Woman celebrates being cancer-free after 21 years of chemotherapy

HENRIETTA, Texas (KAUZ/Gray News) - A Texas woman celebrating her first year cancer-free credits her faith with helping her make it through 21 years of chemotherapy.

For decades, Carolyn Collins spent her time isolated from loved ones as she received continuous chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The 72-year-old says the best decision she ever made was following her gut feeling to not give up, KAUZ reports.

“What’s normal for most people, I never got to see. Now, I’m cancer-free, and coming back to normal is weird. Because I’m used to, every 21 days, getting another shot that knocks you on your tail for a while,” she said.

Collins says it’s always been her faith that kept her grounded, and after she was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer in 2003, she leaned on her faith more than ever before.

“The first thing I said was ‘I’m not accepting it.’ I mean, literally, God told me that I had 70 plus years on this earth, and I want every one of them,” she said.

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare but aggressive form of breast cancer. Collins needed radiation and injections of Herceptin and Doxorubicin every 21 days for 21 years.

“I kept getting sicker and sicker when they gave me the maintenance chemo,” she said.

Despite her diagnosis, Collins kept a positive mind and even encouraged others along their journey.

“I’ve never felt like God was not there,” she said. “It’s been a challenge, but counseling other people has helped me a lot... When I walk into a room and talk to those people, I feel, ‘OK, this is why I’m still here.’”

Collins said it wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that she felt another calming confirmation.

“I was praying one night, and God just kind of said, ‘Quit, it’s up to you.’ We did the scans, and she said you don’t have cancer,” Collins said.

After nearly a year of being cancer-free, Collins says life feels different, and it’s going to take some getting used to.

“I haven’t gone to any concerts or anything like that, which I plan to do,” she said.

When it comes to thinking there’s no hope, she wants the community to one piece of motivation.

“Faith the size of a mustard seed, that’s very small. Go look at a mustard seed,” Collins said.

She went on to say no matter what challenges you may encounter, it’s important to keep going. You never know how close you are to the finish line.

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