Fighting the fight
North's Nina Lyons shares personal story
Daniel Auld
Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: Campus Life
CCAC has an individual member of North Campus with a truly amazing story to share, and she tells it with great confidence and an open heart.
Nina Lyons, director of Student Life at North Campus, was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. Through determination and much physical and emotional effort, she set out to fight the disease with knowledge, medical treatment and faith.
Lyons was a featured speaker Oct. 6, 2009, in a session open to all at campus and the surrounding community as part of North's activities for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She shared her experiences with the life-threatening disease and encouraged people to never give up.
"I was diagnosed about seven years ago with stage one breast cancer," said Lyons. "It was the most terrifying news I've ever heard. But that didn't last long."
Being a strong willed woman with lots of deep-seated values and support from a loving and open family, she fought her way through the toughest moments of the fight against her disease.
"When you're diagnosed with breast cancer, or any disease really, it can be impacting at first," said Lyons. "But after thinking it over and hearing that nagging sub-conscience telling you that you can truly rise above this, you realize that you can.
"You can't have yourself diagnosed with a disease and stay down about it. Breast cancer was something that I knew people do die from, but I also know that people fight it and go on living. So what I decided to do was to begin a fight, and I did beat it in the end."
People often wonder what makes someone able to share their own personal experience about something as serious and life threatening as breast cancer. But Lyons is the kind of person that focuses on helping others and turning a negative experience into a positive lesson.
"I think my ability to share my story to others is my want to help and work with others," said Lyons. "I'm pretty open about it because I wish someone was open about it to me when I was diagnosed."
Nina Lyons, director of Student Life at North Campus, was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago. Through determination and much physical and emotional effort, she set out to fight the disease with knowledge, medical treatment and faith.
Lyons was a featured speaker Oct. 6, 2009, in a session open to all at campus and the surrounding community as part of North's activities for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. She shared her experiences with the life-threatening disease and encouraged people to never give up.
"I was diagnosed about seven years ago with stage one breast cancer," said Lyons. "It was the most terrifying news I've ever heard. But that didn't last long."
Being a strong willed woman with lots of deep-seated values and support from a loving and open family, she fought her way through the toughest moments of the fight against her disease.
"When you're diagnosed with breast cancer, or any disease really, it can be impacting at first," said Lyons. "But after thinking it over and hearing that nagging sub-conscience telling you that you can truly rise above this, you realize that you can.
"You can't have yourself diagnosed with a disease and stay down about it. Breast cancer was something that I knew people do die from, but I also know that people fight it and go on living. So what I decided to do was to begin a fight, and I did beat it in the end."
People often wonder what makes someone able to share their own personal experience about something as serious and life threatening as breast cancer. But Lyons is the kind of person that focuses on helping others and turning a negative experience into a positive lesson.
"I think my ability to share my story to others is my want to help and work with others," said Lyons. "I'm pretty open about it because I wish someone was open about it to me when I was diagnosed."