HOUSTON – At 32, Jane Thomas was planning on becoming a nurse. Self-sufficient since graduating high school, she knew her parents – a former city worker who now has Parkinson’s and a secretary – would not be able to cover the costs of college. So she went to work — in sales, a dental practice and even cleaned offices. Her interest in health care finally led her to training and a job as a Certified Nursing Assistant. And, after confirming that she did indeed enjoy caring for others, she was ready to start taking classes. Making less than $10 per hour meant that might be difficult, but, as mentioned earlier, Jane is self-sufficient.
Only she was also very tired. While home visits with her elderly clients — reminding them to take their medicines, helping with meal preparation, bathing, and doing errands if needed – was certainly taxing, Jane knew she shouldn’t be so fatigued. Sicknesses kept plaguing her and doctors couldn’t identify what the source of the problem was.
Then she felt the lump.
Since Jane lost her grandmother to breast cancer when her grandmother was only 45 years old, she sensed that she too would soon be hearing the word “cancer”. But first the uninsured Alvin native had to find a place that would provide the screening.
She found The Rose.
There, the feared diagnosis was confirmed and soon The Rose’s Patient Navigators had not only identified that she could be covered by Medicaid but they had also assisted with the paperwork and connected her with the treatment option she needed at MD Anderson.
Jane continued to work through most of her chemotherapy but eventually she wound up in the hospital for a week and had to leave her job for a short while. After concluding radiation in November 2013, she started looking at returning to a company she’d worked with a couple of years earlier. In February of this year, she was once again working as a home health CNA and once again looking at Alvin Community College’s Nursing Program.
Throughout the cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery, Jane’s boyfriend JJ Rodriguez has been by her side. He even shaved his head in support of Jane and donated his hair to Locks of Love in her honor.
Jane says that while it hasn’t been easy and there have been hard times, as a couple they focus on finding fun things to do — movies, the zoo, car shows. Last year they attended the Bikers Against Breast Cancer ride in support of The Rose. This year, Jane will be one of the six women of The Rose highlighted at the 6th Annual Bikers Against Breast Cancer event, May 10th, beginning at San Jacinto Harley-Davidson. With the monies collected at the BABC this year going to Young Women’s Services for those women under 40 who are often not covered by other sponsorship programs, Jane was ready to share her story and help ensure The Rose will be there for any other “Janes” that find themselves in need.
Accompanying Jane’s self-sufficiency, is a pragmatic nature. She doesn’t bemoan her fate – a family history of breast cancer that has touched several aunts as well as her grandmother – and she doesn’t complain. She simply works hard and finds a way. But with a little encouragement, she can allow herself a dream or two.
“At 40, I would like be a nurse, have a house, and I’ve always wanted an old Chevy truck like those in the 1970s,” she acknowledged in a brief after-work interview on a Friday afternoon. “And I’d like to travel. I’ve always wanted to go to Maine or New Hampshire or Vermont. I love the fall and it would be fun to see the fall colors and some snow.”
For someone as self-sufficient as Jane, that’s certainly do-able.
Bikers Against Breast Cancer launched in theHoustonarea in 2009. The committee consists of volunteers, assisted by The Rose staff. In its five-year history, BABC has raised a total of more than $250,000 to benefit The Rose.
The 6th Annual Bikers Against Breast Cancer on May 10 at San Jacinto Harley Davidson (3636 E. Sam Houston Parkway South, Pasadena, TX 77505) will highlight the stories of six women who make up a part of The Rose community and will focus on raising funds for Young Women’s Services. According the Dorothy Gibbons, the CEO and Co-Founder of The Rose, young women represent the most underserved population. With just under 7% of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years old, most state and national funding focuses on women above the 40 year mark. The Rose has maintained a commitment to serving all women – regardless of age and ability to pay – since 1986.
For more information on the 6th Annual Bikers Against Breast Cancer including options to fundraise, sponsor the event, and/or provide auction items, go towww.TheRose.org/events or email [email protected].
PHOTO: The Rose Co-Founders Dorothy Gibbons, CEO, and Dr. Dixie Melillo are joined by Jane Thomas, 32, an Alvin resident who, with the help of The Rose, found her breast cancer in October 2012. As a Certified Nursing Assistant working for a small company, Jane was without insurance. But she knew the impact of the disease as she lost her grandmother to breast cancer when her grandmother was only 45 years old. Jane was undergoing treatment during last year’s BABC and will be facing reconstruction surgery this year. Pictured also is Jane’s boyfriend JJ Rodriguez who shaved his head in support of Jane and donated his hair to Locks of Love in her honor.
