In recent years, the American Cancer Society has put itself into the lives of a lot of people.

Practically every community across the nation is now involved with the American Cancer Society’s Relayfor Life program, a fund raising event with the single goal of benefiting the research efforts to find a cure for cancer.

In addition to it’s successful fund raising, the Relay for Life has also been successful in raising the awareness of how this terrible disease has affected millions of victims and what is being done to fight the battle against cancer.

Awareness about cancer is almost half the battle. The more we as a society know, the more prepared we can be when it directly effects someone close to you.

Many have fought the good fight and while there are those who have survived the battle, there are many who have lost.

Recently, the NEWS had the privilege of talking with someone who has fought the good fight and come out on the upper side with a new perspective on life.

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we know of no better time than now to bring her story to our readers in hopes of doing what we can to raise the level of awareness of this disease.

Kim Rains – one survivor’s story

Kim Rains, age 44, was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 8, 2010, one day after one of her son’s birthday.

“It was the day after my son’s birthday and all I thought was how many more am I going to get to see,” Rains said. “Our world just stopped. Our world got turned upside down … our whole family.”

Her cancer, Inversive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is a cancer that usually occurs in women in their 60s.

Rains said adjusting to the fatigue and nausea was one of the worst parts about fighting cancer. “It is as bad as you can imagine,” Rains said.

Instead of having a lump in her breast, this type of cancer mainifested as a complete hardening of the breast.

“My oncologist told me I was young for this type, but unfortunately he was seeing more and more of this in women my age,” Rains said.

Rains, according to her latest PET scan, is cancer free and while her life isn’t back to the way it was before April 8 of last year, she said she is getting use to a “new normal.”

“I don’t think it will ever be normal again, but we are adjusting to a new normal,” Rains said. “I’m doing great! I still get tired easily and have some joint pain from the medicine I’m taking, but after having been diagnosed with a 10 cm. tumor, six chemos and 54 radiations, I guess that’s pretty good.”

Rains is married to Travis Rains, of Albany, and has two teenage boys ages 15 and 16. “We have been married for 17 years and he has been wonderful through it all,” Rains said. “Not many husbands have to shave their wife’s head.”

Through it all, Rains said her family, friends, and church family have been wonderful to help out and understand what she is going through.

“They (her sons) know that Mom is going to be a little tired every now and then, and Mom has to take a lot of naps, but we are doing good,” Rains said.

Rains said other than bringing food by, people offered to completely go out of their way to help her and her family.

“They offered to take me to treatments, clean my house … they just couldn’t do enough. They really helped me and my family though that time,” Rains said. “Everybody helped out and brought food … the community really rallied around and helped. That was huge … knowing that my family was fed.”

Now, Rains’ new normal means not having to go to the doctor as much. Her regular visits are getting farther apart.

“For someone who had never been to the doctor other than to have kids, it was wonderful,” Rains said. “I did 54 radiations from December to February … through the snow and everything. It was hard going everyday. I went Monday through Friday. I had a bilateral mastectomy.”

With October being labeled as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Relay for Life and individuals in the community are doing their part in order to make the public aware and offer more knowledge of what can be done if someone is diagnosed with cancer.

Rains said having gone through what she did and seeing how everybody is pitching in, makes her proud that so many people in the community care.

“It makes me so proud. It’s something I really wasn’t aware of. I didn’t think breast cancer was that big of a deal, but it can kill you,” Rains said. “It’s one of the leading causes of death in women and just because you battle breast cancer doesn’t mean itcan’t come back somewhere else. That’s a scary thought. It’s something I think about when I get up and something I think about when I go to bed. I try not to let it dominate my life, but I have the scars and every time I see them I’m reminded of what I’ve gone through.”

Adding to the awareness factor, Rains said when she was first diagnosed, her kids and their friend stood strong and wore pink in her honor.

“When I was diagnosed, my kids and their friends wore the pink armbands,” Rains said. “I just thought that was awesome because a boy is not going to wear pink normally. I’m so proud of these people who work for causes like Relay for Life. They are working toward finding a cure and I’m definitely going to be more involved in that.”

Rains said awareness is the key to understanding this disease and the more she learned about it, the more it saved her life.

“It’s very important to learn,” Rains said. “I wish I had been more aware of the different types of cancer. I guess the mammogram saved my life.”

Rains is now in a good place in her fight against cancer. She is able to talk more and more about the troubles she and her family went thought, but it wasn’t always easy to talk about.

“It was hard to talk about it when I was going through it, but it’s not now,” Rains said. “It’s just a bump in the road. I really have a lot of living left … stuff I want to do. Cancer is a scary word … it is so scary.”

Looking back, Rains said what got her through her sickness was knowing it happened to her and not her kids.

“What got me through it everyday, I was just thankful to God that it was me and not my kids,” Rains said. “Watching my kids go though something like this would be the worse thing I could go through. It’s just amazing how the body heals itself. You can overcome a lot. It made me stronger and a better person. I don’t take anything for granted anymore. Breast cancer is prone to move into your bones, so every ache that I have I think about it. I just really have to step on that fear.”