• HOME
  • BEST OF PARTY PHOTOS
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
        • Articles
    • Around Town
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Dwellings
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
    • Sports & Fitness
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • DIRECTORIES
    • Attorney Directory
    • 2025 Charleston Wedding Venues
    • Pool Builders/Services Directory
    • Financial Planners
    • Mount Pleasant Area Hotel Directory
    • East Cooper Worship Guide
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Senior Living Directory
    • 2023 Local CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine is the premier lifestyle magazine for Mount Pleasant, SC. Read about local news, events, businesses, people, and more. Subscribe today or read our digital magazine online.

  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • 2025 Best of Mount Pleasant Including Previous Years
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Winner Articles
    • Best Of Party Photos
  • Podcasts
    • Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Carolina Real Estate Podcast
    • Georgetown the Podcast
    • Coastal Home Podcast Video Tour
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Hammock Coast Podcast
    • More Podcasts
      • Charleston Women Podcast
      • Isle of Palms Podcast
      • Charleston Pet Podcast
      • Charleston Wedding Podcast
  • Top Ten Homes Sold
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • About Our Team
  • MORE
    • Real Estate Experts
    • MP Town Hall
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Contact

The Battle Against Breast Cancer: Four Uplifting Stories

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

The Battle Against Breast Cancer: Four Uplifting Stories photo montage
It’s been described in medical texts dating back thousands of years. Doctors have been experimenting with surgical incisions to destroy it since the first century, yet even today, with all of the advances of modern medicine, four little words, “you have breast cancer,” are still a dreaded reality for many around the world. Luckily, medical advances, widespread awareness, early detection and myriad of treatment options have helped more people overcome and survive this illness. Meet four Lowcountry women who have heard those four words and recently shared their stories. What you learn from their experiences may save your life.

Jennifer Hill Attisano

Jennifer Hill Attisano, breast cancer survivor
Her battle isn’t over, but Jennifer Hill Attisano is proudly surviving metastatic breast cancer.

Jennifer Hill Attisano is quick to clarify that she doesn’t consider herself a breast cancer survivor, but more so surviving. “I have beaten all the odds for advanced stage four metastatic cancer, but even when my tumors are gone, I’ll still be battling,” she said.

Attisano was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in October 2017, after a pea-sized tumor was discovered during an annual gynecological appointment. “I had done everything right, but nobody told me I had dense breasts. If you do, you need additional screening,” she cautioned. “Because I have dense breasts, my mammogram showed nothing, but an ultrasound would have. Every woman needs to ask.” Doctors believe she had the cancer for three or four years before it was detected.

At the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, more testing revealed that Attisano had 18 to 20 tumors in her liver, and her cancer showed to be estrogen receptor positive. “It’s 100% hormone-driven. I am told never to put any hormone in my body ever again, as it feeds the cancer,” she said.

Attisano underwent chemotherapy, but it didn’t work. Instead, the tumors were growing. MUSC’s affiliation with the National Cancer Institute connected her with other national cancer specialists and opened doors for her to do further testing, which eventually led her to being prescribed Kisqali. “It’s a chemo pill and letrozole. I now have no metastatic disease in my upper torso and only two small tumors in my liver. It’s a miracle to see my scans side by side from when I started this medication. It was full of tumors.”

Because metastatic breast cancer is not curable, Attisano will be on medication for the rest of her life. She has monthly bloodwork and has scans every three months to analyze her tumors.

“It’s about surviving, even if you’re not officially a ‘survivor,’” she said. “I chat with people at the hospital and try to be uplifting. Your attitude can make the symptoms worse, I believe. The day I found out, I started fighting with such vengeance. I’ve been a warrior; my attitude will not let this beat me.”

Emily Cravedi

Emily Cravedi, breast cancer survivor
Emily Cravedi dyes her hair pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

It was a promise to her sister that saved Emily Cravedi’s life. Her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2017 and made Cravedi promise to get a mammogram too. It wasn’t until late December of that year that Cravedi finally made it into the doctor’s office, and toward the end of January 2018, following an ultrasound and biopsy, she was told that the “thing that looked like a grain of rice” on the ultrasound was invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer.

