anything she cannot overcome, not even breast cancer. [Lovingly written by her granddaughter Devyn Fry]
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