QUESTION: Is it true that Alamance-Burlington school board chairman Sandy Ellington-Graves has been diagnosed with cancer? Will she need to step aside for treatment?
ANSWER: Ellington-Graves confirmed Wednesday afternoon for The Alamance News that she was diagnosed in late August with Stage IA breast cancer, which she said will require surgery.
“I’m having a unilateral mastectomy,” said Ellington-Graves. “Doing the mastectomy, the surgeon is highly doubtful that I will have to undergo chemotherapy or radiation.”
Ellington-Graves said she is being treated at Kernodle Clinic and Alamance Regional Medical Center.
“It’s a speed bump not a detour,” she said. She also confirmed that she has no plans to step away from her role as school board chairman or her other professional commitments.
Ellington-Graves remains optimistic about her long-term prognosis, based on the information that her doctors have shared with her. “My doctor is confident that we’re catching it early and anticipates a full recovery with little chance for recurrence,” she told the newspaper.
Ellington-Graves asks for prayers and support for her and her family during her treatment and recovery. “I’m at peace; I’m confident in my surgeon, my treatment plan, and I’m optimistic that I’ll bounce back soon. I’m not going anywhere.”
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