"I told the kids I had cancer," professor Rita Smith-Wade-El says. "I might be losing my hair. I might
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Last month, Millersville University professor Rita Smith-Wade-El escorted 33 students on a marathon bus tour of African-American cultural sites in Washington, D.C.
She jogged up the 100 steps leading to Frederick Douglass' home — and expected her students to keep up.
Smith-Wade-El did all this on the day after she had chemotherapy.
On and off campus, Smith-Wade-El, an MU psychology professor of 25 years, is equally well-known for her energy, commitment to education and high expectations, which extend to herself.
Now she's merging all three in a new crusade.
In June, Smith-Wade-El, of Lancaster City, was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a rare, aggressive form that often strikes black women.
Smith-Wade-El, whose community activism ranges from confronting racism to advocating for people with mental illness, hopes her story educates other black women, who die of breast cancer at a faster rate than white women.
"I really want to advocate for African-American women," she says.
"... We as African-American women can survive this. We can support each other."
MU students organized Oct. 26's Race 4 Rita fundraiser in Smith-Wade-El's honor. She will also share her story at an Oct. 18 breast-cancer forum at Crispus Attucks Community Center.
Graduate assistant and race organizer Howard Jones says Smith-Wade-El's diagnosis is another opportunity for her to impact the community.
"She's always helping out people," he says.
"I looked at this as a new window for her to move into philanthropy."
An unexpected diagnosis
Smith-Wade-El, a 60-year-old divorced mother of two grown sons, watches what she eats. Before chemo, she clocked four or five miles a day on the elliptical trainer.
She's relentlessly proactive when it comes to her health, getting annual mammograms and doing monthly breast self-exams.
Last year, a mammogram and follow-up ultrasound found a quarter-sized lump in Smith-Wade-El's breast.
Doctors thought the lump was probably a cyst. But they eventually diagnosed her with triple-negative breast cancer, a form with fewer treatment options.
Because of the cancer's aggressive nature, Smith-Wade-El opted for a mastectomy, followed by intensive chemotherapy.
Former students often sit with Smith-Wade-El during her biweekly chemo treatments at the University of Pennsylvania. After finishing chemo in January, she will start radiation.
"I don't seem to have nausea as bad as some people," she says. "Smells bother me. ... I'm really tired. That's the biggest thing."
Smith-Wade-El had her first chemo treatment on a Thursday. She returned to MU, where she also directs the African-American studies program, for the first day of classes the following Monday.
"I told the kids I had cancer," she says. "I might be losing my hair. I might have to sit during lectures."
Smith-Wade-El did lose her trademark dreadlocks, but she doesn't hide her bald head with a wig or scarf.
So far, she's stayed on her feet during class.
A new mission
Former psychology major Craig Smith recalls his first class with Smith-Wade-El, when she passed out a syllabus thicker than a textbook.
"She knows what she knows, she wants what she wants and her expectations are always high," he says.
Smith, who lives in Philadelphia and is studying for an educational doctorate, soon realized Smith-Wade-El's deep commitment to student success.
Now, when he needs career advice, he calls her first.
"In her infinite wisdom and her unique ways, she helped get me together," says Smith, who is helping to promote the Race 4 Rita.
"This woman is very bright, and she's touched thousands of lives."
When he heard of Smith-Wade-El's diagnosis, Jones, who is studying to become a school psychologist, brainstormed ways for students to help.
The Race 4 Rita turns the tables on Smith-Wade-El, whose own volunteer commitments range from Compeer Lancaster to Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where she is a member.
Race proceeds will benefit Smith-Wade-El's medical bills and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.
Race promotion efforts include a "Go Bald 4 Rita" campaign, encouraging male MU students to shave their heads in a show of support.
Smith-Wade-El hopes the race and forum lead other black women to take a proactive approach to health, especially when it comes to breast cancer.
Ignorance, she says, can be more dangerous than cancer. Education is the key.
"I think that's going to save black women's lives," Smith-Wade-El says.
"If they don't (get educated), a lot more are going to die."
TRIPLE-NEGATIVE BREAST CANCER
Medical professionals increasingly look at breast cancer as a number of different "types."
The type of breast cancer a woman has affects the direction of her treatment, says Dr. Randall A. Oyer, Lancaster General program director of medical oncology.
"Not all breast cancer is alike," says Oyer, a board-certified medical oncologist.
"Our best chance of making someone with breast cancer better is to understand what type of breast cancer they have."
Between 4 and 22 percent of breast cancers are triple-negative, Oyer says. Triple-negative breast cancer occurs more frequently in black and Hispanic women.
"It's something that's being looked at and studied more closely," Oyer says.
"... We're just learning to look for it and learning to understand it."
In triple-negative breast cancer, the three "receptors" known to fuel most breast cancers — estrogen, progesterone and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) — are not present in the cancer cells.
Many successful treatments, like the drugs Tamoxifen and Herceptin, target those three receptors. Those treatments do not work in triple-negative patients.
"We don't have some of our best drugs to prevent the breast cancer from growing," Oyer says. "There are fewer options."
Triple-negative breast cancer typically responds to chemotherapy. Prognosis depends on the cancer's staging and how it responds to treatment, Oyer says.
White women are more likely to get breast cancer, but black women are more likely to die from it, he says, due to such factors as later diagnosis and more aggressive tumors.
Oyer recommends that black women be especially vigilant with early detection and consider genetic testing.
RACE 4 RITA
WHAT: Race 4 Rita Committed 2 Caring 4 Cancer Walk
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26
WHERE: The 5-K walk begins at MU's Student Memorial Center.
BENEFITS: Medical expenses for Rita Smith-Wade-El, and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation
CO-SPONSORS: President's Commission on Cultural Diversity, President's Commission on the Status of Women, Wellness and Women's Program, NAACP student chapter, Black Student Union, Alpha Phi Alpha
REGISTER: Registration is $5. Participants may also collect pledges. To preregister and download pledge forms, visit
www.millersville.edu, click on the Calendar, then Oct. 26, then Race4Rita.
VOLUNTEER: Contact Howard Jones, 871-2012 or
race4rita@gmail.com.
DONATE: Send checks payable to "Race4Rita" to Race4Rita, 108 Byerly Hall, Millersville University, Millersville, PA 17551.
BREAST CANCER FORUM
WHAT: Sisters Helping Sisters Face Breast Cancer
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18
WHERE: Crispus Attucks Community Center, 407 Howard Ave., Lancaster
SPONSORS: Crispus Attucks, Lancaster Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Lancaster General Hospital and LiveStrong Foundation
DETAILS: The event is the first of several planned educational health forums at the center.
Dr. Erica Powell, of Lancaster Regional Medical Center, and Patricia Bradley, a Villanova University assistant professor and breast-cancer advocate, will speak on prevention, early detection, healthy lifestyles and breast-health issues.
Local women, including Rita Smith-Wade-El, will share their personal breast-cancer stories.
COST: Free. Healthy refreshments will be served.
CONTACT: 394-6604, ext. 120
CONTACT THE NEW ERA: mschweigert@LNPnews.com or 291-8757
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