KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Each year, Susan G. Komen East Tennessee helps women through a journey that's unimaginable to many. They provide valuable resources, emotionally and financially.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, they've helped even more people.
"Everybody's story is different, everybody reacts differently," said survivor Dee Dee McGhee.
It's been more than a year since her life changed. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last September after she found a lump while putting on her pajamas.
"They're sitting there telling you what's going to happen, what they're going to do," she said. "All W was thinking was, 'Am I going to live a year or two years?'"
After a double mastectomy, McGhee didn't need chemotherapy, but complications came after radiation.
The journey was supposed to be short, but it turned into one that will carry into 2021 and she said turning to Susan G. Komen East Tennessee for help was the best decision she made throughout.
"I expected what you normally get when you call a nonprofit: basic information and, 'Here's what we can do to help you,'" she said. "I got a lot more than that."
She said it's more than just a phone number, especially after they helped her find stability following her diagnosis.
Going through cancer and being self-employed during the pandemic, McGhee depended on them financially.
"I could not have gone through it without them," she said. "I would have probably lost my business. I don't want to become homeless because I got cancer and they help you keep from that."
And they were with her emotionally, there every step of the way.
"It wasn't the cancer, it wasn't the treatments," she said. "It was the suffering and that's where they come in."
Their support made the most difficult times more tolerable, and she said she hopes every breast cancer survivor reaches out to them for help.