About Us

About Us 

MY JOURNEY
My name is Tammy Tester and I am a Breast Cancer Survivor. I have been in your shoes and know how difficult the diagnoses of breast cancer can be. I am also a survivor and I know that with God’s help you can be too!!

My journey began on Monday May 9, 2016 when I received the call that I had stage 1, Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, which is a non-aggressive type of breast cancer, but not all of the cells are contained within the cyst (there are some breaking thru and going into the surrounding tissue).

I had my yearly mammogram in March which came back fine, but because I have very dense breast tissue and a history of fibroid cysts in my left breast this was not unusual. In April I noticed a bloody looking discharge coming from my nipple and contacted my gynecologist to have it checked out. She saw me and immediately sent me to see Dr. Anita Patt, a breast oncology surgeon. They performed an ultrasound and found two cysts which were biopsied. One came back as a fibroid cyst and the other came back as malignant. The initial cyst they found was small (1.4 cm – approximately half an inch).

Dr. Patt then sent me for a MRI of the chest area, where they located two additional cysts, which were also biopsied. A second cyst was proved to be cancer as well. I now had an area with two cysts that were about the size of a half dollar.
Because of the size of the cysts and the fact they were invasive, I underwent chemotherapy first. I had to do four chemo treatments. I was blessed that I didn’t have a port, since I was only doing four treatments. I will not lie to you—chemo is tough! I experienced body aches, extreme fatigue and loss of appetite. It is important that you keep eating though, because you will need your strength to fight through this battle. One of the cancer drugs I received caused me to lose my hair, so for several months I was rocking hats and scarves. I personally chose not to wear a wig since my chemo treatments were only going to be for a brief period of time. I encourage you to make whatever decision makes you feel the best the good cells and the bad cells—so I was scheduled for a mastectomy. My husband and I had already made the decision that we wanted the mastectomy anyway because of all the previous problems that I had with my left breast (I had probably had eight cysts that I had biopsied throughout the years, which had come back as fibroid cysts). I knew that if they ever found another cyst, my initial thought would be that the cancer was back and for my own sanity I didn’t want to go through that – so we moved forward with the mastectomy of the left breast with lymph node mapping on September 29th. 

The week after surgery was difficult—it is just very hard to get comfortable (especially to sleep, as I am a side sleeper). You don’t realize how much you use your chest muscles until they are extremely sore. But after about a week the soreness improved. I had an expander inserted to stretch the skin in preparation of my reconstruction surgery which was December 16th.

On Friday, October 7, 2016, Dr. Patt, my oncology surgeon, told me that I am officially in remission and cancer free. She explained that the lymph nodes were all clear and when they biopsied the breast tissue removed, they only found two very small pieces of the cancer left (each less than 1 mm in size).

After my journey, I wanted to give back to other ladies who have been diagnosed with breast cancer —so I started Faith & Support Ministry to provide you will some items to help you as you go through your journey.
OUR TEAM
Faith & Support Ministry is blessed to be have an amazing team of people who support the vision of this ministry and work hard to fulfill our vision and purpose.

Ministry Team

  • Tammy Tester
  • Kenia Warren
  • Cindy Ragusa
  • Donna Duncan
  • Tanya Warren
  • Michelle Moon
  • Dianne Warren
  • Nancy Davis
  • Norma Plumber
  • Brenda Butcher
  • Julie Sommo
  • Judy Olson
  • Wendy Bassie
  • Sonja Mcgatha
  • Colleen Anderson
  • Debra Williasm
  • Kathleen Tollison
  • Terresa Westmoreland
  • Bernadette Breon
  • Linda Wingo
  • Cathy Liu
  • Laura Kinard

Graphic Artist / Marketing Team

  • Anna Brown
  • Heather Marchbanks
  • Tony Ragusa
  • Melinda Rholetter

IT / TECHNICAL SUPPORT / WEB DESIGN

  • David Tester
  • Frank Condon – Devobal.com
  • Sam Broyles – DevObal.com
  • Joseph Montore – DevObal.com

DONORS

  • Jack Weber
  • Bryan Yoder
  • Anna Brown
  • Julie Sommo
  • Tim & Linda Murphy
  • Donna Duncan
  • Nancy Davis
  • Travels with Delaney
  • Dabo's All In Foundation
  • Michelle & Greg Moon
  • Linda Cowart
  • Trehel Corporation
  • Mike Garren
  • Tiffany Moon
  • Heather & Bill Marchbanks
  • Victoria Morgan Simpson
  • Susan & Allen Gilliam
  • Mauldin Middle School
  • Celeste & Faith Sands
  • John & Sarah Folk
  • Furman Babb Painting
  • Debi Blanton
  • Satterfield Woodworking
  • Steve Mingura
  • Estelita Abella Stein
  • In Memory of Ann North Eison

Special Thanks !

A very special thank you to Sandy Springs Baptist Church for allowing us the use of the church social hall for our ministry sewing days.
Also a very special thank you to Frank Condon and Devobal.com for designing this website. This was done in memory of Diane Gordon, Frank’s Mother-In- Law, who lost her battle to cancer in 2017.
Faith and Support has been blessed to be awarded a grant from Dabo Sweeney's All In Team Foundation for the last four years.  
We also in 2022 received a grant from United Bank Upstate SC Foundation.  
This funding has allowed our ministry to continue to encourage and uplift ladies going through the dreaded disease of breast cancer.
Faith and Support was honored and humbled to be named one of the recipients of the Travels with Delaney - "November to Remember" campaign funds.  This campaign was in honor of Patrick McCormick’s sister - Angelia Harpenau, 
who lost her battle with inflammatory breast cancer in August 2018.  

We sincerely appreciate all of these organizations for their belief in and support of Faith and Support Ministry.   

Share by: