'Keep going, fight this': Christy Webb thanks family and colleagues for support in fight against cancer | News

Christy Webb has spent the last 22 years faithfully serving the children and families of Cullman County through the Cullman County Human Resources Department. Now, as she undergoes treatment to combat the breast cancer diagnosis she received earlier this year, her colleagues want to return the favor and are asking the community for help.

Between her personal and professional life, Webb leads a busy life. Her supervisor, CCDHR Director Amy Smith, said she has “basically done every job in the child welfare field” over the course of her 20-year career. She currently works with potential foster parents, helping them obtain the necessary training and licensing before they can accept children into their homes. Webb is also the liaison for the 40 nursing homes in the CCDHR network.

With her husband, Ed, working as an assistant football coach at Hanceville High School, and their son's great football schedule, Webb is also heavily involved in the local sports scene. Therefore, it is understandable that her annual mammogram was delayed in 2023. When she was able to schedule her checkup at the beginning of the year, she received an unwanted diagnosis.

On March 7, Webb's birthday, she received a call from her doctor telling her that tests had revealed several abnormalities and further testing was needed. A second mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy later, in April, Webb was diagnosed with triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma — the most aggressive form of breast cancer with the highest recurrence rate.

“When I first got the diagnosis I was a little upset and angry and stuff, but I just came to terms with it and said to myself, 'I've got it, there's nothing you can do about it but keep going, fight it and get it.' to hope.' never coming back,'” Webb said.

While doctors typically target estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors and the HER2 protein when treating breast cancer, these receptors are missing in patients with a triple-negative diagnosis, making treatment much more difficult.

Webb has already completed a 12-week cycle of chemotherapy and is currently in the middle of a doxorubicin treatment cycle, also known as “Red Devil Chemo” due to the drug's bright red color.

After her final round of chemotherapy on October 15, Webb will begin preparations for her double mastectomy, which she expects to have in November, and will undergo five weeks of radiation therapy. She said she also needs to receive immunotherapy until at least April 2025.

Webb said she experienced relatively few side effects during her first round of chemotherapy, missing only two days of work per week – on Tuesday, when she received her treatment, and on Thursday, when she said she typically experienced the worst side effects. Even then, their absences were often the result of compassionate rebukes from their colleagues.

“I felt like I had to go to work even though I was tired and didn't have much energy because I didn't feel bad. They finally just had to tell me that they knew Thursdays were my bad days and that I had to stay home,” Webb said.

Webb said the “red devil” wasn’t quite as friendly. In a 2012 study published in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, doxorubicin was described as “one of the most effective chemotherapy drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration,” whose main limitation is its toxicity to noncancerous cells. Since beginning this round of treatment, at times she has only been able to work eight hours a week, Webb said.

Webb said she couldn't be more grateful to her husband for taking on the extra chores and making sure their son came to his practices and games and his pep talks. Her colleagues were also a source of support and continued to encourage her to prioritize her health and even take a nap in the office when necessary. However, she remained determined and consistent to show up as often as possible.

Smith said Webb's dedication has earned her a highly privileged position in the Cullman County foster care community. Webb has also worked closely with families seeking to adopt children from the system and, according to Smith, has personally been “the catalyst for well over 100 children finding their forever homes.”

“She’s really a leader here,” Smith said. “She throws herself wholeheartedly into everything she does. That’s exactly who she is and you can’t help but want to help her.”

CCDHR staff and several foster parents organized small activities around the office to show their support for Webb, but as she begins to prepare for the next chapter of her treatment plan, they wanted to “do something bigger.”

CCDHR is asking everyone whose lives Webb has impacted and those affected by her story to show their support at a community-wide “Pink Out” on Friday, October 25th. To alleviate Webb's rising medical costs, employees will donate $5 donations to waive the customary dress code, and several local businesses, including Scooter's Coffee and Downtown Nutrition, have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds from that day to Webb's to donate fight.

Smith said a Facebook page has been created where community members can make personal contributions to the Webb family and are encouraged to post pictures of themselves with family members and friends wearing pink as a sign of solidarity.

“We hope people can donate to help Christy, but also post their pictures to show her how many people support her,” Smith said.

Although Webb's resilience hides it well, she is aware of the gravity of her situation and owes much of her positive attitude to the love and encouragement she has already received from her family and, of course, her colleagues.

“I have the absolute best colleagues. I don't know how people do this and undergo treatment without treatment [a support system] like that,” Webb said.