Southern Indiana Living - Sept / Oct 2022

Navigating a Difficult Time
How one survior encourages others at the beginning of their journey
Janet Bunge was not too worried
when she was told to go in for
a biopsy following her yearly
mammogram in March 2021. She
was told the same thing before and it
turned out to be nothing, so she was
confident she would hear the same
diagnosis.
However, this time it was something.
The biopsy confirmed she had
breast cancer. She was quickly scheduled
for a lumpectomy.
“It seemed like one minute I was
diagnosed and the next minute I was
having surgery. I didn’t have a lot of
time to diagnose what was happening,
which was probably good,” she
said.
It was also good that Bunge never
misses her yearly exam since both
parents died of cancer and her sister
is currently battling cancer.
“Cancer is in my family so I always
maintain things. I keep up with
my regular exams,” she said. “I have
always been very aware of cancer, but
you are always surprised when you
get that diagnoses. You don’t believe
it is going to happen to you. I was always
aware that it could, but I honestly
didn’t think that it would.”
But it happened. Now, more
than a year later, Bunge is cancer free.
She still goes for regular blood work
and checkups, but she has finished
her radiation treatment. While physically
free from the disease, she still
thinks about it and wonders if it will
ever come back.
“You always have it in the back
of your mind,” she said. “You don’t
worry about it but you know it’s a
possibility. Everyone is bulletproof
until you get it.”
Bunge uses her experience to
help others. As a peer navigator she
reaches out to women who have been
recently diagnosed and answers their
questions along with calming their
fears.
“My role is to pick their spirits
up, answer their questions and
tell them what happened to me,”
she said. “They need support and to
know they are doing what they need
to do. I enjoy being there for these ladies.
It’s something that has helped
me as well.”
Baptist Health Floyd Breast Cancer
Navigator Jill Crawford, RN, said
the program is important because
breast cancer patients know they are
not alone in their fight.
“Even though they may have
good family support, only breast cancer
survivors know what they are and
will be going through and can support
them in a different way,” Crawford
said. “It is also great for our
survivors to be able to have a sense
of fulfillment and to feel like they are
able to give back.”
Bunge did not have to go
through chemotherapy following
surgery, but did have several rounds
of radiation.
“Radiation was kind of hard on
me,” she said. “Radiation wipes you
out. The first day I realized I felt good
after my radiation treatments, I was
running around the house trying to
find things to do. Before that it was
how many naps do I have to take today.”
She also said she was pleased
with the care she received from her
Story by Chris Morris
Baptist Health Floyd
“My role is to pick up their
spirits up, answer their
questions and tell them
what happened to me. They
need support and to know
they are doing what they
need to do. I enjoy being
there for these ladies. It’s
something that has helped
me as well.”
- Janet Bunge
Breast Cancer Survivor
team, which included Crawford, surgeon
Paddy McCormick, M.D., oncologist
Roseline Okeke, M.D., and
radiologist John Cox, M.D.
“They were great. I couldn’t
have had a better group taking care
of me,” she said. “They are still taking
care of me. You always want the best
and I felt like I had that.”
Bunge also said her husband
and family provided great support
during her recovery and treatments.
Now she always offers the same
advice to women who ask her about
her cancer journey. She starts the conversation
with “get your yearly mammogram.”
“Anyone I talk to I impress that
upon them,” the 73-year-old New Albany
resident said. “My cancer you
could not feel. It showed up on the
mammogram which is why they are
so important.”•
For more information, go to baptisthealthfloyd.com/floyd,
Baptist Health
is located at 1850 State Street, New Albany,
Indiana, 47150
Southern Indiana Living • Sept/Oct 2022 • 25