Pink Up: Breast cancer survivor dedicates her life to helping others

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in women.

Sheila Easterlin is a woman who survived breast cancer and now, she’s dedicated her life to helping others.

“Yes, I was diagnosed in 2015 with breast cancer. I’m on stage 3. And but the Lord healed me and brought me through, and I’ve been a survivor now for five years,” said Easterlin.

Easterlin says breast cancer changed her life and brought her closer to God.

“It’s very difficult as a woman to have breast cancer, but I think it’s just made my faith stronger. And it just kind of made it stronger for me to want to help others because after going through the chemo and the surgeries, you have a whole new perspective on life,” says Easterlin.

To help others, she works closely with the Pink Ribbon Fund. The organization helped her when she needed it.

Kaye Ray is the fund’s administrator, and she says they will help anybody with breast cancer.

“We will help pay hospital bills, doctor bills, laboratory bills, radiology, medications, transportation, you name it. If it’s related to breast cancer, we will consider it as a committee,” says Ray.

If you’d like to apply, just go to their website and fill out the pink application.

“We have a grant committee that meets twice a month, and they do all of the applications that we’ve received since the last meeting,” says Ray.

Easterlin works at Merit Health Wesley. Her job allows her to reach out to people with breast cancer, and she wants them to know that they have her support.

“The first thing I always tell them is, ‘You’re not alone.’ If you’re a Christian, you have God obviously first, but second, you have a whole lot of pink sisters out here who are ready to step in and to help you,” says Easterlin.

If you have any questions about the Pink Ribbon Fund, you can contact Ray using (601) 450-7465.