With three known faculty members fighting the disease, Friday is a “Pink Out” football game to raise awareness for breast cancer. In addition to the game, student council sold shirts to raise money to support local early detection efforts.
Interventionist and testing coordinator Ashley Race said she discovered a lump in her breast by chance a few months ago.
“I knew it wasn’t normal, so I checked the other side and didn’t feel a lump,” she said. “I decided to go and get it checked, and when my doctor checked, she told me there was definitely something there and sent me to do a mammogram.”
Race first told English teacher and fellow NHS advisor Allison Brayton about her cancer in September.
“Mr. Brayton and I have been friends with Mr. and Mrs. Race for the past 10 years, and we had noticed she was going to multiple doctor appointments at the start of the school year,” Brayton said. “One night, she had Mr. Brayton and I over to her house to tell us what the doctors had found out.”
Race said after the mammogram, the doctor suggested a biopsy, and that is when they confirmed the tumor is cancerous.
“So with my type of cancer, it is very likely to spread and it is very fast growing, so they started with chemo first,” Race said. “I’ll have about six to eight chemo treatments over the next six months, and after that they’ll do surgery to remove whatever is left of the tumor.”
Race’s cancer is in her lymph node, so it is possible doctors will have to remove her lymph node with the tumor.
“There’s a lot of different types of cancers,” Race said. “There’s also a genetic factor that can come into play, which mine is not genetic, which is another reason I never expected to find anything, because I don’t have it in my family.”
Race’s cancer is considered triple negative, which means she has tested negative for all other different types of cancer.
“If you feel like something is off, it doesn’t hurt to go get checked,” Race said. “For example, I had no reason to believe I would have anything. I just found it by chance, so I would even say just doing self exams is a good idea even while you’re young.”
Because Race is 31 years old, she wouldn’t have gotten a mammogram for the next four to five years if she didn’t notice a lump herself.
“Honestly, I think [breast cancer] is becoming more common, which is kind of scary, but I think we’re going to see it a lot more and even in younger girls,” Race said. “They’ve actually changed the age to get mammograms. It used to be 40, but now they’re doing it at 35, so I think doctors are seeing [women] getting cancer earlier.”
Race said that since she has started chemo treatments, she has been more tired and fatigued.
“I’m constantly having phone calls with doctors, scheduling appointments, going to appointments and so it does make my daily life a little more hectic, just because we’re trying to balance so many different things, and we have two small kids so it’s definitely a lot more exhausting,” Race said.
When Race learned the lump was cancerous at a doctor’s appointment, she felt like the news “happened out of nowhere.”
“Your life literally just changes just like that,” she said. “A month ago I was just living my life and all of a sudden I’m getting surgeries and doing all this stuff in such a short amount of time.”
Race said people like principal Paul Weinheimer, district testing coordinator Lori Weinheimer, volleyball and basketball coach Chandler Hail, English teachers Nathaniel and Allison Brayton, and math teacher Patricia Bird have all helped her throughout this process.
“Mrs. Race and I have already talked about certain dates/events that might conflict with her treatment schedule,” Allison Brayton said. “I think she felt a little bad, but I told her not to worry about missing anything. Any date or event she can’t come to, I’ve got! I just want my friend to get better!”
This year, Race and secretary Julie Ripple were recognized at the Pink Out volleyball game for breast cancer awareness. Volleyball coach Allison Tippie said it was a moment to come together as a community.
“[It was] a chance to make our game and our fight more than just about playing a volleyball game,” Tippie said. “We also had some amazing athletes and parents step up in a big way to make signs, gather gifts and flowers to make this night extra special.”
Tippie said their booster club designed and made shirts for the community to purchase.
“There are multiple women [at LHS] who suffer from this disease, and if we have not personally known someone, the chances are these athletes will by the time they are adults,” Tippie said. “It is important to show support and let these survivors and those who have had family or loved ones who suffered from this terrible illness know that they are supported and are not alone.”
Last year, the donations made from the Pink Out shirts helped 10 people get mammograms.
“My first year as StuCo sponsor, maybe that was 2021, we actually raised funds specifically for Mrs. [Patricia] Bird,” student council sponsor Jenn Moore said. “She was going through a lot of treatment at the time. I’m not sure if the general public is aware, but having cancer is not only really scary, but it’s also crazy expensive.”
Birds’ cancer was different this time, spreading into her pectoral muscle. She underwent surgery Oct. 13 to remove what was left of her tumor.
“[Bird] said that as of right now she doesn’t feel any pain,” Race said. “They really didn’t have to remove as much because the chemo shrunk it down so much.”
Moore said student counsel raised about $3,000 selling Pink Out shirts for Bird in 2021, which is the most that has ever been made from the pink shirts.
“Awareness means normalizing the uncomfortable and scary parts of life,” Moore said. “Self-exams are a MUST for every female, and we should talk about that more. Awareness also means scheduling regular mammograms, for ladies of a certain age, even though it can be a bit painful and definitely scary. Awareness mostly means cancer can be caught early, and that is everything.”
Moore said StuCo sells official Pink Out shirts every year meant for the Pink Out football game.
“StuCo found a local program to accept our donation after that first year with Mrs. Bird,” Moore said. “AdventHealth sends a mobile unit out into the community to screen for breast cancer.”
Despite the surprise from her diagnosis, Race and her husband still show up with the same passion for education they have always had.
“Most days have not changed,” assistant principal Ryan Race said. “We are still the same people dealing with a difficult situation.”
