Early Detection Saves Lives: Elouise Gray Tells Her Story

Elouise is a cancer survivor. Her story began with breast self-examination. “I examined my breasts every day while in the shower, and this time I felt something different,” Elouise says. She called Laurel Family Clinic and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Jack Evans. Dr. Evans examined her and sent her to South Central for a mammogram, which confirmed that she had a lump in her breast. She was referred to Dr. Kevin Ivey at Laurel Surgery Clinic who talked with her about her condition and scheduled her for surgery.

“Dr. Ivey told me before surgery that if it wasn’t cancer, then I would go home, but that if he found cancer, he would need to remove it and they would need to keep me in the hospital overnight,” she recalls. “I woke up from my surgery and I quickly realized I was in the hospital. My husband, Early, was sitting next to me, and I asked him if it was cancer. He said, ‘Yes.’” Dr. Ivey had performed a lumpectomy—the surgical removal of a tumor without removing much of the surrounding tissue or lymph nodes.

Elouise says that the next morning Lillian Bynum came to her room and told her about the cancer support group at the hospital. “She told me that she was a breast cancer survivor, and she gave me some books to read. She invited me to the cancer support group meeting.”

Keep Everything Going, No Matter What
Elouise recalled her first day of chemotherapy at Jefferson Medical Associates. She remembers it well because something out of the ordinary occurred that day. “While I was in the back having my treatment, my husband was in the waiting room. He began to feel bad, and before he knew it, he was in the Emergency Room at South Central. He had suffered a light heart attack. But they took good care of him at the hospital,” she says.

At the time Elouise was first recovering from her cancer surgery and her husband was recovering from his heart trouble, the Grays had five grandchildren living with them—ages 14, 13, 11, 7, and 6. For some families, this could have been a real problem. But not for her family, Mrs. Gray says. “They really helped out while we were sick. They cooked, changed the linen, washed clothes, and kept everything going,” she says. “Keep everything going, no matter what,” could well be the Gray family motto.

The months that followed included chemotherapy treatments, radiation treatments, and visits to the South Central cancer support group meetings. She says that she didn’t lose all of her hair during treatment. “I just had to wear a hairpiece, that is all that I needed,” she says.

Support from Others Made the Difference
She has special memories from the time she spent at the cancer support group meetings. “You know, when you sit and listen to the stories of other women at these meetings, it encourages you, and it lets you know that you’re not in this alone,” she says. The meetings were uplifting, and she specifically enjoyed the Look Good, Feel Better program. “They gave us all makeup and we all fixed our faces,” Elouise says with a slight chuckle in her voice. “The women in the group became close, and we developed friendships that I will cherish for a lifetime.”

After eight chemotherapy treatments and 35 radiation treatments, she was quick to return to a normal lifestyle. She and her husband spend a lot of time with their grandchildren. “Early retired from the oil industry when he was 55 and started driving a school bus for the Jones County School System. He retired from that job when he was 67,” she says. Today, he drives an ice cream truck—they call it a “Bootsy Wagon.” Elouise does volunteer work and often can be found cooking, something she loves to do.

Two years after her surgery, Elouise took part in the Deep South Cancer Control Network sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi. “The participants were cancer survivors. The course helped teach me about my condition and taught me the importance of early detection,” she says.

Elouise and other cancer survivors in her community have spoken at several churches to spread the word about the importance of early detection.

“I think about how things might be different if I hadn’t found that lump early,” she says. “I believe that God wanted me to stay here to look after my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” She and Early have four children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren and they recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. Her granddaughter, Veronica, the 14-year-old who helped care for the Grays eight years ago, is back living with them once more. “Being a grandmother is great—I love every minute of it,” she says.

“Early detection saves lives,” Elouise says. She encourages women to get regular checkups with their doctor. South Central offers screening and diagnostic mammograms. Call the Women’s Life Center, where a registered nurse is available to assist you with your breast health questions. Call toll free 1-800-232-5239.

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