Mt. Prospect cancer survivor writes about her journey

Breast cancer taught me a powerful lesson: I would no longer just exist; I would start to live.

This is the voice of Mount Prospect resident Beth L. Gainer.

A cancer survivor, she dug deep to express her feelings in an essay included in the new book, "Voices of Breast Cancer: The Healing Companion."

Gainer, a Bronx native, recently traveled to New York City for the launch of the book, which was published by LaChance Publishing.

She learned of the book through a friend who saw a magazine ad seeking contributions.

"I felt like writing," she said.

She learned in January 2001 that she had a malignant tumor in her breast. Her mammograms had missed the 1.7 cm tumor, but she noticed a dimple in her breast so she sought a doctor's advice.

In her four-page essay called "Breaking Barriers," 46-year-old Gainer shares how the diagnosis, and subsequent radiation and chemotherapy gave her a reason to purge other "toxins" in her life.

Saddled with a personal life she describes as out of control, Gainer made the decision to end her unhappy marriage with a husband who refused to find a job.

She also dropped a dead-end job where an overbearing boss made her life miserable by piling loads of overtime work.

Yet somehow, beneath the debris of suffering, I found an inner light, a voice -- one of strength, courage and self-respect -- that changed the trajectory of my life.

Within a year of her last chemotherapy treatment, Gainer had ended her marriage, left a career she described as unhealthy and stopped associating with people who rejected her after hearing of her cancer diagnosis.

In January 2006, a scan revealed something in same breast that had the tumor. She decided to undergo a double mastectomy. While the mass turned out to be scar tissue, she decided to undergo the surgery later that year at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

"I just had a feeling that if I didn't get a double mastectomy, I would probably get a relapse," Gainer said.

Doctors did find precancerous cells, reassuring Gainer that she had made the right decision.

"I cheated death again," she said.

Today, Gainer is enjoying a different life than the one she led before her diagnosis. She loves her job teaching English at Robert Morris College.

She is in the process of adopting a girl from China. Now, she is closer than ever with her family and keeps a busy social life.

And she can now add published author to her list of accomplishments.

I didn't grasp life until I nearly lost it.