Happy 6th Birthday Katrina Myricks

Myricks

By Othor Cain,

Editor,

Myricks
Myricks

A thriver in education, Katrina Myricks is a business professor at Holmes Community College. A thriver in community service, Myricks is a former chapter president of the Madison County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and the National Coalition of the 100 Black Women Central Mississippi Chapter. A thriver in the beauty world, Myricks is a pageant coach and a previous title holder.

Simply put, Myricks thrives!

Today, the married mother of one daughter is a thriver in the fight against breast cancer. “I’m six years in…praise God,” she said during a telephone interview.

With no history of breast cancer in her family and having recently lost two friends to breast cancer, Myricks said the news “took me off my feet.” The old saying, “It happens in three’s” overwhelmed her. She didn’t tell her family – husband and daughter – for nearly a week as she tried to digest the news herself. The lump found in her breast turned out to be triple negative breast cancer. This type of breast cancer primarily affects African-American women and if not treated can be one of the most progressive forms of breast cancer.

Naturally, Myricks was taken aback when she received this news. “I remember walking in the doctor’s office and a screen was up with a film of someone’s breast and I could tell that person had cancer,” she said. “Little did I know that I was ‘that’ person.”

It was the mammogram that caught it. Myricks has been having regular routine mammograms since the age of 40. “I had a mammogram in December of 2012 and they called me in January 2013 to come back to get another test done that confirmed I had breast cancer,” she said. “The news was shocking…so much so that I asked them to ‘say that’ again.”

Her only reaction after that was to fall on her knees and cry out to God. A thriving person of faith, Myricks is a member of New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson. “I know it sounds like a cliche but my faith was a very large part not only in my recovery, but during the process and I realize today that it was indeed a process that I had to go through,” she said. “God chose me.” Her 11-year old daughter at the time also helped her lean on her faith. “I would be less than honest if I said that I never had moments of uncertainty or moments of darkness, but my daughter helped me realize that God was in control,” she said. “Kaitlin put a pink bora around my neck and said, mom, God told me to tell you you’re going to be OK.” That was the end of Myricks’ pity party.

After the surgery, Myricks endured eight rounds of chemotherapy, had eight injections to help improve her immune system, and had 36 rounds of radiation. Myricks is a thriver.

Today she encourages women to listen to their bodies and their doctors. “If you’re going through this, I encourage you to stay connected to your doctors and your faith,” she said. “Don’t turn to the internet or any other self-proclaimed doctors. Get you a support group of people that will lean in with you.”

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*