Martha Ramirez In April 2007, Kingsville resident Martha Ramirez got a phone call that she will never forget. It was her doctor telling her that she had been diagnosed with Stage 1 HER-2 Breast Cancer.

“You never forget that moment,” Ramirez said. “I can remember it like it was yesterday.”

Ramirez will be taking her victory lap on Friday with hundreds of other cancer survivors at the 2010 Kleberg-Bishop Relay for Life at Javelina Stadium.

Ramirez has participated in the event for years through her employment, even before she had been diagnosed with cancer.

Her journey began when she saw her doctor for a routine mammogram and the doctor mentioned something might be wrong.

Ramirez dismissed it and thought it was nothing, because she didn’t feel any different.

“At the suggestion of a friend I went back to the doctor and had another mammogram and biopsy done,” Ramirez said. “It was then that I got the dreaded phone call.”

Ramirez had a lumpectomy done and when it was discovered by her doctors that the lump was more than they thought she had three lymph nodes checked; luckily the cancer had not spread.

“Initially I was told that I only needed radiation but because of the HER-2 the doctor’s suggested that I go ahead with chemotherapy also,” Ramirez said.

HER-2 positive breast cancer is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells.

HER-2 tends to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer and is also less responsive to hormone treatment.

“I went through four treatments of chemo, with three different drugs which lasted around three months,” Ramirez said.

“I also began radiation five days a week for seven weeks and after two weeks I had lost my hair completely and began wearing wigs.”

Ramirez also had a medi-port inserted in her chest because chemotherapy is extremely toxic and can damage skin and muscle tissue, and therefore should not be delivered through these tissues.

“Through the medi-port I was given herceptin, which is a man-made drug for HER-2,” Ramirez said. “The drug kills the cancer cells and prevents reoccurrence. This drug is one of the latest advancements and has really been a life-saver for a lot of women.”

The herceptin treatments were administered every three weeks for a year and Ramirez received her last one in November 2009 and she has been cancer free ever since.

“There were a lot of checkups and blood work and I drove myself to Corpus Christi for treatments and doctor’s appointments,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez, who is the current Kingsville ISD Director of Accelerated Programs, worked throughout her treatment and would leave early for appointments.

Her diagnosis came completely out of the blue although she does have cancer in her family.

“Two of my brothers were diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and one unfortunately passed away from complications,” Ramirez said. “My grandmother and first cousin also suffered from the same disease but there was no breast cancer history in my family.”

Ramirez credits her family, husband Juan, son Carlos, and great support system of friends for helping her get through her struggle.

“My mother, Antonia Blanco, especially was my strength, she would remind me constantly to just keep going forward and she kept me motivated,” Ramirez said. “I think it is important that people dealing with cancer have a support system like I did because it makes things a lot easier. “

She said the people at the American Cancer Society in Corpus Christi were also a great help by giving her wigs, advice, and they also helped her with any questions she had.

Ramirez wants to let people dealing with cancer know that although it is very scary, cancer is not what it used to be.

“The words are freighting. You have cancer,” Ramirez said. “However there is so much help and treatments out there now that it doesn’t have to feel like a death sentence.”

Ramirez said she is looking forward to Relay for Life and walking the first lap with other survivors is a surreal experience.

“It is very sad yet very joyous at the same time,” Ramirez said. “Everyone is cheering for you and rooting you on because you survived.

All you really want to do is just cry because the feeling is so overwhelming and rewarding. It’s an amazing feeling.”