 "Photo: Neka Jones/Echo staff photographer")
When business administration adjunct professor Deborah Watkins was diagnosed with breast cancer in
December 2000, she knew she was facing the biggest challenge of her life.
In 2003 she received a mastectomy, and in April 2010 she was told her cancer had returned.
According to the American Cancer Society, one out of eight women will get breast cancer at some point in their lives. Breast cancer kills about 40,000 women each year in the United States.
While white women are more likely to get breast cancer, black women are more likely to die from it.
Health experts speculate that African-American women may be prone to more aggressive tumors.
Watkins, whose cancer is now in remission, said she has faced her challenge with the help of her faith and her family.
During her most recent treatments, she took pen to paper and began exploring what she describes as her "trial."
She tells her story in "Seasoned With His Love," a book of poems and reflections published in 2011.
In the introduction she writes: "We are born, we live and we die … Our birth is one event; our death is another event, but our life, hopefully, is rich in experiences. My life has a very special seasoning — one that gives it a unique flavor that can be ‘tasted' in all of my experiences."
Throughout her struggles with breast cancer, Watson has given God glory without questioning him.
In her poem "Why Not Me?" Watson tells of her trust and faith that God will make a way.
She writes: "If God is my refuge, strength, and ever-present help, then why not me? He will bring me through."
Watkins said her family has helped her face her trial.
"I knew God would take care of her," said her husband, Sam.
"I work at a hospital and I see people who go through chemotherapy, so I knew I needed to be at every appointment with my wife," he said.
Watkins said her illness make her children, Jessica, 23, Quenton, 22, and Brandon, 19, "nervous."
"They didn't know whether or not their mom would live or die," she said.
Watkins' collection of poems has helped not only her, but also her readers work work through her challenges.
"I felt that she had walked with me through my journeys of major illnesses as she gave God the glory," writes Courtney Ferguson, a retired NCCU computer information science professor.
"I have learned that sometimes the trials we face not only help us grow spiritually, but they also help others have faith in God by witnessing our reaction and walk with Christ through it all," said Watkins.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article! Log in to Comment
You must be logged in to comment on an article. Not already a member? Register now