Tami Deaton: Smiling through her battle

		Tami Deaton, administrative assistant in geography, battled breast cancer and won. She now thinks of herself as an advocate for others battling the disease.

A number of words and phrases spoken in everyday language tend to induce a certain level of stress in people. They include "bills," "term paper," "taxes," "car trouble."

Tami Deaton, administrative assistant in the Department of Geography, discovered just how trivial those can sound when she heard a different word: "cancer."

"When somebody comes in the room and tells you, ‘You have cancer,' it just kind of pulls the table out from under you," says Deaton. "It definitely changed my outlook on things."

Deaton was seven months pregnant with her second child when she found a lump in her breast. While she was still in the hospital after having her daughter, she decided to schedule a mammogram. She was given the results on the day of her daughter's two-week check-up.

Deaton says at first she was shocked.

"But then I just thought, I have to be here to see my kids grow up, so let's do what we've got to do," she says.

On March 1, 2000, Deaton had a mastectomy and began six months of chemotherapy. Seven weeks of radiation followed.

Through the whole process she worked at UNT, taking off a few days here and there for treatments and recovering on weekends. Her husband, mother and mother-in-law helped out at home with her 3-year-old son and infant daughter.

Eva Ramirez, clerical assistant in the Department of Geography, did not know about Deaton's struggle until she was in remission.

"Through the whole thing, you never once saw her upset or down," says Ramirez. "She was always very happy and willing to help anybody. I totally admire her."

Deaton says she appreciates the staff in the human resources department for their assistance in working with insurance and sick leave. She is also grateful for the support that came from those who work with her. One of her co-workers organized a food rally and supplied her family with meals for almost two months.

"I love the people here," says Deaton. "It's just a huge extended family. We all take care of each other and I can't imagine working anywhere else."

This March, Deaton celebrated four cancer-free years and says she has done her best to make the most of every day.

As an advocate for other women going through therapy, she lets those who are struggling with cancer know that they are not alone.

"I don't want them to be scared," she says. "That's one thing I've prayed about: Let me be someone that people are comfortable coming to."

Deaton will have been a part of the UNT community for 17 years in September. Her door remains open to visitors and workmates, her extended family. On her desk sit photos of those for whom she fought: her friends, husband and children. The corkboard on the wall just behind her right shoulder displays pink ribbons and messages of survival. It's a small reminder of the challenge she overcame, the millions who still struggle and the prayer that remains for the day when cancer is not such a frightening word.

BY IDA CASTILLO paispho1@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

• Two UNT graduate programs ranked high by U.S. News and World Report
• Entrepreneur ranks Murphy Enterprise Center in top tier of regional programs
• College of Business Administration dean to step down; interim dean chosen
• Texas attorney general speaks at UNT
• Karen Hughes, Kinky Friedman headline first UNT System Book and Author Luncheon
• New general counsel addresses Faculty Senate
• U.S. National Security Agency names UNT College of Engineering center among nation's elite computer security programs
• UNT Moot Court squad finishes 2003-04 year ranked first in the state

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