It’s a God Thing
Grace Phillips
The Ashland Beacon
Looking back at her experience with breast cancer, Cathy Collins says she can only think of one thing to sum it up….” it’s a God thing.” Collins journey began in 2006. She was a mom, grandmother, wife, and daughter. She had begun painting as a hobby, was raising a granddaughter who was a toddler at the time and singing with the Gospel Tide. It was a very busy yet rewarding life that was about to take a turn no one saw coming.
Collins had always been very adamant about getting her yearly mammogram and this year was no different. She received a call soon after from her doctor’s office that something suspicious had been found. The plan of action was to wait for 6 months and do a repeat.
It was difficult waiting for the six months to pass but at the same time Collins was sure it was nothing. The day finally came, and Collins went to have the second mammogram…. this is where the “God thing” started. When the mammogram was done, she discovered they had checked the WRONG breast. It may have been a mistake; however, it was a mistake that possibly saved her life. There it was on the films, a small mass that had not been there 6 months earlier.
“I received a phone call and was told I would need a biopsy which was scheduled and done rather quickly. They said it would take about 10 days to get the results back.” recalled Collins. By this time, it was early September 2006.
The National Quartet Convention was held in Louisville, KY during the third week of September each year. The Gospel Tide had a booth space as a part of the convention to promote their ministry. They also sang during a promoter’s showcase that allowed radio and concert promoters to meet groups as well as hear them perform live. Collins traveled with the other group members, Larry, and Ellen Keaton, to Louisville for the week.
“I knew I was going to have to call the doctor during the week for my results. The National Quartet Convention was always a crazy, fun, and busy week.” Collins went on to add, “It was Wednesday, and we needed a few things from Walmart. I sat down on the bench outside the door and Ellen went into Walmart to shop. I remember thinking…I need to make this call, but I really don’t want to…but I’m sure everything is OK. I called the office and the nurse said they had been trying to reach me with the biopsy results….it was malignant. It was like everything was a blur for a while…. almost like I was watching what was happening. All at once I felt as if everything just drained out of me. I just thought I have to tell someone and went in to find Ellen.”
Ellen Keaton shared that this is one of the times she will never forget. “Cathy walked down the aisle where I was, and she didn’t have to say a word. There was this blank look on her face, she was trying to tell me but just couldn’t get the words out. This was a lady that was as close to me as my own sister. We traveled and sang nearly every weekend together for almost ten years. I had no idea how to help her at this point. I just remember trying really hard not to cry. I knew if I started, we would both cry. I do remember asking her if she wanted me to take her home.”
Surprisingly she said, “no.” Collins noted that, “This was very strange for me. I almost couldn’t believe I said it. The doctor wanted me to come in right away for the surgery, but I just felt like there was something there for me and if I went home, I would miss out on it.”
That night at the convention center, Collins shared her diagnosis with a few very close friends and each one prayed with her. The group was scheduled to sing the next morning at a promoter’s showcase. Doug Collins, Cathy’s husband arrived later that night to be with her.
The next morning the group sang at the Patterson Promotions showcase. After they had finished singing, Pauline Patterson told the group that was gathered there about the news Cathy had received. She asked everyone to gather around and have prayer ….and that is exactly what they did.
Collins recalls, “I was blown away by the outpouring of love I felt. Not only at the showcase but somehow word had made it to several other groups there that we had sung with, and they were stopping by our booth to ask if they could pray for me also. I can’t explain it. I should have been in a panic but there was just such peace all around me.”
Once back home a lumpectomy was done, and the results showed an aggressive ductile carcinoma. “This was not a hormone related cancer, so medication was not an open. I could have taken chemo or radiation. But doing both there was a greater percentage that it would not return. So, I opted for both” Collins shared. She had eight weeks of chemo followed by 32 radiation treatments.
It has now been 17 years since that day in Louisville when Collins heard the word “malignant”. Her granddaughter is now grown with a toddler of her own. She has become an amazing artist and has sold several paintings. She says she looks at things very different since then. “I think everyone should enjoy life every day. You never know when your life will end. I think of God in everything. It was so funny the first time I was going to get on a plane. I was really nervous and then I realized that if God can get me through cancer, then he can keep me safe on this plane.” Cathy urges everyone to have their yearly mammogram. Who knows…. you may have “a God thing” in your life also.