Science teacher Lisa Berry was not shocked when she heard the news in August of 2015 that she had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Berry had known she had it for about 9-10 months when she had discovered a very small lump in her breast, but once she got to the doctor it was one of the largest ones they had seen. Even as she faced grueling treatments and surgeries, Berry kept teaching, grading and showing up for her students.
“I could have stayed home and taken all that time off and just curled up on the couch, and then you have no reason to go on, no motivation,” Berry said.
Even while she was going through 12 heavy dose chemo treatments and 303 radiation treatments along with surgeries, Berry continued grading papers and planning lessons. However, toward the end of her treatments, it was wearing on her. A substitute was brought in on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but on the three days a week Berry worked she would stay until 7 p.m. getting everything ready for the next day in preparation for her to be gone. Even when she was gone, Berry was still fielding phone calls from students, being put on speakerphone to help answer questions.
In October of 2020, Berry ended up having to go through it all again and have emergency surgery on her spine in Columbus. Cancer had started to attack her spine, and her spinal cord was almost completely pinched off. The disease had completely eaten away her lumbar vertebra 3, along with sinking her lumbar vertebra 2. To fix the problems with her back, doctors went in and put two eight-inch rods in her back. Even through immense pain, Berry never took extended time off, motivated to keep showing up.
She said family support played a key role in her recovery. Berry’s love for her granddaughters is one of her biggest motivations.
“It’s also my granddaughters that got me through. That’s why I have a reason to fight,” Berry said.
Five years later, she continues to participate in family activities such as going on hikes, kayaking, snow tubing and simply staying active. Although she has to sometimes modify how she does things, she is trying to enjoy what she can, when she can, with the people she loves.
“I’m active,” Berry said. “I’m doing all the things I probably shouldn’t be doing because I’m going to enjoy what I can, when I can.”
She made a mutual agreement 15 months ago with her doctor to quit the oral medication and monthly injections, realizing that cancer will “rear its ugly head again,”’ as she does not want to face the traumas of the medications if she’s having no problems. Now preparing to retire the same year her granddaughter, senior Keira McPeak, graduates, Berry is focused on celebrating life’s milestones. She wants to make the best out of everyday life, not allowing obstacles to stop her.
“I’ve accepted that I’m on limited time,” Berry said. “The second time around my goal was to make it 10 years, because at that point I knew that my youngest granddaughter would remember me. So I’m retiring at the end of this year and I hope to live it up for four.”
