October is the month of Breast Cancer Awareness. Some of you may know someone personally who has battled this disease. Here at BHS, we have a teacher who is currently fighting Breast Cancer, Mrs. Allison Walters. She was first diagnosed with stage two triple positive, which is similar to having 2 types of cancer at the same time. She was very shocked when she was given the diagnosis, because she was only 35 at the time.  

From the beginning of her fight, her goals were to not let cancer win, to not miss any of her kids’ activities. Throughout her fight, she made the decision to continue teaching. Some of the obstacles she faced during her battle include: sickness from treatment, coming in contact with the flu when she went for her biopsy and contracting MRSA pneumonia- for which she spent a week in an ICU during Christmas of 2023. 

Since she has returned to teaching, she has had lots of support from her family, the BHS community, and also the local community. Some of the ways people have shown support include giving gift cards, cooking meals, and teacher donating days. Advice she would give to someone battling breast cancer is “lean on your support group, always find joy in this experience. Not focus on rushing it to be over, slow down and enjoy, focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.” Although breast cancer is more common in women, it is important to know that men can be affected by the disease as well. Make sure you do the self exam at least once a month, if not more. By continuing to raise awareness, we can help people detect their cancer early as well as help support those currently fighting breast cancer.