WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – She has been cancer free for six months and now a Watertown woman is on her next journey to support those who have gone and are going through the same.
Sometimes it just takes one phone call to change your life.
“She told me I tested positive for breast cancer, and that was it,” said Linda Fredenburg.
That March 2020 call was only the beginning for Fredenburg in her long and, at points, isolated journey.
She had just moved back to the north country after living in western New York for a bit. Not realizing another hurdle was ahead: a global pandemic.
“I was petrified. I was in panic mode. I mean, total panic mode,” said Fredenburg.
During her treatments at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, she was often alone.
“I had chemo appointments three days a week,” she said.
She says she had her husband, best friend and family.
“But that connection with someone else that had breast cancer…was the one I didn’t have. And that’s the part I think is necessary,” said Fredenburg.
She has since started up the Breast Cancer & Beyond support group which meets at the First United Methodist Church on Mullin Street in Watertown.
“That’s extremely important to give these people the hope and take care of the stress, and just to be welcoming to them so they understand they’re not alone,” she said.
The group meets every Monday and Fredenburg wants people to know the door is open so if they get that call someday, they’ll know who to turn to.
“The whole thing of it is, is to regain control of our lives. We want to regain control and feel like we still have purpose,” she said.
For more information, you can call Fredenburg at (315) 778-7290 or lindafredenburg@gmail.com.
Copyright 2022 WWNY. All rights reserved.
