VALDOSTA — What would you do differently if you were faced with a life-threatening disease?

This is a question some people ponder, but many others are forced into answering.

The Hattermanns are two of those people. Life as they knew it took an unfortunate (or a fortunate, depending on your outlook) turn.

In 1994, Janet “Jan” Hattermann was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. It was not something the 32-year-old teacher, wife and mother of two small children was expecting to hear or, let alone, deal with.

If the Hattermann name rings a bell, it’s probably because they were randomly interviewed during the Relay for Life event held April 30. The couple had such an inspirational story and, hopefully, it will help others who may be dealing with the unexpected.

In the fall of 1993 Jan noticed one breast was a little larger than the other one, but she didn’t think much about it. She said that, at that time, all the advertisements said women should have mammograms at 40.

“To me, breast cancer was an old lady’s disease,” she said. “I figured I would just wait until my next annual exam and mention it then. I didn’t have time to go to the doctor. I was teaching full time, I had a 2 1/2-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son to take care of, and I was also a den mother. My husband noticed the breast that was larger had a visible lump in it. He’s actually the one who kept pushing that I go in and have it checked out. He turned out to be my savior.”

In January 1994, Jan’s doctor ordered a biopsy after attempts of aspirating the breast and getting a clear mammogram failed. This concerned Jan because she didn’t want to miss work. Missing work quickly lost its importance when she woke up from her biopsy and received the mind-blowing news. The doctor said the dreaded words, “It is cancer.”

Dennis Hattermann began doing his own research on cancer. He wanted to know what they were facing and what could be done to save his wife. The cancer had spread to Jan’s lymph nodes and was jumping around quickly instead of staying in a centralized area. This made her case more difficult than some others. The cancer was at the beginning of the lymph nodes, skipped the middle and was in the next to last lymph node, which was removed. Jan was told it could have metastasized or spread to other places in the body.

It wasn’t until the biopsy was performed that the doctor determined it was stage two cancer. Luckily full-body X-rays showed no significant tumors, but that did not mean the cancer had not spread.

“We tried to process what we had been told, but it just didn’t seem real,” Jan said, “We wanted a second opinion, and my doctor said time was of the essence.”

The sample was sent to Duke University. The results were confirmed, and Jan had a mastectomy five days later. Within a week, chemotherapy treatment began. In Jan’s case, the basic treatment wasn’t strong enough. She had to have a mixed cocktail of drugs in a regimen that was not commonly used in the United States at that time.

“Everybody is different, every cancer is different,” Jan said. “Where most treatments take a few months, mine took an entire year. When my white blood count would drop, I had to get booster shots to build it back up. I could not receive chemo if my count was low.”

As if life wasn’t already hectic enough with teaching music full time at J.L. Lomax Elementary and maintaining a home, Jan had to go in literally every day for either shots, treatments or checkups.

“I got chemo on Thursdays after school,” Jan said, “and it took about four hours.”

This went on for an entire year, and she continued to work through it all.

“The only time I missed was when I had the mastectomy,” she noted.

Jan was “very blessed” to have such a good church family who provided meals for her and her family every Thursday and Friday during that year.

“They were really there for us.” Jan said. “Some even offered to come clean our house and help Dennis out with the kids. We also had a very good babysitter who would hang out with the kids a little longer on Thursdays until Dennis got off from work.”

Jan still has the hundreds of cards she received that year.

She talked about the importance of having people around while she struggled to keep things together. She talked about how bad she felt as a mother when she was too ill or weak to get her daughter some juice.

“When I started losing my hair, I wondered how she would react,” she said. “I put my wig on her and she walked around with it, giggling because she thought it was a funny thing. I can remember just crying because she was having such a good time with this wig. I was thinking, I may not make it and that wig may be the last hairpiece I ever wear. It was important for me to share everything with her even though she was too young to understand.”

Jan wondered if she would ever see her daughter go to kindergarten or to the father/daughter dance. She wondered if she would ever see her son go to the eighth grade or play tee ball.

