Police Officer Battling Breast Cancer For The Second Time Is Honored With A Pink Patrol Car
BuzzFeed - Latest 2014-10-06
Summary:
Orlando cop Karen Long has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
Orlando police officer Karen Long is fighting Stage 4 breast cancer. This is her second time battling the disease.
She was first diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2007 at the age of 33. She had to undergo a double mastectomy, six months of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation. "It was really, really tough," Long told Wesh.com.
About two months before her five-year anniversary, the cancer came back.
The Orlando Police Department presented Long with a pink patrol car to honor her fight with cancer and in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Oct. 1.
The car was unveiled as part of the "Hope Hike" where breast cancer survivors and patients walked around the city to raise awareness about the disease.
"I am still here, I'm still smiling, still working," Long told WESH, as she was presented with her new patrol car.
Long said she continues to work hard because "I get to support a lot of people that are going through this and be kind of like their ambassador and tell them, 'There is still hope, you can still live with this disease.'"
She said her greatest support came from her 11-year-old son, Samuel, who she calls her "little rock."
"You are the reason I'm going to make sure that I beat this thing," Long told her son. "Because I'm going to dance at your wedding."