By Ariel Worthy
The Birmingham Times
Eugenia Tartt attended this year’s Brenda’s Brown Bosom Buddies (BBBB) Sistah Strut in honor of her cousin Lucinda Jones, an eight-year breast cancer survivor. Seeing her cousin go through chemotherapy and lose her hair and nails made them closer, said Tartt.
“She came back very strong,” Tartt said. “She’s working. She’s a manager at [a local pharmacy and retail store].
Tartt had been in the U.S. Army for 15 years when Jones was diagnosed. When she came home in 2010, she didn’t recognize her cousin.
“It was a big eye-opener for me,” she said. “I decided I needed to get checked and do my research on [breast cancer].”
Tartt has fibrocystic breasts, meaning breast tissue feels lumpy or is rope-like in texture, so she has knots on her breasts—and she knows the importance of the breast cancer awareness sisterhood.
“It’s good to have someone to talk to,” she said. “You might know something that I don’t know. You might have a remedy or something that I need.”
All black women need to be part of something like BBBB and the Sistah Strut, Tartt said.
“You hear such great stories,” she said. “Growing up, we never talked about these things. We need to get checked.”
Because she has fibrocystic breasts, Tartt is aware of the importance of checkups.
“The exams hurt so bad, and it makes me not want to go through it,” she said. “But I have to for my health.”
Click here to read more Breast Cancer stories: Survivorship; Yogia Dada; Coach Carol; Janet Ware; Tamika Lewis.
