The eye-opening cancer scare tested Jones’ toughness

Katrina Jones

Katrina Burroughs Jones can attest to the saying that people don’t know how strong they are until being strong is their only choice.

Jones suffered from the pain of lupus for years and in 2022 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suddenly, her difficulties left her doctors at a loss and unsure how to proceed. During her exams, Jones had no choice but to rely on a senior doctor.

Jones has lived for many years with lupus, a debilitating disease that causes her immune system to attack her tissues and organs. The inflammation affects all other parts of her body.

On September 17, 2022, Jones went to Mobile for her annual mammogram, part of a process that determined she had stage 2 breast cancer.

In November, Jones began chemotherapy before surgery, so her medical team took her off all lupus medications. After four rounds of chemotherapy, her vital signs and potassium dropped so much that her doctor admitted her to the hospital. She spent all of January in the hospital unable to walk or use her hands. Her doctors let her go home for a while, thinking it might help, but the pain in her hands became so severe that medication was useless.

Katrina Burroughs Jones

Looking for pain relief, Jones was hospitalized again in July. On August 8, 2023, her doctors performed a lumpectomy on her left breast and removed all lymph nodes. Her medical team felt like they had removed all of the cancer, but doctors wanted her to undergo radiation, which she began in November.

Jones was scheduled for 20 rounds of radiation, but she was only able to survive seven treatments before being hospitalized in the US again for a month.

On December 27, 2023, Jones was hospitalized and the medical team discontinued all pain medications and began a rehabilitation program for Jones. While walking behind a wheelchair, she slowly regained some use of her legs. However, she still has balance issues and neuropathy. When she returned to Thomasville, Jones began physical therapy to regain the use of her hands.

Jones’ medical team believes her suffering was caused by chemotherapy and a shortage of lupus medication.

With the help of her family and her faith, Jones is slowly recovering. Her husband King, daughter Kisha Burroughs and mother Stella Burroughs have been with her every step of the way.

Throughout this long battle, Jones relied heavily on her faith. She attends Amazing Grace Deliverance Church and her pastor, Georgia Jackson, has supported her every step of the way.

Jones has had a life experience few could have imagined and moves forward knowing the great doctor has his hand on her.

“I stayed in the hospital for six months,” Jones said. “When my doctors told me they had nothing else to help me, I clung to the Bible, trusted in the Lord, and He saved me.”