By Corey Poole
The Northwestern Louisiana Cancer Center celebrated National Cancer Survivors Day June 1.
A patient at the Center, Michael Callahan, blessed the food that was provided at the event. He is the pastor at the First Baptist Church on Amulet.
Kaye Dalton, of Campti, spoke to the crowd on her battle with breast cancer. Her diagnosis shocked her as no one else in her family ever had cancer.
“I wasn’t expecting what I got,” she said. “I’d never been sick and I’d never taken medication. It was quite a blow to me.”
However, Dalton said one blessing she received through her experience was coming into contact with the people the disease brought her to. When she was originally looking for a doctor, she researched ones in the Shreveport area, but didn’t want to make the trip over and over again. Wanting to stay local, she started seeing Dr. William Ball Jr., an affiliate of the Center.
“I’m glad I chose to stay in Natchitoches,” she said. “I’m not just a number here. I’m a person. I’m so blessed to have such a beautiful facility here with such dedicated people.”
Mable Roberson moved to Natchitoches from Texas during her battle with breast cancer.
While she didn’t want to make the move, she feels Natchitoches is where God placed her. It was at the Center that she met staff member Kayla Dowden.
“Kayla was such a blessing to me,” said Roberson. “There were many days we laughed, cried and smiled together. She gave me the encouragement I needed to get me through.”
Six years and six months as of June 1, Roberson is a survivor who wants others battling cancer to know that God would never put anything on someone that they couldn’t bear.
“God gives us these challenges so we can then become an encouragement to the next person we come into contact with,” she said.
To that end, 10-year colon cancer survivor Craig Moran will lead support groups at the Center for survivors and people in the midst of their battle, so they can talk and listen to their stories. He plans to bring speakers to the group at future meetings.
The first meeting will be held Monday, June 6 at 5:30 p.m. The second meeting is set for Monday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m. Meetings will then be held on the first Monday of each quarter at 5:30 p.m.
For more information contact the Center at 238-3322 or Moran at 471-2027 or kc5krp@etigers.net.
