33-year-old caught it early, says she’s going to survive and thrive
Jennifer Becnel Burchett had committed to self-checking for breast cancer since 2012 when her mother in Luling and grandmother in Des Allemands had both been diagnosed with it.
But Burchett said nothing could have prepared her for the discovery of the lump (stage 1 cancer) that changed her life only 10 days before she was to get married. Burchett and her then finance’, Jason, has been living in Kinney, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, for two years and were preparing to start their lives together.
“I found it myself through a self-check,” she said. “It took about a week to get testing done and results.”
Because the cancer isn’t an aggressive form, the two were still able to marry at Ormond Plantation in Destrehan on March 26 and go on their honeymoon to Jamaica.
Soon after their return, the Luling native had a double mastectomy and is still recovering from the surgery at home. She is awaiting test results on whether she will also need chemotherapy.
“The unknown is definitely scary,” she said. “I’m 33 and I want to have a family.”
Burchett’s cancer was driven by hormones, which means she will have to take a hormone blocker for two to three years. Her recovery will take longer because, as a physical therapist, she won’t be able to handle the lifting required for this work. In addition to these stresses, she’s got to wait to determine if chemo is required and, if it is, she will have to postpone breast reconstruction surgery.
Her daily life is stalled.
“I have a good day and I have a bad day,” she said.Her doctor allowed her to return to routine activity, but how much she can do depends on what her body allows.“It means one day cleaning the house and the next day recovering on the couch,” Burchett said. “It’s frustrating for a person used to being on the go. It’s nice to sit and relax a bit, but my mind is not completely relaxed.”
Her lesson in this situation is: “I have to give it to God and let go.”
Burchett expressed gratitude for her husband’s family support at their McKinney home, as well as her own family’s support in Luling.
Although life is more challenging with cancer, she remains grateful that she discovered it early and particularly a type of tumor that doctors maintained could have gone unspotted by mammograms or ultrasound another year or two. Because of her family’s health history, she had been doing the checks since 2012 and adhered to medical advice that she be watchful and readily seek help.
When Burchett found her own cancer, doctors told her she had joined the 25 percent of women nationally who typically discover their own cancer through a self-check.
“This really makes you sit back and say, ‘How lucky am I?’” she said. “I could be two years down the line being pregnant and starting that then.”
Burchett conceded she wasn’t ready for it this early in life.
“I feel fortunate and blessed that I was able to catch it early,” Burchett said. “It could be so much worse.”Even with the possibility of chemo looming near, she said it will likely be on the lighter side and have less side effects. There is still the possibility she won’t need it all.
“I definitely feel I’m a fighter,” she said. “And I know I will beat this.”
Burchett’s family in Luling is pitching in, too.Her father, Jimmy Paul Becnel, is heading a benefit for his daughter on June 3. A $10-a-plate dinner (jambalaya, fried fish, salad and bread) will be sold at the West Bank Bridge Park. Lunches can be picked up or delivered if needed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The brochure promoting the event features a photograph of Jennifer wearing pink boxing gloves and a hat saying, “Fighter.”
Becnel said his daughter has “really grown in her faith, but sometimes it takes something like this to really bring it out. We’re proud of the way she’s standing up to this.”
Becnel added he’s ready to cook for 500 people, but that number could get larger, and everything for the benefit has been donated.
“This is the first time I’m asking for help from the community and everyone is unbelievably cooperative,” he said. “It’s growing everyday. I have a lot of people to be thankful to. The people are phenomenal when somebody is in a bind.”
Overall, Becnel added, “You take the hand you’re dealt and you play it. You’ve got to trust God. We’re doing a benefit and people are going to come out.”
Burchett agreed the community’s generosity is overwhelming, bringing help at a time when they had just bought a house and are dealing with medical costs.
“I’m on the positive side of it,” she said. “I do feel that I’m going to be a survivor and part of the 95 percentile of survivors for 2016. I want to do everything possible so that I don’t have to ever deal with it again.”
For more information or to place a food order, call Becnel at (985) 785-1008(985) 785-1008 or email jimmybecnel@cox.net to place an order by May 23.
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