Cancer survivor supports other patients at St. Tammany Cancer Center
By Shawanda Jones
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COVINGTON, Louisiana (WDSU) — Charo Bernard fought the biggest battle of her life eight years ago. “Cancer does not discriminate,” Bernard said.
She’s a breast cancer survivor and now a registered nurse with the St. Tammany Health Foundation.
“I found out that I had breast cancer when I was 38, and at that time, I was not doing breast exams,” Bernard said. “So I woke up one morning and noticed there was a lump on my breast and had my doctor check it out and come to find out it was breast cancer.”
Now, she works with the cancer center, helping patients navigate through the same process she went through.
“That’s why I feel like I have that personal connection to my patients,” Bernard said. “And, you know, that’s just part of my job is I want them to be able to trust me. And then I’m doing everything I possibly can to make their care the best it could possibly be, no matter how hard it is.”
Bernard says early detection made all the difference in her own journey to surviving cancer.
Kathleen Thomas is the major gifts officer for the St. Tammany Health Foundation.
“The earlier it’s called, the higher the survival rate is,” Thomas said.
She works on the organization’s annual Power of Pink breast cancer campaign year-round, focusing on empowering women with the knowledge of self-exams and yearly mammograms.
“Our campaign was created to educate and prevent and screen and make sure all of that gets out into our community to make sure that our community and all of the women are screened early, know to get screened early, know when they should be screened.”
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