GREAT BEND – For years, she did everything she thought she was supposed to do. She ate well. She exercised. She took care of her body. And it seemed to pay off, until breast cancer.

But surviving the disease was only be the beginning. When radiation left her with too little healthy tissue for breast implants, she turned to another reconstruction option, only to learn she was too lean for that, as well. There simply wasn’t enough body fat to perform the procedure. For perhaps the first time in her life, being exceptionally healthy was working against her.

So, after years of watching what she ate and working to stay fit, she was told she needed to gain 30 pounds, and to do it quickly.

Shara Stettinger said she’ll never forget getting her diagnosis; was pulling up to her son’s preschool to pick him up before taking her girls to piano practice.

“I had just had my biopsy a couple days before and my doctor basically said I’m not sure why you want a biopsy done, this isn’t what cancer looks like and it’s definitely not concerning,” she said. “I was in total shock and had a difficult time keeping it together with my kids present. I knew that God had a plan and I would trust the doctors he put in my path.”

For Stettinger, not working during treatment wasn’t an option.

“We couldn’t afford for me to not work and I knew that if I was at home, it wouldn’t be beneficial for me, either,” she said. “I knew I had to keep going for my family and for myself.”

She received 25 treatments of radiation, five days a week, in Hutchinson.

“My employer worked with me and allowed me to work a full day but leave an hour early so I could travel to my treatment every day,” she said. “It was a blessing I didn’t have to miss work, but it was so exhausting. A couple of ladies from my church stepped up and drove me back and forth every day.”

Stettinger said there were days she could hardly stand to move.

“I would just lay in bed for days and the only thing that got me through was to imagine myself resting in God’s arms,” she said. “I knew that He was holding me and giving me strength through it.”

After finishing chemotherapy and radiation, Stettinger discovered she was not eligible for breast implants due to all of the damage from radiation and the lack of tissue and body fat on that side. She traveled out of state for a risky procedure with a 50 percent success rate.

“I was told I was also ineligible for this surgery because my BMI was not high enough,” she said. “I had to gain over 30 pounds in a very short amount of time.”

After finally being cleared for surgery, she faced multiple complications.

“Long story short, the surgery was not successful on my affected side. I was back to square one and extremely defeated,” she said. “Finally, this April I was four years in remission and had my final surgery. I feel amazing knowing I don’t have to mentally prepare for another one.”

Prior to her diagnosis, Stettinger and her husband were saving for some renovations on the exterior of their home. Because of all the medical expenses, they were unable to complete it.

“One day, while we were out of town for a softball tournament, friends came over and surprised us by putting on new siding and working on other improvements,” she said. “People in the community had donated and it meant the world to us.”

Stettinger teaches fifth grade in Great Bend and had to miss a significant amount of work due to surgery and treatments.

“I reached out to Jacque Royer to see if she could be my emergency substitute for me, she agreed and has been there for me every step of the way. She covered my class every single time I needed to be gone,” she said.

Stettinger said her mom was with her through all nine surgeries, traveling to Texas with her for one, and was there for multiple emergency room visits and follow up appointments.

“She’s a nurse so she helped me a lot with managing all of my medications, my health history and everything I was going through,” she said. “My mother-in-law was there to help make sure my kids were taken care of. She ran them to sports, picked them up from school, helped keep the house in order, made meals and so much more.”

Stettinger’s friend, Molly, set up meal trains and kept everyone updated on her jjourney, something Stettinger said she didn’t have the time or energy for. Another friend, Courtney, drove her to her chemo treatments and helped with taking care of her children. She credits her workout partner for keeping her going in the gym.

“I got to know others who had recently gone through similar treatments and I was able to reach out to these ladies to ask questions. It helped so much to hear their stories,” she said.

Stettinger said she remembers to take time for the little things in life that make her happy now.

“I have more empathy,” she said. “Life is too short so I look for joy in the little things.”

Stettinger said beating cancer makes her feel strong, knowing she survived the biggest battle of her life.

“I feel confident I can beat anything,” she said. “Surviving mentally is just as important, if not more important, than all of the physical symptoms and struggles.”

She would tell someone recently diagnosed not to worry and stress about the all the little things and to make sure to find the humor in everything.

“It is very much a waiting game,” she said. “I would go to the doctor and do all the tests and then just wait and wait. It was easy to get wrapped up in the unknown and waiting. There are a million what if situations going through your head so it’s easy to start spiraling out of control.”

She said it’s important not to change what you do.

“I love working out and that has been important to me my entire life. I wasn’t going to let cancer change that for me,” she said. “I held on to as much normal as I could and it was the one situation that I was still in control of. Even on my worst day, I found a way to make it there, so I could feel a sense of normalcy.”

Stettinger reminds women to listen to their bodies, stating most doctor’s offices don’t typically begin screening and mammograms before the age of 40. She also wants to remind other women her mammogram came back clear.

“I was sure that something wasn’t right,” she said. “Advocate for yourself. I was 35 when I was diagnosed. I found the lump myself and it was all God that I even went to get it looked at. I had no regular doctor and I am an extremely fit and healthy individual. Something inside of me nudged me to get it checked out.”

Even though it’s been four years since Stettinger went into remission, she said it still has an impact on every aspect of her life.

“My first thought when I was diagnosed was okay, God, how am I going to use this journey to help others,” she said. “God doesn’t bring us to something we can’t make it through.”