Mrs. Bonnie Adams, Freedom’s school nurse, was diagnosed with breast cancer on Sept. 17. Adams, who works for both Freedom Area Middle School and the high school, has been a school nurse for the past nine years.

“I was scared for my mom. I never thought of all the people in the world, my mom would get cancer,” Junior Trevor Adams , Adams’ son, said.

He is the second youngest from the five children Adams has.

“I’m a pretty tough cookie; I’m not going down without a fight,” Adams said. So many families are affected by a loved one having some type of cancer. Adams has received a lot of support from her family and loved ones, including the faculty and students at FHS and FMS.

Mrs. Heather Giammaria and Mrs. Anna Maria Folmar came up with an idea that was presented to Mrs. Kristen Milanovich and the Freedom Fortune 500 to make t-shirts that would support Adams.The class was able to raise over $500 for Adams and her family to help defray costs of medical bills. The t-shirt and sweatshirt fundraiser, along with others, will possibly be extending to the student body for even more support.

“I just hope that this helps her, ” Milanovich said.

On Nov. 19, Adams’ first day back to FHS, the teachers wore t-shirts and sweatshirts that they had purchased from the Freedom Fortune 500 class in support of her. The high school faculty and the middle school faculty all wore pink shirts with breast cancer symbols that stated “#Team Adams” The shirts were a sign of support from all of the faculty members.

“A lot of the faculty [have] sent me cards and has come to see me. The support I have here is very nice,” Adams said. Adams had surgery on Oct. 20 to remove the cancer. On Nov. 20, she received her first chemo treatment.

“I chose to get the chemo because they did a test to see if the cancer would come back and my results were high enough to say I wanted to get the chemotherapy treatment,” Adams said.

“I didn’t really miss a beat. My surgery was on a Wednesday and that Saturday I was down at the New Sewickley Trick-or-Treat Trail passing out candy,” Adams said.

According to breastcancer.org, one in eight U.S. women will be diagnosed with breast cancer over the course of their lifetime.