Breast Cancer Survivor Celebrates Remission Milestones

As a firm believer in self-care, Wanda Daniel was always diligent about giving herself regular self-breast exams in her mid-30s. In 1996, she found a pea size lump in her left breast. She was paralyzed with fear. Her husband, Clarence, who was a relatively new team member at Moffitt Cancer Center at the time, encouraged her to make an appointment to have it checked out. Wanda was grateful for her husband’s suggestion and scheduled an appointment.

The lump turned out to be stage 1 intraductal carcinoma.

Wanda underwent eight weeks of daily radiation at Moffitt. After completing treatment , she continued routine mammograms every six months for nine years . Now she’s back to annual mammograms. Fortunately, Wanda’s cancer has remained in remission.

Now her goal is to share her story to help others whenever she has the opportunity. She often speaks about her experience with cancer at church, breast cancer awareness events and through the Sisters Network, a survivorship organization for African American women. She also gave back to the place that saved her life. Wanda volunteered at Moffitt every Wednesday for 17 years.

“Only in secret was I told that others had breast cancer,” Wanda said. “I feel that sharing my story, especially in my community, will help save lives.”

Wanda and her family celebrate her remission with a “pink party,” something they still do to this day, 24 years later. With Clarence by her side, they have participated in breast cancer awareness walks together for every remission milestone celebration. They started in Washington, D.C., for her fifth-year anniversary. They climbed Stone Mountain in Georgia for her 10th year, participated in a breast cancer walk in San Francisco for her 15th year and walked a half marathon in Niagara Falls for her 20th year.

Next year, Wanda will hit her 25th year as a cancer survivor. The couple are still unsure of where they plan to travel to next to mark the anniversary, but New York City is at the top of the list.

On May 21, the Tampa Bay Rays recognized Wanda at Tropicana Field through the Salute to Survivors program. She and her family got a behind the scenes tour of the stadium, including a stop at the Rays touch tank. This was the first professional baseball game for the attendees, and one that will be hard to top.

“I am just in awe of God’s favor and goodness in our lives,” Wanda shared. “I feel blessed.”