JOHNSTOWN — Jean E. Andrews of Old Conemaugh Borough has lived in the Johnstown area all of her 58 years.

Andrews, a breast cancer survivor, said it was the long-term relationships she formed in her life that got her through her ordeal with cancer.

Allen, her husband of 34 years, was her greatest supporter.

“He was at my side every minute,” she said. “He was there and he never complained about anything.

“That was really such a blessing.”

Andrews also drew strength from her two sons and daughter and even from her four grandchildren.

“My little granddaughter would come up and sit with me and watch television with me,” she said.

“That (support and love) can get you through just about everything.”

Andrews’ ordeal started in 2008 with a routine mammogram.

“I did not know of any problem,” she said.

After being told the test had revealed something suspicious, Andrews wanted a second opinion and made an appointment at the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Windber.

There, she was told she needed surgery right away and so had a lumpectomy.

Andrews was fortunate. The cancer had not spread.

But still she needed chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Chemo made her so ill she needed to be hospitalized and treated for dehydration.

“The chemo was bad,” Andrews recalled. “But the radiation was terrible.”

She recalls “just laying there” and has vivid memories of radiation burns on her arms.

“The creams wouldn’t work.” she said.

“They had to postpone treatment because of the burns. The burns were terrible.

“You couldn’t hold your arm down. You had to keep your arm lifted.

“That was painful for quite a while.”

But Andrews realizes how fortunate she has been.

“So far, I have been blessed,” she said. “The past three years I have been basically clear of cancer.”

The experience taught her a great deal about being sensitive to others.

Andrews said she was able to empathize with others in her family who had the disease.

“My mother had stomach cancer and my sister had uterine cancer.”

She also has a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Once you have been through it, you can talk about cancer without worrying you are saying the wrong thing,” Andrews said.

“Your own experience makes a big difference.”

Andrews knows firsthand how helpful it is to talk to someone who has been through the same experiences.

“It give people hope,” she said. “I think that is the most important thing.”

Andrews was encouraged by programs through the hospital that brought cancer patients and survivors together.

The support group warned her of the difficulty of losing hair from chemotherapy treatments, but Andrews said she still had a difficult time.

“Even though you know you’re going to lose it and you know what to expect, when you reach back and you actually pull a handful of hair out, it’s painful emotionally.”

Andrews was employed by the state in unemployment compensation and retired after 33 years.

For a time she led a cheerleading squad for Johnstown Youth Football League.

“We had between 20 to 30 young cheerleaders,” she said.

“It was the best. The kids love you because you are giving them your time and your energy, and they just give you all the love in the world back. They really appreciate it and that makes you feel really good.”

She was also involved with youth work at her church, St. James Missionary Baptist.

Andrews credits her church family for also being part of “a really good support system.”

“They would call and send cards and flowers,” she said.

“It’s good to know that somebody is thinking of you and that you are being missed.”

Her experience with breast cancer has raised awareness of the disease in her family – with even the grandchildren getting in on the October pink-ribbon events.

“My grandson plays elementary football for Johnstown. They wear pink through the month,” Andrews said.

The proud grandmother helped with pink accessories for the sixth-grader’s uniform.

“I wanted him to have everything

– pink wristbands, pink socks, a pink ribbon that goes on his uniform. Even pink stripes for his shoes,” Andrews said with a laugh.

“He finally had to tell me that he had enough pink.”