Faith in God provides strength for Enterprise native

A routine mammogram is how Barbara A. Pearson Sampson first learned she had breast cancer in 2010.

The diagnosis was confirmed through an ultra sound that she had two weeks later.

“I was extremely emotional, particularly at the matter-of-fact delivery of the diagnosis by my doctor,” the Enterprise native said. “I will never forget it.”

Born and raised in Enterprise, Sampson is the third child of James and Lucy J. DuBose Pearson and the granddaughter of Fred L. and Louise UpShaw DuBose.

She now lives in McDonough, Ga., with her husband of 20 years, Lawrence N. Sampson.

“My family was one of the first families to integrate the schools in Enterprise,” Sampson said.

Sampson said she left Enterprise in 1968 after graduating from Warren Smith High School in New Brockton. “I left Enterprise when I was between 17 and 18 years old,” Sampson said.

Sampson is now retired after a career spanning nearly four decades in the fields of law enforcement and the airline industry.

“I retired from Delta Airlines after 22 years of service,” Sampson said. Before working with the airlines, Sampson served for 16 years as a law enforcement officer in California, working for the Beverly Hills Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Bell Gardens Police Department.

“I found out that I had breast cancer in 2010 after a routine mammogram and that was confirmed with an ultrasound two weeks later,” Sampson recalled. “I was told via a telephone call and the words were so cold.”

Sampson remembers that the doctor told her, “Well, it’s cancer,” as casually as if she was being told that she had a common cold. “I cried for days because of the emotional detachment that she displayed,” Sampson said about the person who had been her doctor for more than 12 years. “However, with the help of my family and a wonderful Christian surgeon I was able to make great decisions about my step-by-step care.

“Leading up to my surgery my doctor had three family counseling sessions where we tackled the fear of the diagnosis with prayer, asking questions about what to expect and what steps to take,” Sampson said.

“The doctor gave my son and daughter his personal phone number and told them to call to ask anything they needed answers to or weren’t sure of.

“That was a fantastic blessing for all of us,” Sampson recalled. “The recovery process was tedious and long.”

Sampson said her body rejected the breast reconstruction process causing the reconstruction to rupture. “And I had to be re-admitted into the hospital for another surgery,” she remembered.

After the breast surgery, treatment and reconstruction Sampson retired and moved to McDonough, Ga., where she currently lives with her husband of two decades, Lawrence.

She credits her Christian medical care providers and her family and friends as her inspiration “to keep the faith, fight to recover and beat this horrific disease.”

As of November 2016, Sampson has been taken off of all cancer medications and been released from oncology care. Her annual care is provided by Southern Crescent Breast Specialists in Stockbridge, Ga., and her primary care physician.

“God has been so good to me,” Sampson said as she reflects upon her life. “I feel fantastic thanks to my faith in God and the support of my family.

“My current focus now is working on the re-growth of my hair in the front of my head,” she added.