Mary Anne Creswell

This year alone, the American Cancer Society expects 1,529,560 people to be diagnosed with cancer in the U.S., not including carcinoma in situ (noninvasive cancer) or basal and squamous cell skin cancer. Of these diagnoses, 45,120 will be in North Carolina. It’s estimated that about 1,500 people per day will die from the disease. But the good news is that the five-year survival rate through 2005 has increased to 66 percent from 50 percent in just 20 years.

The Macon County News is celebrating the victory of these survivors over the disease in our series Life Beyond Cancer. We’re sharing the stories of several of Highlands’ cancer survivors in this special series leading up to the town’s Relay for Life event on August 13. These stories are poignant but real. They come from real people who have demonstrated courage and offer hope and inspiration to everyone whose lives have been touched by the disease.

Any advice concerning cancer always begins with early detection. Regular and routine screening should be part of everyone’s health care program. Doctors order annual mammograms for women and prostate exams and PSA tests for men. Early intervention for Mary Anne Creswell may well be the reason she’s here to talk about it today.

Creswell says that doctors might not have discovered the small spot on her breast seven years ago had it not been for the “very strong” mammography machine employed at the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital. Dr. Daniel Richardson was able to detect the spot and then remove the malignancy with a lumpectomy.

“I had no symptoms whatsoever,” said Creswell. “I had not felt anything. Only the mammogram showed the small spot.”

Ironically, Creswell was not even scheduled to have a mammogram that day in 2003. She was having a conversation with her good friend, Barbara James, who just happened to ask her: “How long has it been since you’ve had a mammogram?”

“It’s been quite a while—more than a year,” replied Creswell.

So James convinced Creswell to take her appointment. While James realizes the significance of what she did seven years ago, she insists there was no premonition, no inner feelings of necessity to make the switch. “I had something to do that day, and I think people ought to have a mammogram every year,” she said.

Whatever the reason, Creswell is grateful to her friend.

Creswell did not have to have radiation following the lumpectomy. For Five years Creswell underwent a daily regimen of the drug Tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen drug used to treat or even prevent breast cancer. She also made semi-annual visits to see Dr. Richardson for five years. Cancer free, she was able to stop the Tamoxifen and cut the doctor visits back to once a year at that time. Dr. Richardson has since left Highlands, but Creswell sees Dr. Richard Matthews in his stead and remains free of cancer.

Creswell is active in the Highlands Relay for Life program and is a member of the Just for You team. Team leader Betty Fisher says, “Mary Anne is a real team player. She steps up to the plate. She is one of the most service-oriented people I know.”

Creswell is involved with Highlands Emergency Council, an organization that provides help for those in need — food, clothing, appliances, etc. She instigated the Heat Program — a plan that provides assistance in the winter for those who are unable to pay their heating bills.

The Just for You team, one of Highlands’ largest Relay for Life teams, has about 30 members. Fisher says Creswell is one of 10 members who consistently gathers in $1,000 each year in the team’s drive to raise money for the American Cancer Society. “This makes her a member of the ‘Grand Club.’ “She gets a T-shirt, but her real reward is knowing that she has made a contribution in the battle against cancer,” said Fisher.

The Just for You team sponsors a number of fund raisers in its efforts for the American Cancer Society. One such program is its Mountain Music Concerts during the five Fridays of July. Held at the Highlands School, the organization provides entertainment and raffles valuable prizes. One is a painting by Hubert Shuptrine, a famous artist who once owned a gallery in Highlands. Shuptrine died a few years ago of bladder cancer, and his wife Phyllis has donated a painting each year for the raffle. This year’s donation is a print titled “Martha Owl” and is of a Cherokee woman. Drawings will be held during the Relay for Life event on Aug. 13. Other items available in the raffle include a wooden fish carving by Bill Cochran, certificates from Highlands restaurants, items from Reeves Hardware and other Highlands merchants, homemade cakes, and more.

One Friday remains in this year’s group of programs. Tomorrow night, from 6:45 until 7:30 p.m., Pauline Marr will demonstrate and instruct the art of clogging with audience participation, followed by Appalachian Blue Grass with Jack Moss and band, a local favorite.

On Saturday, Aug. 21, the Just for You team will host a spaghetti dinner at the Highlands School with dinner donated by June Webb, owner of the recently opened June’s Place at South 4th Street on the hill in Highlands. The dinner, named Cindy’s Celebration, honors the memory of June’s daughter, Cindy, who was tragically killed in an automobile accident on the way to work. Cindy was very active in and loved the Relay for Life program. Entertainment will be provided by the JW Band. Johnny Webb, June’s brother and leader of the band, donates the evening’s entertainment.

Mary Anne Creswell is a frequent speaker to groups concerning early intervention and annual checkups for cancer symptoms. She works diligently in all of the programs put on by the Just for You team and the Relay for Life program.

“Mary Anne has been a real mentor for me,” Fisher says.