Family matters
Sulphur Rock sisters support one another through breast-cancer struggles
Donna Crabtree, 75, and Brenda Horn, 73, of Sulphur Rock are sisters with the uncommon experience of having breast cancer side by side. In November 2016, Crabtree was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, and the following June, Horn received the same diagnosis. The sisters are no stranger to cancer in the family, however. Of 17 women in their generation, all but one have been diagnosed with some form of cancer. Crabtree and Horn’s mother died of breast cancer when Crabtree was 8 years old and Horn was 6, and their oldest sister died of breast cancer 11 years ago. For Crabtree and Horn, they said it was less about wondering if they would be diagnosed than wondering when they would be diagnosed. “When you’ve got so much cancer in your family, you think, ‘Is this going to be it?’” Crabtree said. Horn said her first thought upon finding out that she, too, had cancer was, “OK, my turn has come. I’m gonna deal with it. … It’s like being on a ball team, just waiting for your turn to bat. We just got lucky that our turns were right next to each other so we got to go up against cancer with each other.” Both sisters have always been adamant about getting regular mammograms and doing self-breast exams, and because of that, they detected the cancer early in both cases. “You know your body better than anyone else, and if something doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to get it checked out,” Horn said. “Do everything you can to take care of yourself,” Crabtree added. Crabtree was the first of the sisters to be diagnosed, and before Horn was diagnosed, it was scary for her to see Crabtree going through breast cancer. “I recommended that she go to Houston,” Horn said, “but it worked out really good; she went to Dr. W. Steve Alexander here at White River Medical Center in Batesville.And about seven months later, when I was diagnosed, I just followed in her footsteps.” It was recommended that Crabtree and Horn take tamoxifen for five years, but both quit taking it when the side effects became too much for them to handle.The sisters opted out of further chemo and chemo-type treatments and only moved forward with the cancer-removal surgery. Seeing how well her older sister fought through the cancer, Horn was able to keep her spirits up while battling her own cancer. Horn told Alexander, “If Donna comes through with flying colors, then I’ve got to as well.” Crabtree and Horn relied heavily on their support groups through their family, their church and their community. “Everybody has been wonderful,” Crabtree said, “and our church has an excellent prayer train.” Every month, the sisters attend support-group meetings at White River Medical Center. With the meetings, sometimes the center provides interactive workshops, such as the Look Good, Feel Good meeting the sisters recently attended, where they received instruction on how to apply makeup and were given various beauty products and prizes. The sisters have not let their cancer get in the way of going about their lives. “I don’t think either one of us has slowed down a bit,” Crabtree said. “It made us realize, you better live every day. We go and do, and work, and whatever,” Horn said. “I think it kind of spurred us on more than anything else.” Together, they host a cooking club and are getting recipes together for a cookbook they will sell, as well as a Bible study at Sulphur Rock Baptist Church, where they are also involved in the outreach program. Crabtree and Horn are members of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Batesville Fire Department and are on the City Council, through which they go out and decorate the parks for holidays and events. “My kitchen looks like a Hobby Lobby with all the pumpkins I have in there,” Horn said. Both agreed that staying busy has helped them manage their cancer, and they try to find ways in which they can help others. Together, they have a goal of helping people in the same way they’ve been helped and living their lives as fruitfully and abundantly as possible. “I’d encourage people, if they get diagnosed — don’t sit down; don’t give up. I think thinking positive is the absolute best thing to do. Time will pass, and life goes on,” Horn said.
You know your body better than anyone else, and if something doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to get it checked out.” BRENDA HORN Sulphur Rock