By GAGE WILSON
For GlasgowNews1
Editor’s Note: In the weeks leading up to the CARE Power Hour Luncheon, GlasgowNews1 is sharing the stories of survivors who show the strength, hope, and impact behind this annual event. Read all stories in the series here.
For Cherie Eads, cancer is not something she fought and left behind.
It is something she lives with every day.
Diagnosed with leukemia in 2024, the 61-year-old has spent the last year undergoing chemotherapy treatments, regular medical appointments and blood transfusions as she adjusts to a reality she said will likely remain part of her life indefinitely.
Along with the diagnosis came another difficult truth.
Eads said doctors told her she may have as little as three years to live.
Before learning she had leukemia, Eads believed the symptoms she was experiencing were related to her heart. Instead, after seeking medical care, she received an urgent message: get to a hospital as quickly as possible.
Her blood levels had dropped dangerously low.
What followed was a diagnosis that changed everything.
Originally from Tompkinsville, Eads spent several years living in Tennessee before eventually returning to her hometown. When faced with treatment decisions, she and her husband, Rudy, initially considered going to a hospital in Nashville.
That plan changed when they learned treatment there would likely require them to relocate.
Rather than uproot their lives once again, Eads chose to receive treatment closer to home at T.J. Regional Health.
Since then, treatment has become a regular part of life.
At one point, Eads said she was receiving blood transfusions nearly every other week as doctors worked to stabilize her condition. Chemotherapy remains ongoing, not as a temporary chapter with an end, but as a long-term reality.
That reality is made easier by the people around her.
Cherie and Rudy have been married for 43 years. Rudy works as a truck driver, a career that often keeps him on the road, but distance has never lessened his support.
When he cannot be there in person, Eads said he makes sure to call after her treatments to check on her, asking how the appointment went and how she is feeling.
The routine may seem simple, but in the midst of uncertainty, small acts of consistency can mean everything.
Comfort also waits for Eads at home in the form of two beloved companions: Teddy, her dog, and Tom, her cat.
For many cancer patients, survivorship is often framed around milestones such as remission, final treatments or ringing the bell at the end of care.
For Eads, survivorship looks different.
There is no final treatment date circled on a calendar. No clear finish line waiting ahead.
Instead, survivorship means continuing forward one appointment, one treatment and one day at a time.
Sometimes resilience is not loud or dramatic.
Sometimes it is found in the determination to keep going, supported by the people and comforts that make home feel like home.
The CARE Power Hour Luncheon, presented in memory of Geraldine Flowers Glass, will be held Friday, July 24, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. at the T.J. Health Pavilion Community Center. Proceeds from the event benefit Community Medical Care’s Breaking Barriers to Care program, helping local cancer patients with transportation to treatments, nutritional support, mastectomy supplies, wigs, head coverings, and other resources that ease the burden during their fight. This year’s luncheon will feature keynote speaker Tiffany Layne Somerville. Tickets are $50 and are available at tjregionalhealth.org/carepowerhour.
