Jones Co. woman battling breast and brain cancer; still working in community

JONES COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - It’s hard to imagine fighting even one type of cancer.

Now, think about battling two types at the same time.

That’s the reality of one Jones County woman who’s still working to make her community a better place and keeping the faith strong.

Myrick native and mother of two, LeAnn Blythe is the 911 addressing administrator for the Jones County Emergency Operations Center.

In February of 2019, she heard the words nobody ever wants to hear: “You have breast cancer.”

“It’s a gut punch when you hear somebody tell you that you have stage four cancer,” Blythe said. “I mean, it’s kind of out of left field and it totally took me by surprise,” .

Treatment began immediately.

“Within a few days, I had my port, and the next day after my port, I started chemo,” Blythe said. “So, I had 25 rounds of chemo, which is about a seven-month period of getting chemo, and then I had a double mastectomy for my 52nd birthday. That’s what I was granted with.”

Blythe undergoes daily chemo for 14 days at a time, then has seven days off.

“It’s very taxing,” Blythe said. “My fatigue level is through the roof.”

While that treatment continues, she now fights another great battle.

In the fall of last year, she once again heard some daunting words.

“I just got diagnosed in November with brain cancer,” Blythe said. “I have 24 brain tumors.”

She’s had 13 rounds of radiation for her brain cancer.

“They go in and kind of select all 24 tumors and they hit them over a series of 13 treatments,” Blythe said.

While it would be more than understandable to take some downtime, Blythe continues working part-time at the EOC.

“It’s very uplifting to have a reason to get up every day,” Blythe said. “I think when you lose your purpose, it drains you.

“So, in your mind when you’re not so focused on living with cancer, it gives you something to do and it makes you have a little energy to try to get up and do something. make a difference in my county.”

It’s evident just by listening to Blythe for a few moments that she’s a positive person.

That positivity and her deep-rooted faith carry her through some of the darkest days.

“We get so brought down in our daily lives of little stuff, and most of the stuff that we worry about is little stuff,” Blythe said. “There’s greater things out there, and if you just leave them all with God at the foot of the cross, I promise you he’ll eliminate the worry and just give you something to hold onto.

“I’m not living against cancer. I’m living with it.”

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