They were soon engaged and planned to marry. Then Trevia found a lump during a breast self-exam. Within less than a week she had a breast ultrasound and mammography, a biopsy and a diagnosis of melanoma carcinoma.

 

"I was shocked, devastated and upset," said Trevia. "I was told what my options were - either a lumpectomy or mastectomy - and that I would need radiation and chemotherapy."

 

Trevia received chemotherapy at Sumter Regional Hospital where John Duelge, M.D., a Phoebe oncologist, visits each Wednesday. But she would have to travel to Phoebe for radiation therapy, an hour's drive from her home in Americus.

 

 

"I'd always wanted to make my own wedding gown, so I used the time on the van to complete the hand-beading," she said.

 

"The transportation Phoebe provided saved me a lot of stress and headaches," said Trevia, who often returned from her therapy to work half days at Habitat for Humanity International, Inc. as an administrative assistant.

 

"I didn't have to worry those days when I was tired after my therapy or about the cost of traveling back and forth." The support of her husband and family kept her in high spirits.

 

 

"It gives the person a chance to feel they have a friend - somebody who's been there," she said.  Never found without her supply of Avon breast cancer pins, Trevia is an evangelist in recruiting others to spread the message of early detection and treatment.