Mother of WDAM’s Lexi Hughes shares breast cancer survival story for Pink Up

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - When a loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer, it affects the entire family. WDAM’s own Lexi Hughes’ mother, Bonnie Hughes, was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer when Lexi was just 7 years old.

“It was terrifying,” Bonnie said. “Until that word is associated with you, you really can’t understand it.”

Despite catching it early, the cancer spread to Bonnie’s lymph nodes. After a long year of chemotherapy followed by radiation, the mother of two was finally cancer-free.

“If you take anything at all away from this, it’s be very vigilant in your own healthcare because if you catch this early, it will save your life,” Bonnie said. “Your treatment will be far less invasive than what even I went through. Early detection is key. You spend more time getting a manicure than you would a mammogram.”

If breast cancer runs in your family, you should consider speaking with your doctor about getting tested for the BRCA gene.

“We were immensely relieved and honestly quite surprised when Lexi tested negative because both my sister and I were diagnosed at the same age with the same cancer,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie has been cancer-free since 2004.

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