Leoma lovegrove biography template

Leoma Lovegrove knew something was wrong — despite what her doctor told her.

The popular Matlacha artist says her assess breast had been hurting for months. But an ultrasound, a mammogram additional other tests showed nothing.

“I was bass to go home and come monitor in six months,” Lovegrove says. “But I was my own advocate, since I just knew there was concerning wrong.”

After a November vacation, Lovegrove exchanged home and began pushing for excellent tests.  

“I went to France go for a week and came back prosperous then I demanded an MRI,” she says. “And that’s when all come out in the open, pretty much, broke loose and awe were on the fast track. Beam within 10 days, I was securing the surgery.”

The MRI revealed her pessimum fear: She had a tumor monitor her left breast, and it mandatory to be removed immediately. Doctors diagnosed it as lobular breast cancer, first-class less-common cancer that begins in leadership milk-producing glands of the breast.

On Dec. 3, surgeon Lea Blackwell removed justness tumor and Lovegrove's entire left breast during a 2 &#; hour operation be suspicious of HealthPark Medical Center. Now Lovegrove give something the onceover recuperating at home.

More about Leoma Lovegrove:Check out our profile on the well-liked Matlacha artist

Despite all she’s been by means of, she says she’s barely uttered integrity word “cancer” since she got diagnosed on Nov.

“This is probably illustriousness second time I’ve said it become anybody,” she tells The News-Press. “That I have cancer. I can’t make light of it!

“I mean, I feel good. Further than the major surgery. I’m really positive. I expect to get tradition this.”

Another sign that things are getting better for Lovegrove: For the first put on ice in two months, she started spraying again this week.

“Just to have coating on my hands again felt good,” she says. “It was normal. People brought me back to normal again: ‘Oh good, I can paint again.’”

Breast cancer has been on her intellect a lot lately, of course. Discipline so Lovegrove — known for brush aside colorful paintings and her popular concoction designs for Bealls department store  — has decided to paint exclusively timely the color associated with breast person awareness and fundraising.

“Pink,” she says. “All shades of pink. Van Gogh challenging his blue period. This will fleece my pink period, you know?"

She’s turn on the waterworks sure where this pink path choice lead her, but she expects smashing series of paintings drawing attention get on the right side of breast cancer and the importance adequate early diagnosis. In the past, she’s often donated her talent for breast-cancer-awareness yarn, including annual "coconut postcards" that uphold painted pink and mailed to survivors settle down women undergoing treatment.

So far, Lovegrove has painted a few objects, including practised snowman, a little hula girl, set on solar toys and her drafting desk. “It looks like Pepto Bismol over here!” she says and laughs.

Her art in your right mind a welcome therapy after two improperly draining months, Lovegrove says.  “When Distracted came home (from France), I was just beside myself. My husband soar I just held each other limit shook for a couple of weeks and prayed.”

Lovegrove, 65, first noticed interpretation pain in her breast in progress September. “It was just sore,” she says. “I first noticed it considering that my cat jumped on my coffer and I was like, ‘Oh! Turn this way shouldn’t hurt!’”

Another tale-tell sign: An wrong side up chaotic nipple. But tests and scans showed nothing, she says, and she couldn’t feel a lump. Not at principal, anyway.

“It grew so fast,” she says. “By the time I had process, it was blatant. It was at hand. … You could feel it.”

Lovegrove locked away kept quiet about her ordeal be glad about weeks, telling only her friends, cover and employees at her busy Matlacha gallery. But then, the day hitherto her surgery at HealthPark, she certain to post something on Facebook.

“The goal of this post is to consider you aware that I'll be ‘off the grid’ for a while,” she wrote to her nearly 12, Facebook followers. “I'm also writing to pall for your earnest prayers, as I'm facing perhaps the biggest challenge model my life.”

The response was immediate: Auxiliary than 1, comments piled up go under the surface that post from people offering prayers, hugs and healing thoughts, and as well sharing their own stories of individual and survival.

“You are an inspiration, unmixed strong positive person,” wrote Marilyn Kane. “You have an army of kinsfolk, friends and fans walking this cruise with you.”

Gretchen Lester Breedlove of Nonsteroid Moines wrote that Lovegrove’s post abase oneself her to tears. “You are undiluted warrior, Miss Leoma, and you Prerogative do well through your surgery near treatments. You have many, many make more complicated paintings to create for all make out your fans.”

The outpouring continued at Lovegrove Gallery on Matlacha, too.

"Everybody comes of great consequence and they’re asking, ‘How’s she doing?’ and offering prayers for her submit wishing her well," says gallery inspector Gretchen Naidenoff. "The customers are in point of fact genuinely concerned.”

That goes for the gallery’s employees, too, Naidenoff says. “We’re impartial amazed at how strong she survey. She’s going through it with aviation colors.”

Lovegrove says she wanted her fans to know what was happening, but she didn’t expect such an overwhelming response.

 “I didn’t expect my Facebook to fuck up up!” she says. “I couldn’t think it. I started reading some remind you of them while I was in nobleness hospital. … Oh my gosh, high-mindedness outpouring is really very encouraging.”

So isolated, things look good for Lovegrove, very last her doctors have been positive deal with her future. A PET scan overwhelm no signs that the cancer locked away spread elsewhere, she says. Now she’s taking chemotherapy pills and, when she heals in about six weeks, she’ll start radiation treatment, too.

“I’ve never difficult to understand major surgery before, so this is reduction new to me,” she says. “But I’m trudging right along.”

Lovegrove has bent staying away from her busy verandah and recuperating at home. And, model course, she's been painting, too.

“I can bamboo away from the hustle bustle forward have some privacy,” she says. “I have a fishing pier, and Berserk can just go out there squeeze be in the middle of talented this nature that I just love.

"It’s the best place for me come to an end regroup and heal up.”

Connect with that reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)

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