Meet Stacey Perry: Our First HERoine of the Month!

Today, we [HERoines, Inc.] recognize and congratulate Stacey Perry for being selected as our featured HERoine of the month. She is a lovely woman with a passion to help others.  We chose to include her story of strength, perseverance, and survival to further promote breast cancer awareness. All of which, have inspired women to be diligent about their health and breast cancer prevention.Since June 3rd was National Cancer Survivors Day, we decided to follow-up with Stacey and discuss what her life is like now after winning her most courageous battle.  Most importantly, she will be entering the next phase of her journey more than a year later on July 2, 2018. She shared more heartwarming details in her exclusive HERoines’ interview and is our first HERoine of the month. PAMELA

Hello Stacey, you are our first distinguished HERoine of the month. It is truly an honor to speak with you today.  I am sure that your story will touch so many women. In 2017, we had the pleasure to reward you with a makeover and photo-shoot in collaboration with Makeup Artist Chantal Marie.  Tell us a little about how you felt after winning the prize. STACEY I received a direct message on Instagram from a very close family friend I call my sis, Alicia Garrett telling me to follow HERoines’ [HERoines Inc. Instagram] page and she had nominated me to win a free makeover and  photo shoot . The tears started to roll down my face. It was overwhelming; I couldn’t believe my journey had touched so many that they [HERoines Inc.] would want to do something for me in return. The day of the photo shoot I was extremely nervous yet for the first time in fourteen months I felt so beautiful. PAMELA That’s wonderful Stacey; We [HERoines Inc.] have raised money for the American Cancer Society for four years in their efforts to find a cure for breast cancer and thought that we could take our work a step further by launching our contest.  We are pleased that we made you feel special, happy, and beautiful and we are grateful that you accepted your prize.

PAMELA

Tell us what your life is like now. When did you receive your last treatment? What is your current health condition?

STACEY

Now that I’ve completed my one year of treatment, I’ve been adjusting to “life after chemo “. I remembered at one point wanting to receive more chemo treatment just so the joint pain would go away. I had no idea my body was going through withdrawal. I’ve accepted my body and love to show off my scar what once used to be a natural breast. I love spending as much time with my kids, my fiancé and my family. We are currently preparing my son for his senior prom and graduation. I’m having reconstruction revision surgery on July 2nd.

PAMELA

Congratulations! It must make you proud and full of joy to be able to be a part of your son’s preparation for his prom and to be in attendance to witness your son receive his diploma.  I realize your fight wasn’t easy and it took courage to get to where you are today. Although you have beat the odds and will be having [breast reconstruction] surgery soon, which is wonderful news, was there ever a time you faced obstacles that made you feel discouraged?

STACEY

I would say the biggest obstacle I faced was having some of my immediate family, including my own mother walk out of my life when I needed them all the most. I thought how I could continue to fight if I didn’t have their support. After looking at the bigger picture and looking at everyone I still had in my corner I knew I had to pick myself up and continue my fight to live. I knew they all needed me but not as much as I needed them. Because of each and every one of them I crossed the finish line with smile and grace.

PAMELA

What was your initial reaction and how did you prepare to tell your family and close friends?

STACEY

I remember the first day of chemo [chemotherapy] telling my family, “Take your picture now and you can post that picture [on social media], after today I do not want you guys to post me and I do not want any visitors.”  I did the total opposite [because] I used social media as my outlet. I shared my journey with all my followers every step of the way.

PAMELA

Can you tell me how sharing your journey made a positive impact on other women?

STACEY

So many of my followers have shared my posts,  I received so many messages from high school friends I hadn’t seen since high school, people I did not know, [and] my coworkers who all told me because of my story they went and fought to have mammograms. There was one high school friend who [couldn’t get a breast cancer screening because her] doctor told her she was too young and she did not have a family history of breast cancer so she did not need a mammogram. She pulled [searched] me up on Facebook and told [my experiences to] her GYN [Gynecologist] and the same was for my friend but she has breast cancer by the time she [high school friend] left her doctor’s appointment she had her script for her mammogram.

PAMELA

What gave you hope to share your story?

STACEY

If I can assist with keeping any females from falling into the “1 out 8 women” [ According to the National Cancer Society, about 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12.4%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime] it would just bring such joy to me.

PAMELA

Stacey, you are truly an inspiration and everything you have shared has helped.  Throughout your journey you remained positive and made it possible for more women to learn more about treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness, as many of your followers became more aware of their own health and the importance of being proactive in terms of breast care.

PAMELA

If there were one thing you could say to encourage someone who is either battling or has been recently diagnosed with cancer, what would it be?

They say life is not waiting for the storm to pass, it’s learning how to dance in it and it’s ok to FIGHT!Stacey Perry

STACEY

To my pink sisters who were recently diagnosed or currently receiving treatment, it’s ok not to be ok [to feel symptoms of cancer, treatment, and having difficulty accepting it]… It’s ok to cry…To fear but do remember tomorrow will be a better day. You have to keep telling yourself this because eventually tomorrow will be better. They say life is not waiting for the storm to pass, its learning how to dance in it and it’s ok to FIGHT!

PAMELA

Thank you for taking time to share your incredible story with us and we wish the best as you embark on your next phase of your journey.

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. Maya Angelou