Westlake family embodies Relay for Life

April 25-- Apr. 25--Susan Fredell was in a Best Buy parking lot on Dec. 1, 2017 when the doctor called her to confirm she had stage 3 breast cancer.

The diagnosis came out of nowhere. At 47, she was active and practiced healthy eating habits and was even considered low risk for cancer. She was so low risk for cancer that she said doctors weren't having her do routine mammograms.

But, Fredell said she knew something was wrong when she started to experience soreness while sleeping on her stomach. It had been a few years since her last mammogram, so she made an appointment.

When the radiology office called her back for the second appointment, she didn't think much of it. She had been called back for second appointments before because the breast tissue for every woman is different and sometimes hard to read. But, when she went back for that second appointment, they performed an ultrasound and asked her to come back the next day for a biopsy. Her last doctor's appointment was Nov. 27. Days later she was diagnosed. Three weeks later she began her first round of chemotherapy before undergoing surgery in 2018.

Even while going through chemotherapy treatments, the aftermath and side effects following treatments and surgery to remove the two tumors in her breast, Fredell said the hardest part was telling her four children. Her husband Thomas said he had an idea it could possibly be cancer after she was asked to go back for multiple appointments, but the kids were stunned.

"When the doctor called me, he asked if I had any questions, and I asked, 'How do I tell my kids?'" Fredell said. "And I don't think they had an answer for that, but I was befuddled."

Fredell said she and Thomas waited a little while before they told their children. When they finally did tell them, their oldest daughter Tori, now a junior at Westlake High School, said it was hard to hear. She said that exact conversation has continued to fuel her involvement in Relay for Life, a fundraiser dedicated to helping communities fight cancer.

The family is no stranger to the Relay for Life event. Tori's third grade teacher in Massachusetts, a breast cancer survivor, headed a local Relay in Natick and encouraged her students to participate. That is when the Fredell family said they became involved. Not long after, the mother of one of Tori's friends was also diagnosed with cancer, motivating the Fredell family to continue participating.

When the family moved to Westlake five years ago, their friend and neighbor Diane Anderson was reviving the event, and from there the family has taken part in the Westlake event together. This year Tori and her sister Annika, a freshman at Westlake High School, have taken on roles as event ambassadors. Their primary role is to spread the word about the event.

"Once I was involved in it, I didn't want to stop being involved because it was so important to me at that point," Tori said. "Even before my mom got breast cancer, I wanted to remain apart of it and take a bigger role in it."

She said seeing friends and others go through a hard time when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer can be hard to watch, but until it happens to you it can be hard to understand how big the issue is.

"My mother is an incredibly healthy woman, and it's like she got cancer out of nowhere," Tori said. "(Cancer) is something that can happen to anyone, and that is why this is something we need to proactively put research and money towards. I personally do (Relay for Life) for the kids in the future who will have to hear from their parent they have cancer because I personally know how difficult that is to hear."

Fredell has been cancer free since July 2018. She will join the several other survivors and their caregivers in a kickoff lap at the Westlake Relay for Life May 4.

For Susan, while her family has participated in the Relay for Life event for several years, the motivation now is personal.

While going through her treatment she said she tried to concentrate on how blessed she was to have the support of her family, husband and neighbors. She said when she needed help making dinner or getting a ride to a treatment, she had the support she needed.

"I really tried to maintain a great attitude because there are so many people who don't have things like that," Fredell said. "So, the onus becomes how do we do what we can to make sure everyone can have that attitude in their treatment because it's a blessing. If other people can be in a position where they have to worry about that stuff then they can concentrate on getting better, and that is what the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life (fund)."

Relay for Life helps fund breakthrough cancer research as well as programs to give cancer patients and their families the resources they need, including free rides to chemotherapy, free lodging near hospitals and a live 24/7 helpline for answers and support.

Anderson said there are at least 200 people signed up to participate, but there is room for more. The event at the Westlake High School track, 4100 Westbank Drive, is open to the public. Registration is available at www.relayforlife.org/westlaketx.

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