Joy Neely sits, smiling, in a cozy corner of Panera Bread. Her brilliant blue eyes reflect the soft gray light flooding into the window from the clouds. Her skin is warm, and her hair styled in a perky pixie. It’s hard to believe Neely just finished her radiation treatments just four months ago.
“I’m a better person because of it,” Neely said of her battle with breast cancer. “An event like that deepens you. You are truly more aware about the gift of every day.”
Neely has been selected as the 2014 Plant City Relay for Life Honorary Survivor. She spoke at the Kickoff Party Monday, Sept. 30.
“She is a real spitfire, and I believe God is using her in a big way,” coordinator Linda Herman said.
This year’s theme Relay theme is “Curing Cancer is Music to our Ears.” Teams in attendance were able to pick which musical would represent their team.
Neely emits a certain sense of serenity about her battle. It’s a trait she says she has carried through her diagnosis and treatment.
“I have a strong faith,” Neely said. “I don’t know how to describe it. When I found out from the doctor, there was such a great sense of peace.”
When Neely first discovered the lump in 2012, she was lying in bed. Pain radiated from the spot. But, she figured it was just hormones. Six months before, she had had a mammogram — and it was clear.
But, when the lump and pain didn’t go away, she visited the doctor for testing.
A week passed. Then, she got a call from her doctor that changed her life. Neely was working as a teller at Platinum Bank, in Plant City.
“Her last words were, ‘Yes, the tumor is malignant,’” Neely said. “I thought, ‘Well it’s no big deal. I just had a mammogram six months before, and it was clean. We’ll just get rid of this.’ Little did I know what I was in for.”
The cancer also had spread to Neely’s lymph nodes.
“It was a barrage of information from there on out,” Neely said. “Mammograms, MRIs; it became kind of a blur. There were so many tests to be done.”
With all the testing, doctors found something else unexpected. Her uterus was showing signs of being potentially affected by cancer.
Neely’s chemotherapy treatments were interrupted for a hysterectomy. The doctors’ suspicions were correct. Cancerous cells were starting to form in her pelvis.
After her chemotherapy treatments were finished, she endured a surgery to remove the tumor. Then, she had 35 rounds of radiation.
The doctor giving her radiation was battling cancer herself.
“The bonds that you make with fellow patients is a really enriching experience,” Neely says. “It’s ironic. That’s the good that comes out of this situation.”
At work, Neely also bonded with some of her customers battling cancer. She made a chemotherapy kit for one of them, complete with bottled water, Gatorade, stamps and an agenda book.
“She came up to me and hugged me,” Neely says. “She said, ‘You’re my angel.’”
Like her customer, Neely also is appreciative of her co-workers.
“They really rallied around me,” Neely says. “I was so touched the outpouring from them and from people I didn’t even know.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.