When encountering setbacks along her breast cancer journey that most of us would see as Mount Everest, Jantina Nelson-Stastny simply called them speed bumps. Her positivity, courage and hope have been an inspiration to others, including her Support Squad at the Avera Race. Jantina lives in Yankton, SD, and received her diagnosis when she was 52.
An annual mammogram found a lump that turned out to be breast cancer. Jantina had a lumpectomy, but her doctors found a lymph node tested positive. That led to chemotherapy.
“I credit that mammogram for saving my life,” she said. “If I could tell people just one thing, it would be, ‘Always get your mammogram.’”
When her chemotherapy treatment was complete, Jantina had double mastectomy surgery. When her wounds healed, she completed radiation treatment. Since estrogen production in her body could feed her type of cancer, she opted to have a hysterectomy to reduce her risk.
“Fighting cancer is truly a fight,” she said. “You have to be willing to fight ferociously if you want to win.”
Keeping a Positive Outlook
With speed bumps that included some complications and hospitalizations, Jantina was still able to see the humor in situations. For example, one night around 3 a.m., a nurse in head-to-toe personal protective equipment came into her room. The nurse was beside the bed, adjusting the IV, when Jantina awoke and reacted without thinking.
“All I saw was this person in a ‘hazmat suit’ and I freaked a little,” she said. Once the nurse explained what was happening, “We both laughed,” Jantina said.
Jantina said to survive breast cancer, you find the light in the darkest times. That bright spirit is Jantina’s trademark that she shares with others. “When people were offering help, she asked me how she’d ever repay it all,” said her husband, Wayne. “I told her she already had. She’s always been a giver, someone who’s first to help others. Her decades of doing good were coming back.”
From Boot Camp to the Avera Race
Jantina loves working out. She’s been a part of an exercise boot camp group in Yankton for years, and one day, she told the group she was “facing a little something.” She kept coming to boot camp sessions even in the midst of her cancer treatment.
“She’s as dedicated an athlete as I’ve ever seen,” said Mark Roozen, aka “Coach Rozy” who leads the class she still attends. “The best athletes face challenges with their heads up. She inspired the group, and we tried to inspire her.”
Jantina’s daughter Leona and Coach Rozy agreed the Avera Race Against Cancer would be a great way to recognize her.
They established “The Support Squad” for the race, in Jantina’s honor. That Saturday, two dozen men and women joined Jantina sporting their new Squad T-shirts, fired up to walk or run for her.
“They lifted me up. They were my support group," Jantina said. "I couldn’t walk or run that day because I was just too wiped out from chemo, but I was there. Seeing them all there for me blew me away.”
Her son Clay, whom mom calls “a sleepy-headed teenager,” got up bright and early to join the Support Squad — and brought three friends. “You know your support is strong when kids that age get up early on a Saturday to run,” she said.
A Cancer Journey Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
“When you just want to live, and see your kids grow up and meet your grandchildren, you’ll do whatever you need to do,” Jantina said. “The Squad, the whole community — they were huge for us through the entire thing.”
Throughout Jantina’s journey, her family, friends and The Support Squad all made all the difference.
“When you’re in this type of marathon, it’s important to have things to make you feel normal,” Jantina said. “Spending time, even if it was just going to coffee after our workouts on Saturday mornings, was important to me. I mentally needed it.”
Yet Jantina’s friends, family and supporters would point back to her. “She’s the inspiration,” said her friend, Kathy Greeneway, who is part of The Squad.
“She’s so strong and barely lost any time from our exercise group,” Kathy said. “We all were so proud to be part of her healing team and give her breaks — little spots of ‘normal’ — from the reality she faced.”
The Avera Race Against Cancer is filled with stories like Jantina’s. It’s a way for anyone to help support a friend, spouse, sister, son or other loved one. The money it raises helps those families and helps Avera treat and care for more patients.
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