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The teachers we celebrate in our second annual Pink Issue each have stories about surviving breast cancer that not only inspire us but bring awareness to the need for regular check-ups and screening, the power of a strong support system and how more and more women are winning the fight every day.

It’s our privilege to share a preview of these stories from six inspirational women:

Joanna Wezyk

Art Teacher

Bridgewater High School

Wezyk, diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2009, brings passion, love and freedom to the classroom after becoming a full-time teacher following her diagnosis. “I needed an opportunity to share my passion by teaching teenagers,” Wezyk said. “Bringing my paintings to school, I finally realized that this is who I am and what I should do. The joy I felt in the classroom is something that I never thought I would feel just being a lonely artist.”

Sharon Daughtry-Simon

Business Instructor

Hudson County Community College

Daughtry-Simon taught while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation and continues to give back through her work with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “I decided I needed to be a voice because prior to my diagnosis I didn’t know much about (cancer) either,” realized Daughtry-Simon. “It’s becoming well-known now, but seven years ago it wasn’t. That’s what I’m working toward – being an educational advocate for breast cancer awareness because of the fact that my background is in education and I find so much importance that education is the key. I’m living proof that early detection saves lives.”

Gail Woodruff

Second-grade teacher

A.P. Terhune Elementary School

This educator was diagnosed in 2001 while pregnant with her now 14-year-old son Nicholas. Her “little miracle” saved her life and continues to be inspiration for survival as she urges women to schedule annual mammograms and screenings. “I pray to God and I am just thankful for every day that I have,” she explains. “You have to go forward every day. It can happen to anybody at any time. I feel all women are vulnerable and everyone should be aware and be having their screenings.”

Kim Kefalas

Third-grade teacher

School 10 in Linden

Kefalas was born to be a teacher and for the past 20 years has been a staple at School 10, which in turn became her biggest support system throughout the 2013-14 when she was diagnosed with stage 3a breast cancer. “At first, I was so overwhelmed until one parent said, “you reap what you sew and you sewed a lot of seeds and now they’re all coming out.’ It set in that this was there way of saying thank you. When I looked at it that way it made sense,” explained Kefalas.

Karen Gordon

School Nurse

Indian Fields Elementary School

Gordon, diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in October 2013, fought her way back to school and found the time to give back, with a project to distribute heart-shaped pillows to new patients. “Every month, I bring them to the doctor’s office with a note and they distribute them to patients who have just been diagnosed with breast cancer,” Gordon explained. “It makes me feel good and makes everyone feel good that we’re helping someone in the worst time of their life.”

Raissa Prus

Vocational Teacher

Piscataway Regional Day School

For 30 years, Prus has been finding opportunities for teenagers and young adults with multiple disabilities to work in the community. Perhaps having worked for so long helping so many disadvantaged youths struggle to overcome such adversity helped Prus stay positive when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 1998 and again in 2011. “In both cases, I was very fortunate that I caught it early,” she offered. Both Stage 1 diagnoses, the first instance was discovered when Prus felt a lump, and the second during a routine mammogram. “The breast surgeon said it saved my life; after surgery they found a tiny tumor.”

NJ Teachers Magazine

Official NJ Teacher's Publication

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