10-4 Magazine May 2022

the lights, and when he told Trux their plan for the lights and about Anita, they donated the lights. A big “thank you” goes out to Trux for their generosity! On November 7, 2016, Anita was diagnosed with Stage 2 Mucinous Car- cinoma (a form of breast cancer). The doctor immediately scheduled a double mastectomy to be done on Anita’s birthday – November 22, 2016. When the couple told their children about the diagnosis, their daughter Ashley begged her mother to cancel the surgery until she could get a second opinion. Well, on November 21, a day before her surgery, they received their second opinion at Houston Methodist. The doctor there informed the family that Anita had been misdiagnosed and she in fact had Stage 3 Mucinous Carcinoma, but that she did not have to get a full mastectomy – a much simpler lumpectomy surgery could be performed instead. After surgery, Anita was originally scheduled for 32 days of radiation, but because of good lab work, it was cut down to just 20 days. During this time, Robert and their children really rallied around her. Each of them took turns making the daily trip to Houston from Nacogdoches and then home, which is a 3.5-hour trip each way, to get Anita to her 10-4 Magazine / May 2022 63 radiation appointments and then home safely. And through all of this, Anita never missed one day of work at her job as an insurance agent – a position she has held for over 21 years. On February 2, 2017, Anita was deemed cancer free! She recently cele- brated her 5-year cancer free anniversary and no longer has to take chemotherapy medication. Robert and Anita would like to give a big thank you to Troy and Abbey Massey. “We are very grateful to Troy and Abbey. They are so good to not just us but to all their employees. Troy is definitely someone other company owners should look up to. There is no way we could ever pay them back for all they have done for us, just out of the goodness of their hearts.” Stories like this, that help raise awareness and celebrate some personal victories, is why I love the trucking industry so much. Thank you to Robert and Anita for allowing me to tell your story, thank you to Troy and Abbey for building this truck for them, and thanks to Trux for donating all the lights. There are still plenty of good people out there, and these are just a few great examples. Congratulations to Anita for kicking cancer’s butt! May you stay healthy and happy for years to come. 