The next steps moved much quicker, and Cravedi’s team of doctors and techs at Roper St. Francis helped keep her spirits lifted. “I just did it one thing at a time – whatever was in front of me. Everything happened so quickly that I didn’t really stop to reflect. The reflecting came later,” she said. Cravedi soon underwent surgery and radiation treatments. “I took off of work on a Monday to get myself together and get my dog to a boarder. I had my surgery that Tuesday and was back to work the following Monday. Then in April, I did radiation treatments on my way home from work every day. Twenty treatments – five days a week, for four weeks.” She proudly rang the hospital’s bell on May 4, signifying her completion of radiation – a mere three-and-a-half months since her diagnosis. For 10 years she will take a blocker pill and continue to have regular blood checks.

“I never forget that I am a survivor because that pill has side effects that always remind me – it’s like going back through perpetual menopause,” she laughed. “It’s awful, but compared to dying from cancer it seems pretty minor. Like I did with everything else, I just do it every day.”

Cravedi takes her role as a survivor seriously, dying her hair pink every October for Breast Cancer Awareness month and reminding others to get preventative diagnostics, such as mammograms. “I got a mammogram because my sister made me promise. When I called her after my diagnosis, I said, ‘Hi Steph, I just wanted to thank you for saving my life.’”

Lisa Jones

Lisa Jones, breast cancer survivor
Lisa Jones, breast cancer survivor and Women’s Advisory board member at East Cooper Medical Center

Lisa Jones was working at her desk at Susan G. Komen breast cancer organization when she got the call confirming that she had breast cancer. “I work for this organization trying to get rid of this disease. It seems like I would have gotten something else,” she joked. “I had kept up my health and got my mammograms every year at the same time. I never felt a lump, and I don’t have a family history. It was caught by my yearly mammogram – I was pretty shocked.”

Because of her background at Komen, Jones had a good understanding of the next steps. By the time she arrived home that day, she already had a plan in order, from a team of doctors to anticipated follow-up care. Her diagnosis was made at an early stage, and she opted to have a double mastectomy. After an anxious time waiting for the pathology results to find out what the next steps would be, she was told her cancer had not spread. “It’s scary because you just don’t know what’s coming next. I’ve heard so many stories, and everyone’s is different,” she said. “I don’t know how I got so lucky. My doctor called me the breast cancer poster child.” She was able to have natural reconstruction and was grateful not to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatments.

In addition to keeping up with health screenings, Jones emphasized that those diagnosed with breast cancer should be their own advocates. “I knew where to get my information, but a lot of women don’t. I researched and prepared for each doctor appointment with my questions and made sure they got answered in a way that I understood. Be as prepared as you can be through that whole horrible time,” she recommended.

“I know my path was so much easier than other people’s, but it’s changed how I work,” Jones continued. “When someone says, ‘I’ve just been diagnosed,’ I know that feeling. It’s devastating, and until you get on that road, you just don’t know how long that road is going to be.”

Sharon Hox

Sharon Hox and her mother Selma Hoxenhorn are both breast cancer survivors
Sharon Hox was visiting with her mother, Selma, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

While the world was watching the horrors of the 9/11 attacks, Sharon Hox was visiting her mother, Selma Hoxenhorn, in New York. That’s when she got the call that she had breast cancer. Hox had spent a portion of her teenage years living with her grandmother while her own mother battled advanced breast cancer, so Hox was silent on the subject until she could find a way back to Charleston to get a second opinion. She was relieved to discover the cancer was at stage zero and underwent a lumpectomy and radiation. She also took medicine for six years, due to her family’s history with breast cancer.

Ten years later, she was diagnosed, again with stage zero, and again underwent a lumpectomy and radiation for treatment.

