UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Fall 2016 | Page 13

survivor profile

“There are a lot
of crazy things
that are going to
happen to you,
but it’s like riding
a bull. You’ve got
to get on and
Photos courtesy of Auburn University

Creating an Attitude
When asked what she would tell someone who is
newly diagnosed, Coach Evans has several pieces of
advice to offer.
“You have to believe in what your process is
going to be,” she says. “You’ve got to come up with
something that you’re going to try and follow so you
can refocus every day. You have to believe in the
process and the plan you’ve built for yourself, with
your physician, with your family or caretaker. ‘I’ve got
to do this so I can get well.’ That’s what I did. I still
do it.”
Coach Evans adds that while it may be difficult,
finding a sense of humor also helps. “There are a lot
of crazy things that are going to happen to you, but
it’s like riding a bull. You’ve got to get on and hold on
as tight as you can and keep on keeping on.”

For Coach Evans, cancer is something that will
always be a part of her life. “You don’t have the luxury
of getting up and the thought of it not being there
every day. I may not think about it, but there are more
days than not that I do,” she says. “You have to create
an attitude that fits you. You can’t take on someone
else’s attitude. Hopefully it’s positive, and you fight
the fight.”
Coach Evans returns to the Cancer Center to see
Dr. Huh every three months and have scans every
six months. She is playing golf again and exercising
regularly, and she appreciates the new perspective on
life that cancer has given her.
“I always say I’m not glad I got cancer, but I’m glad
of what it taught me,” she says. “Cancer made me see
another side of life that I probably never really looked
at. I’m grateful for that.”
# K N O W U A B C C C

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hold on as tight
as you can and
keep on keeping
on.”

U A B . E D U / C A N C E R

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