Being told you have cancer is painful. It scares the heck out of you.
But after reality sets in, you go into fight mode, you have to. Danielle Loevin did exactly that after being diagnosed with cancer not once but five times.
Loevin was first diagnosed as a junior at Coral Gables Senior High. “I was 16, a junior in high school, long brown hair, I was on top of the world,” Loevin said.
The first time around Loevin chose to treat her Hodgkin's lymphoma with radiation, "I didn't want to lose my hair."
For Loevin the hardest part was seeing what her parents and brother went through. "It was hard for them to watch me lose my hair," she said. "I was weak."
The radiation appeared to be working; she went off to college at the University of Florida with a full ride and then this: "At the three-year mark, where I would have been considered in remission, I went in for a checkup and low and behold I was re-diagnosed with Hodgkin's."
Loevin had no option but to have chemotherapy. She stayed on as a student part time and kept a positive attitude.
"I knew I was going to get better. I was confident that I was going to get through this," Loevin said.
For the next 10 years, Loevin was cancer free. She got married to the love of her life,
Loevin says she's lucky she had him by her side because at 29 doctors said she now had stage I breast cancer; cancer that was blamed on the radiation she had during her first diagnosis with Hodgkin's.
“I was just tired, very tired of being sick, tired of hearing you have cancer," Loevin said.
Loevin’s spirit put her in fight mode. "You know, I am young and I have been sick a lot but I am going to be healthy, that's my only choice."
Loevin not only beat breast cancer with a mastectomy and reconstruction, but she also beat it once diagnosed with thyroid and skin cancer at 35 and 38. She credits the help of the American Cancer Society for helping she and her family get through it.
"I am a result of helpful medicine," Loevin said. "If it weren't for that research or the amazing scientist, I don't know if I'd still be here."
Today Loevin is cancer free and is a participant in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life.
“To never hear the words you have cancer, talk about priceless, that would mean the world to so many individuals. And the sooner folks get involved, the better chance we have at hearing the words you’ll never have cancer again.”
Join Loevin Saturday, Mar. 10 at the South Florida Fairgrounds. She and hundreds will be there to let the world know that they will stand up to cancer. Everyone is encouraged to attend; it is a family-friendly event that runs from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Cancer Survivors and caregivers are encouraged to arrive by 2:30 p.m. to sign up for the Survivor Ceremony at 3 p.m. It is followed by a dinner at 4:30 p.m.
