The Lynette Earley & Pam Oldham Story

Lynette Earley and Pam Oldham had known of each other for years. They shared many of the same friends and attended the same church. But it wasn’t until Pam was diagnosed with breast cancer that they became the closest of friends.

When Lynette, who had been diagnosed just four years earlier, heard of Pam’s news, she called her immediately to offer hope, support, commonality and an experienced heart. Lynette says, “We shared very similar situations: we were both diagnosed at a young age (Lynette was 33 and Pam just 37) and we both had two young children whose ages were almost the same when we were diagnosed. I knew from our first conversation that our friendship was meant to be.”

Coincidentally, the year Pam was diagnosed, they had both joined the same tennis team for the first time ever. “I’ve always been a strong, positive and upbeat person,” explains Pam. “I focused on playing tennis right through my treatment, practicing and going straight to chemotherapy in my tennis clothes.” Lynette reflects, “Tennis really helped Pam get through her extremely rigorous treatment – it continuously gave her an incentive to keep fighting. And it gave us something positive to do together besides talk about our illnesses!”

The friends also walked together on the same path as they faced the challenge of continuing their roles as wives and mothers while fighting cancer. Lynette tells of the time that her children found her without her wig on. She had wanted to shield them from the negatives as much as possible. Instead, they talked about how the medicine made her hair fall out. Then, they donned the wigs and danced around, pretending that they were rock stars. To her great relief, Lynette realized that her children were experiencing her illness in their own healthy, age-appropriate ways, which was comforting to her and added comic relief to the situation. Lynette's experience provided a steady, guiding strength to Pam who was just beginning to face these same concerns and questions.

Lynette is often thankful for her encounter with cancer. The ordeal has strengthened and deepened her faith. “I began to have a sense of peace about the journey. I thought, ‘It’s going to be okay – and even if it isn’t, that is okay too,’” she says smiling. As a result, Lynette feels an overall sense of well-being and relishes every day as a gift. Cancer is fought on three battlefields: your mind, your heart, and your body – and it happens one day at a time.

When asked about their involvement with Women Playing For T.I.M.E., Lynette explains, “My hope is that there will be a greater awareness. There is a dangerous misconception that breast cancer only happens to our mothers and grandmothers. I have no family history, yet if I had waited just two months it could have changed everything. “Cancer is beatable – if you catch it early. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for women to be aware of their bodies, perform self-examinations, and seek early detection such as mammograms. It only takes missing one mammogram.”

Lynette and Pam both are dedicated to continue educating, inspiring, uplifting and encouraging women affected in some way by breast cancer. Pam adds, “It is about passing it on – greeting the new ones and offering our friendship. The benefits of participating in Women Playing For T.I.M.E. are two-fold: education and awareness, and philanthropy, which helps in the treatment and search for a cure.

Lynette closes, “Breast cancer has linked Pam and me with a heart-to-heart sisterhood.” The two exchange smiles and it is clear that they have shared much together. “Today we are still on the same tennis team, often even partners!”