Jan added that one of the most difficult times for her was Christmas.

“Every Christmas holiday you live to see, you wonder if it’s your last,” she said with tears in her eyes.

The odds were against Jan, but her doctor was still holding on to hope.

“He never verbally said I would beat the disease,” she said, “but he helped me to see that the smallest chance was still a chance and I should think positive thoughts.”

For Jan, it became a day-by-day thing.

“When you have cancer, at first you just try and live to the next doctor’s appointment,” she said. “When you’ve accomplished that, you’re looking to make it to the next one.”

The entire year for Jan was an “uphill battle.” Luckily for her, she did not have to face that battle alone. Her husband of almost 26 years, Dennis, was by her side from the beginning. He experienced the harsh reality of cancer from a different viewpoint. Physically, emotionally and spiritually, Dennis tried to hold it together and be the husband his wife needed.

“It’s kind of funny that people questioned if I would stick around while my wife was going through her ordeal,” he said. “I guess there’s a big divorce rate among couples who deal with the roller coaster ride that cancer takes them on. It was hard for me, being a man, because I naturally wanted to fix things for her, and I couldn’t.”

Dennis is director of research, regulatory and marketing for Landis International. He is used to researching and coming up with the facts and resolutions. When the doctor first told the couple the diagnosis, Dennis said he just about passed out.

“For me it got harder because every day Jan would ask me if she was going to make it,” he said. “I did not have all the answers, but I just kept telling her what the doctors were saying. I was also dealing with a 7-year-old who had many questions, and I had to answer them in a way he would understand. Meanwhile, I did all the research I could plus all the work that went into my own job. I can remember taking my laptop into the hospital room and continuing my work. In the beginning, I traveled a lot with my job, but the traveling slowed down so I could be at home more.”

During the crisis, Dennis said he was also dealing with the possibility of losing his job when another company sought to buy out the one he worked for. There were many unanswered questions, such as would Jan be able to keep working? If not, would a new insurance company take her on with her pre-existing condition? Added to the situation, Jan’s mother became ill.

“Needless to say, that year was very stressful for all of us,” he said with a sigh. Dennis then tried to lighten up the conversation by adding, “I think that’s when my hair started turning gray.”

“It really was like you’re in a freefall, and you’re trying to grasp on to a branch, hoping it doesn’t break,” he said in his very calm and low-toned voice. “At times I felt like I was out there all alone, but then I realized there were many others suffering along with me.”

Dennis kept most of his suffering and fears inside.

“I just did what I could for my family,” he said. “There was a lot of praying, a lot of frustration and a lot of tears. You try to think positive thoughts, but when you see the concern in the doctors’ faces, you start to get scared yourself. There were times when I thought it would have been better if I had the cancer instead of my wife. I thought I could have handled it better if I was the one who was sick and not her.”

The Hattermanns said, in addition to their loving church family and friends, they were blessed to have the best group of doctors that South Georgia had to offer.

Jan wants it be known that, despite what people may think, anyone can get cancer.

“I didn’t smoke, I had no history of cancer in my family, and I was young and healthy,” she said.

Dennis believes the hand they were dealt brought them closer to the Lord and each other.

“At the end of it all, faith, hope and love are all you have,” he added.

Jan concluded by saying the experience has made her realize just how precious life is. It has really made her appreciate the position God has placed her in.

“I am still able to teach and help young people to realize their self-worth and be the best they can be.”

In addition to teaching fifth grade at W.G. Nunn, she is also the instructional coordinator for the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra. Jan is a 17-year survivor who sees every day as a blessing. Her husband Dennis is a 17-year survivor in his own right.

The Hattermann children, Brandon and Elizabeth, now 23 and 19, are both Valdosta State University students.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually worldwide. Over 190,000 were diagnosed in the U.S. just last year alone. There are more than 200 different types of cancer. The four most common types are breast (which has six various forms), colon, lung and prostate.