Hox was not shocked by her diagnoses, explaining that it was more so a matter of when, not if, based on family history, genetics and other risk factors. “My first breast surgeon said, ‘Oh, it’s stage zero. We’ll just do a lumpectomy, and you can go on your merry way.’ I said, ‘Didn’t you hear my family’s history?’ I went to another doctor then, and I’m very grateful I did,” she explained.

It was her mother’s breast cancer experience in the 1960s that inspired Hox to make the most of her situation by helping others. “We lived in a community of about 850 families in New York, and any time a woman was diagnosed, my mother would visit her, show her what survival was and raise her spirits. Back then, people didn’t talk a whole lot about this.”

After her first diagnosis, Hox began volunteering at the Hope Lodge, which offers free lodging for cancer patients and their caregivers while they undergo treatments. She has lifted the spirits of Hope Lodge guests, made them laugh and even written grant proposals. “This is a gift I can give back to people. I can give hugs. I can look people in the eye and tell people I’ve been there,” she said with a smile.

By Anne Shuler Toole

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

Digital scale and tape measure. Photo by mojzagrebinfo on Pixabay.Weight Loss Journey: Routes to Health and Happiness

Filed Under: People

Advertisement

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search The Site

We're on Facebook We're on X (formerly Twitter) Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
Ad: South Carolina Federal Credit Union, enjoy life banking on the best.
Ad: Visit Woof Gang today!
Mount Pleasant Magazine Sep/Oct 2023 magazine coverREAD DIGITALLY
Read the digital magazine
now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Ad: Premier Health and Wellness in Mount Pleasant, SC. Let’s Redesign Your Health & Wellness.
Read about the History of the Bridge Run
Visit Palmetto Christian Academy.org
Ad: 1st Choice AC, Heating, Plumbing and Gas, for the best AC Service for your home in Mount Pleasant, SC.
Pleasant Family Dentistry in Mount Pleasant, SC. Experience the BEST, and find out why we've been awarded 7 times in the BEST of MOUNT PLEASANT!
Ad: Visit Front Beach IOP and SHOP, DINE and DRINK in the SUNSHINE.
Ad: Get Carried Away - Real Food, Real Southern, Really Good!
Click for Stores & Services
on Coleman Boulevard
Coleman Blvd Merchant Alliance
Best of Mount Pleasant logo is a registered trademark
Ad: Every Day is a Good Dog Day at Michael's Barkery

Most Recent Posts

The Rotary’s Biggest Splash: 2025 Charleston Duck Race in the Wando!

The Charleston Duck Race is back on the Wando River! Tune in as Evan Murray, the 'Head Duck' Fundraising Chair, joins host Brian Cleary to reveal all the details about this highly anticipated … Continue Reading

Paved with Passion: Morales Pavers

Morales Pavers started with a simple mission: to transform outdoor spaces and convert them into something people could truly enjoy. But what makes this family-owned business stand out isn’t just the … Continue Reading

Style That Speaks: Megan Molten Design + Shop

Megan Molten, founder and chief creative officer of Megan Molten Design + Shop, has always had a passion for interior design. When Molten purchased her first home, she started sharing the “modern … Continue Reading

Front Street Georgetown

Opening Batch: Georgetown Crafts First Brewery

A craft beer fan and teacher from Cincinnati, Chase Runyan started brewing in his house by tinkering with kits and learning how to bottle the beer after fermentation. After making five or six batches … Continue Reading

Revolutionized: Georgetown’s Downtown Makeover

When the port city of Georgetown was laid out in 1729, merchant-oriented businesses and homes lined the land side of Front Street, originally called Bay Street, overlooking the sparkling Sampit River, … Continue Reading

Gold Standard: Georgetown’s Own Crowned Olympic Champion

When 23-year-old Nike athlete and Georgetown native Melissa Jefferson arrived at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, she was determined to secure her … Continue Reading

More Front Street Georgetown

SEARCH

Get Our Free Newsletter!
Mount Pleasant Apartments
Pleasant Family Dentistry
Water's Edge Dentistry
34 Waterway Island Drive

Copyright © 2025 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy

▲