An uncontrollable itch 10 years ago was a defining moment in Marsha Jones Rush’s diagnosis of breast cancer.

    “I’d just come home after a hard day and was itching right along my breast and when I started to scratch, it was like, ‘Wait a minute!'”

    Telling herself that there was no need to panic, Rush raised her arm again and felt the area with her hand.

    “I knew then that it was definitely something there,” she said.

    Age 39 at the time and with no family history of breast cancer, Rush panicked. She immediately turned to her pastor, Apostle Debra Brewer, who is also an oncology nurse.

    “I went to her and shared what I thought I had found – a golf ball size mass in my breast – and asked her if she would examine it to see if it was just my imagination,” Rush said.

    It wasn’t.

    “She immediately instructed me to have it checked by a physician,” she said.

    But that was easier said than done. Rush found the mass in May 2002 and spent nearly two months trying to get a doctor’s appointment.

    “I could not get anyone to see me immediately,” she said. “Here I was telling these people that I have a lump in my breast, and no one could see me for several weeks. I even tried going to several clinics as a walk-in, and they would tell me that I ‘might” get to see a doctor.”

    Returning to work one day after trying to get in yet another clinic, Rush said she had a revelation.

    “The Holy Spirit spoke to me as I passed the Immediate Care Clinic that was located across from the Highway Patrol Office on Eighth Street. The Spirit said to turn and go inside the clinic,” she said.

    “I just passed right by it. I had been trying to get someone to see me since May 24 and here it was July. I’d passed the light by MSU-Meridian when the Spirit spoke to me again – and this time He was very stern. He said, ‘I said turn this car around, go back and go into that Immediate Care Clinic.'”

    This time, Rush listened.

    As she turned in her paperwork, Rush was informed that someone would see her immediately. At that moment, she prepared to leave the clinic.

    “I didn’t believe them,” she said. “I picked up my purse to walk out the door when the nurse called me back.”

    As she told the nurse about the lump she’d found and the difficulty she’d had getting an an appointment, Rush broke down and cried – overwhelmed by all she’d been through. A few minutes later, she met with Dr. Jacob Ulmer, who, upon examining her, referred Rush to Dr. Sandra Pupa.

    She saw Pupa that same day and a needle biopsy was performed. The test results came back negative for cancer, but she was diagnosed with a papilloma mass, which, according to Pupa, has the potential to become cancerous. Rush was advised that the mass be removed.

    A portion of the mass was removed by Dr. Stephen Tartt to have tested. When Rush returned for her followup, she was informed that the results showed that it was cancer.

    “I lost it; I’m not going to even pretend,” she said. “I was in tears and I don’t remember hearing anything Dr. Tartt said after he said the word, ‘cancer.'”

    On a return visit, Tartt informed Rush of her options and also referred her to Dr. Lee Thornton, a plastic surgeon.

    “They were so wonderful and what I loved about it was that it was a team effort – every step of the way,” she said.

    It was determined that Rush would have the breast removed, immediately followed by reconstructive surgery.

    “Thank God I didn’t wake up and not see that I no longer had a breast; I don’t think I could have handled that,” she said.

    Rush said by the time of her surgery, she was at peace.

    “I was so confident and there was not a concern because I knew that 100 percent I was a winner, no matter what happened,” she said. “I’d shared with people around me that even if I died on the table I’d won because I knew I was going to Heaven to be with my Father. But if I lived, it was that testimony that God heals. It was a win no matter what.”

    Rush initially refused chemotherapy. Known for her thick, long hair, she had some concern about hair loss. Persistent in her refusal to undergo chemotherapy, the Spirit instructed her otherwise.

    “The Spirit said, ‘If you can trust God with your life, then why can’t you trust Him with your hair?'”

    She underwent chemotherapy and did not lose any of her hair.

    She describes her recovery as long, difficult, educational and enlightening.

    “It was a time of searching, seeking … being still and hearing from God,” she said. “One thing I knew immediately when Dr. Tartt told me it was cancer, I knew that the cancer happened to me, but it was for others. I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me and say, ‘You’re going to have to share your story.’ It happened to me, but the outcome was going to be for others, especially women. It would increase their faith and show that in 2002, God is still a healer.”

    She attributes her recovery and survival to her faith.

    “My faith has sustained me,” Rush said. “In times of crisis, it’s either going to drive you into the arms of God or you’re going to go the opposite direction. It drove me so deep into His arms, I found a hiding place where I could not be touched by the enemy – cancer. It gave me peace and a solace there.”

    On her first anniversary as a survivor, Rush said she was humbled and deeply grateful.

    “Cancer takes so much from you – your body parts, your self esteem. It’s so evil and does not care about age, race, gender.”

    And with each additional year of survival from breast cancer, Rush has become stronger – health wise and in her faith.

    “Each year you look forward to reaching that hurdle. It’s like running the race where you’re having to jump the hurdle and you’re just looking to that next one and trying to get their as healthy as possible,” she said. “Having faith makes the journey so much easier to envision and accomplish.”

    This year marked Rush’s 10th anniversary as a cancer survivor. She marked the milestone with the event “An Evening with Marsha: A Celebration of Life.”

    “In the scripture, the No. 10 represents God revisiting His promises. I needed to revisit and go back; I needed to thank God for what he had done,” she said. “My scripture for the celebration is Luke 17: 11-19, which is the parable of the 10 lepers who were healed but only one returned. I needed to return and let my Father know how much I appreciated what he had done for me; that I had not forgotten Him healing me. But also remembering His promises; His promises are true.”

    There are two times a year that are very special to Rush: Her birthday and New Year’s Day.

    “I am so grateful and so appreciative to be live to see each of those special occasions,” she said. “There is life, beautiful life on the other side of cancer. If anything, remember to live well, laugh loud and love deeply.”

    Rush shares her story every opportunity available to encourage others who may be facing the same battle and as a testament of faith.

    “Cancer no longer means death …. For people who have been diagnosed with cancer, be encouraged. Work with your physicians, know that you’re a team. It’s a team effort because together, my team has helped me to become whole again health wise.

    And now Rush is taking on a new role  – advocate.

    “I am really moving in the direction of becoming an advocate for women especially to be more proactive about their health,” she said. “I want them to take responsibility for their health and realize that they don’t have to be afraid.”