Walking Tall
AFT President is committed to helping other breast cancer survivors
 

On Oct. 19, AFT president Sandra Feldman was one of the featured participants at the American Cancer Society’s 10th Annual “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk in New York City’s Central Park. An estimated 113,000 people took part in 19 walks in New York and New Jersey, raising more than $9 million. The New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) was one of the event’s major sponsors.

Now cancer free, Feldman was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2002. She is committed to raising money for research to help eradicate the disease that thousands of women are diagnosed with each year. “When breast cancer strikes, it affects everyone—husbands, children, mothers—not just the patient. And the number of women affected by the disease is growing,” Feldman told New York Teacher.

“Research has made breast cancer much less frightening,” Feldman pointed out. “Diagnosis is much better and new treatments allow more women to beat the disease.”

Betsy Sandberg, a writer for New York Teacher, conducted an in-depth interview with Feldman, which was featured in the Oct. 8, 2003, issue of the NYSUT publication. Here are some excerpts from that interview.

What did you do after you were diagnosed with breast cancer?

I found every book I could and talked to people who have been through breast cancer. I learned everything there was out there to learn. Of course it was wonderful having good doctors and union health benefits. But I was particularly helped by other women who’d gone through breast cancer—women who had gone through what I’d be going through, even the particular regimen of chemotherapy I was about to go onto. These women who, for better and worse, were willing to share their experiences were a tremendous help to me.

What sustained you?

I had all my family behind me and my husband was superb, taking care of me ... and there’s no question about it: I was sustained by staying connected to all the people who are so important to me and by hearing from people on a regular basis who were really great, who told me I could do it. That made me feel optimistic and happy, combined with all the support from my family—you see, the union is my family too.

How did the union family respond?

I heard from members who just wanted to wish me well—people from all over the country who wrote, “You don’t know me, but of course I know who you are. You’ve done so much for us in the union, and we want to let you know we’re all thinking of you.”

I received extraordinarily helpful little gifts and wonderful cards that comforted me. It makes you realize that you’re part of a large group of people and, when that group is pulling for you, it makes a very huge difference.

Also, there are a lot of women in the union who’d been through breast cancer. Many, many of them wrote me about what they’d been through, how they had gotten through it. We’re talking long and detailed letters, telling me “here’s how I felt 15 years ago, 10 years ago, two years ago. And I know you’re going to be fine.” Those letters gave me tremendous hope as well as the expectation of what would happen.

That’s why I’m so willing to talk about this, because there are traumatic things that happen. While it’s important to get advice from the medical professionals, there are all sorts of other things that happen to you that only other women who have been through it can help you with.

What advice would you give your union sisters?

Get in control of it. Talk to people. Besides all the things I’ve already mentioned, another reason why it’s so important to hear from people who’ve been through it is that you get the message you can beat it. You know you’re going to get through it and now you can focus on living your life.

Know that exercise, any exercise, even if it’s only 10 or 15 minutes when you’d normally do an hour—even if it’s just a slow walk around the block—will help your energy level. Know that when you’re going through something life-threatening, being in control can make all the difference.

The union has long advocated for full staffing at hospitals and healthcare facilities. How has your personal health crisis enlarged and enriched your perspective?

I had wonderful doctors. I had a wonderful surgeon. But it was the nurses who sustained me. It was the nurses who I could call any time of the day or night with questions, if there was something I wasn’t sure about. And it was the nurses, after all, who administered the chemotherapy.

For decades, the AFT has been in the forefront fighting for adequate healthcare coverage. What are your thoughts on the healthcare crisis in light of what you’ve been through?

It just breaks my heart to think there are so many people who don’t have access to the medical care they need. It’s criminal in a country as wealthy as this one that—while we’re second to none in medical expertise and technology—we’re way behind in making healthcare and health insurance affordable for working families.

One out of six Americans has no health insurance. We’re approaching almost 50 million people who are uninsured. One-quarter of them are children. This crisis also impacts many things we advocate for—such as better staffing ratios, and better salaries and conditions for health professionals. As a nation, we’re facing serious issues, such as the continuation of Medicare and Medicaid. And of course, we’re fighting for a budget that will adequately fund education.

But that’s who we are as an organization. We are the AFT, and we are going to continue to be in the forefront fighting these issues.

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