Celebrating Cancer Survivorship on Mother’s Day
Every Mother’s Day Jasmine Jordan is reminded of how thankful she is to spend the holiday with her mom, Josephine. When Jasmine was just 12 years old, Josephine (“Jo”) was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. Even though she was just in middle school at the time, she quickly stepped up to care for the most important woman in her life.
“She made sure I was eating and taking my medicines and helped me with whatever I needed,” Jo remembers. “She has a nurturing spirit that comes naturally to her.”
After years of caring for and supporting her mother, Jasmine decided to study to become a nurse. She is now a family nurse practitioner with Sentara Medical Group in Newport News, Va.
“I work in the same building as the Dorothy G. Hoefer Comprehensive Breast Center where my mom was treated,” Jasmine remembers. “When I first came to work here, it was very emotional for me.”
Jasmine uses her role at Sentara to help make sure more women have the same bright future and positive outcome as her mom. “I use my personal experience and share my mom’s story to encourage the women I see to get their mammograms every year,” she says. “I want every woman to be a survivor like my mom.”
In the community, Jasmine uses her talents as a classically-trained pianist to raise money and awareness for breast cancer among the African American women in their community.
“My mom taught me to play the piano starting when I was four,” says Jasmine. “The idea for the concert was that I would play, and I would gather a variety of other artists who would volunteer their time to perform.”
Over the past nine years, the event has featured local choirs, musicians, dancers and poets. Together, they’ve raised thousands of dollars.
On this Mother’s Day, Sentara Healthcare would like to celebrate the cancer survivor mothers in our community and urge all women to get their regularly scheduled cancer screenings. Cancer caught in the early stages has a much greater chance of full remission or recovery. To learn how to get an early detection screening near you, please visit www.sentara.com/cancer and visit the “Screening and Detection” page.