OKEECHOBEE – “I beat it!” shouts Sandy Thomas after months of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy.

Thomas lost her husband last October to lung and liver cancer and four months later was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite having a mammogram every year since she turned 40, Thomas did not schedule one last year. She had too much going on and just let it slip by. She might not have been diagnosed when she was if not for discovering a small bruise on one breast. She got into the doctor the next day and was soon diagnosed and starting treatment.

After her diagnosis, Thomas said, “Whatever it takes. I’m a fighter.” Rather than wait for her hair to fall out on its own, Thomas hosted a get-together for her friends and asked them to help her shave her head. Sandy Thomas said a close friend, Joyce, immediately offered to shave her own head in solidarity when Thomas discovered she had breast cancer. “Absolutely not,” said Thomas. “I didn’t want anyone to do anything that extreme just because they are my friends.” They had a big BBQ at Thomas’ house and helped her shave her head. At first, she went with a mohawk and rubbed green goo on it.

Known as the hat lady already, she bought hats with hair attached and wore them until recently when her hair started growing back. Now, she has very short hair but is starting to feel more normal. Although, she has had fun playing with the colored wigs, including silver and red. “I have short hair,” she said, “So it’s fun to play around with different hair styles.”

With no family in Okeechobee, Thomas said she depends on her friends, and they depend on her. One of her closest friends, Joyce, lived across the street, but with the bills mounting, Thomas was afraid she would lose her home, and she invited her friend to move in. This helped both women financially and in many other ways. Thomas enjoys cooking, and her friend cleans up after. “I met her last year, and she has been my biggest supporter, caregiver and friend.

“I’m still very weak and get tired easy, but at least a lot of the side effects are gone,” said Thomas. She will have to take some form of chemotherapy for about five years, but she isn’t letting it get her down.

The arrangement with Joyce has been wonderful, said Thomas. She brought her three cats, and Thomas loves them. After her dog died from cancer in June, Thomas felt completely alone. Now, she has a house full of love. “I beat it with the help of my friends!” she said.

On Sunday, August 17, her friends at the Moose Lodge are holding a fundraiser to help ease her financial burden. They are selling BBQ rib dinners and auctioning off many donated items. You do not have to buy a ticket in advance, just come on down beginning at noon. All proceeds will go to help Thomas. She said her friends told her she is not allowed to help in any way. She is supposed to just sit and talk to everyone who comes in, so come on by the Moose Lodge in Buckhead Ridge and meet her.