By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
Resilient is more than a word for three-time breast cancer survivor Tracy McCall — it’s a lifestyle. Her experience with the disease has fueled a deep commitment to educating others about early detection and personalized care, a commitment that’s even more evident during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which began Oct. 1.
McCall was this year’s ambassador for the 14th Annual Brenda’s Brown Bosom Buddies (BBBB) Sistah Strut walk/run/ride/stroll, which took place on Saturday, September 27, at Birmingham’s historic Legion Field Stadium. Being named ambassador “is not just about a title,” she said. “It’s more of a commitment.”
“It’s an honor that comes with the opportunity to make a more tangible difference in the lives of others who have been affected by breast cancer,” McCall added.
BBBB is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to supporting people with breast cancer, as well as providing education and promoting early detection of breast cancer in minority, low-income, and underserved communities.
Among other efforts, the organization works with local health care providers to cover mammogram costs for uninsured, low-income women and men, and it offers free transportation to local treatment centers for those recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I Was in Disbelief”
McCall recalled her first diagnosis in 2004. She was 35 years old. “I was on my way to [a restaurant] … and the doctor gave me a call and told me I had breast cancer,” she recalled. “I was in disbelief because I was really active, I exercised religiously, I pretty much took care of myself as far as eating, and I had a healthy lifestyle. Although my mother [had dealt with the disease], I just didn’t think it would happen to me [at 35]. I never thought it would happen to me. I just couldn’t stomach it.”
McCall was told that the cancer was localized in her left breast.
“It started as irritation up under my arm,” she said. “Usually, that kind of irritation means you need to change your deodorant, [but] my primary doctor sent me to get a mammogram.”
“Had he not done that, the breast cancer probably would not have been caught. It was at such an early stage, [and] I couldn’t feel it. Had I not gone in for a checkup on that irritation, I would have not known I had breast cancer,” she continued. “When the results came back, being that so many areas in that breast [were affected], the only option was to take it off. [Doctors] didn’t want to risk anything being left behind. … They did a left mastectomy, [surgery that removes the entire breast], and reduced the right [breast].”
For her first round of treatment, McCall didn’t require chemotherapy or radiation, two common cancer therapies.
“Nothing passed through my lymph nodes,” she said. (Lymph nodes are small structures in the body that work as filters for foreign substances, such as cancer cells and infections.) “I got [breast] implants, and I did good for almost 10 years.”
“A pea-sized bubble began to form on top of my implants,” she recalled. “I told my husband, ‘This doesn’t feel right.’ I thought maybe it was a defect from the implants, [so] I told my doctor about it. [My doctor] did a biopsy,” a procedure used to remove a sample of a lump, tumor, or other suspicious area to be tested in a lab.
The doctor told McCall she had “breast cancer, but it was a different type. They didn’t say what type it was, and if they did, I wasn’t thinking about it,” she said.
McCall didn’t require treatment until a year later when the same bump formed again. After another doctor’s visit, it was confirmed that the cancer had returned. This time — round three — she needed chemotherapy and radiation.
Sources of Support
Fighting breast cancer was not new for McCall. “My mom was the first person in the family to experience breast cancer,” she said. “She had it twice, and I remember the things she went through. The first time, in 1998, she pretty much moved in with me. I watched my mom get her breast removed. … Back then, they didn’t talk about things like this as much. It was something new. You kind of just go with the flow and learn from it.”
Her mom’s second battle was a “whole lot meaner,” McCall said.
“That second round ended up being the cause of her death,” she added. “[Remembering] what I had to go through with her kind of helped prepare me. You can’t understand the feeling until you’re going through it yourself, but it did help me because of the care that I had to give to her.”
In addition to using the lessons learned from her mother’s breast cancer experience to fight her own battle, McCall had a solid support system — led by her late husband, Michael McCall.
“He was there 100 percent of the way when it came to me actually dealing with the treatment. I could not have done it without him,” she said of her husband, who passed away in 2023, after battling glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and malignant brain tumor.
McCall also had the support of family and friends: “My friends were phenomenal,” she said.
“There was not an appointment when … I didn’t have somebody with me,” she added. “At the time, my youngest son was a drum major at Minor High School, and I couldn’t go to the games. The family just stepped in. My husband would go to the games, and my family would sit with me at home. … It really made a big difference.”
Though McCall appreciated the support, she had to get used to having people do things for her. “I was so used to taking care of everybody else,” she said. McCall has now been cancer free for 11 years.
“The Best Thing That Could Have Happened”
McCall, originally from Chicago, Illinois, grew up in Birmingham. She attended West End High School, where she participated in several extracurricular activities, including softball and band. She was also a cheerleader and a member of the Student Government Association (SGA). During her senior year, she was named Miss West End High School.
“I was always one of those kids who tried to participate [in everything],” said McCall, who graduated from high school in 1987. “Back then it was all about the community. [You were] pretty much encouraged to participate in a lot of things. You didn’t really know what you wanted to do. You either did it and liked it or you didn’t like it.”
After a distinguished career that wrapped up with her retirement from the Birmingham Police Department in 2016 (she had served as a police officer) and the U.S. Navy Reserve in 2021, McCall currently works in hematology and oncology at the Kirklin Clinic of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Hospital. Her interest in the medical field was prompted by her experience of being a caregiver for her husband.
“Taking care of him put me in a different mindset because he went through everything from chemotherapy to radiation. With the brain cancer, he was having seizures,” she said. “I was talking with my niece, who has been in the health care field for over 20 years, and said, ‘I need to learn how to take care of him.’ … I didn’t want any certifications; I just wanted to take care of him. I wanted to understand the psychological, physical, and spiritual ways of taking care of a person who was dealing with what Mike was dealing with.”
After conducting her own research, McCall signed up for a medical program that offered classes for certified nursing assistants (CNAs), phlebotomists, and certified medical assistants.
“It was the best thing that could have happened,” she said. “Next thing I know, I’m passing national boards with my CNA. I took up phlebotomy and passed that. Next thing you know, I’m a certified medical assistant. I am doing all this medical stuff, and it is not even on my vision board.”
“God Loves Them”
McCall has been in the medical field for two years as a certified clinical medical assistant.
“I started off in primary care, and now I’m working in hematology and oncology,” she said. “I’m seeing women come in with breast cancer who are 18 and 19 years old, and it was freaking me out. … I tell them I love them, tell them God loves them, [give them] just a touch or even a testimony. If I can’t do anything else, I just pray to be a blessing to somebody else by making them feel good. … If I can just encourage them through words or some spiritual feeling, that’s what I’m going to do.”
That encouragement is in line with the sisterhood of Brenda’s Brown Bosom Buddies Sistah Strut.
“It’s an empowering feeling, especially for survivors who have lost loved ones, such as myself,” McCall said. “It is a symbolism of hope and resilience that shows why the willingness to be open and vulnerable helps and inspires others. whether it be getting a screening, seeking support, or becoming an advocate themselves.”
For more on BBBB, visit Brenda’s Brown Bosom Buddies.
