Motivational speaker and author Ericka Glorious Moore of Tinley Park calls herself an “overcomer specialist.”

That’s because Moore said she’s overcome low self-esteem, bullying, rejection, poor relationship choices, bankruptcy, tragic deaths of loved ones and suicidal thoughts.

Moore can now add “breast cancer” to that list. And when Moore received that diagnosis, she thought, “Well, I’ve overcome these things. I can overcome this.”

“I’d already built up a resistance from going through hard things, so I can overcome anything,” Moore said.

Moore will be sharing messages of empowerment, positivity and the importance of screening mammograms at the “Positively Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness Forum” from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at Silver Cross Hospital, Pavilion A, 1900 Silver Cross Blvd. in New Lenox.

“Some people who hear me speak never knew what I’d been through because I’m always happy, always smiling,” Moore said. “But I know what it was like to have cried every day for three years, too. I know what it feels like to be down and hopeless.”

Dr. Laura Ragauskaite, medical director of the Silver Cross Hospital Breast Center, will discuss breast cancer detection and treatment. Silver Cross lymphedema experts will answer questions and provide information about clinical research trials.

The event is free. Register at bit.ly/3EkkWMR.

Moore, who said she exercises regularly, wasn’t thinking “cancer” when a bump appeared under her left armpit in February 2021. Moore only thought, “Well, that’s weird. What could it be?”

She and her mentor at church prayed about the bump March 16, Moore said. But the bump remained.

So in June, Moore’s mentor suggested Moore see the mentor’s doctor. Moore didn’t have a primary care doctor yet because her health insurance didn’t kick in until December 2020, she said.

So Moore went to the doctor in July 2021. The doctor said the bump was a swollen lymph node and suggested Moore change deodorants, Moore said. The doctor also encouraged Moore to see a gynecologist, Moore said.

Moore couldn’t get an appointment until Oct. 8, 2021, but she wasn’t worried because the bump came and went. In fact, the bump was gone the day Moore saw the gynecologist, she said.

Still, the gynecologist recommended Moore, 44, get her first screening mammogram. Moore did, in December, and was told to return for more scans – and then, ultimately, a biopsy, she said.

Now Moore was concerned.

Moore had an ultrasound biopsy Dec. 27, 2021 at the Silver Cross Center for Women’s Health and was told two days later that she had breast cancer – in the right breast, not the left.

“The left ended up being nothing,” Moore said. “Like they said, it was a swollen lymph node.”

Dr. Laura Ragauskaite, medical director of the Silver Cross Breast Center in New Lenox, said Moore had stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma in the right breast.

Moore’s screening mammogram had showed “suspicious microcalcifications,” Ragauskaite said, the reason why Moore returned to Silver Cross for additional scans.

In January, Moore also had an MRI to ensure she had no cancer in the left breast, Ragauskaite said.

The MRI did show a lump in Moore’s left breast, so that was biopsied, too.

“The biopsy showed atypical cells,” Ragauskaite said. “So I recommended a lumpectomy.”

Moore said she had surgery at Silver Cross in February 2022 to remove the lump on Moore’s right side and the lump on Moore’s left side. Several spots surrounding the lump on Moore’s right side as well as four lymph nodes also were removed.

She now needed a treatment plan. The Oncotype DX test helped guide that decision, Ragauskaite said.

The Oncotype DX is a gene expression test that helps doctors make treatment recommendations for women with early-stage breast cancer that is also hormone receptor positive and HER2-negative, according to the American Cancer Society.

The test examines a set of 21 genes in a patient’s cancer’s cells, which receive a “recurrence score” between 0 and 100. The score helps determine the risk of breast cancer returning in nine years and if chemotherapy is beneficial, the American Cancer Society said.

“Her score was low,” Ragauskaite said. “So she would not benefit from chemotherapy.”

Moore completed six weeks of radiation therapy at the UChicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital. Radiation is typically given in 30-minute treatments, Monday through Friday, Ragauskaite said.

Because Moore’s cancer was positive for both estrogen and progesterone, Moore was recommended for hormone endocrine therapy, Ragauskaite said. That treatment typically last for five years, she added.

The goal of hormone endocrine therapy is to prevent the body from making certain hormones or blocking the hormones’ effects on the cancer, the American Cancer Society said.

But Moore, who hopes to have children one day, felt the risk of the therapy wasn’t worth the benefit and decided not to have it, she said.

Ragauskaite said it’s important for patients to discuss their concerns and options with their doctors, so patients receive the best treatment plan for them. The breast cancer team also holds a multi-disciplinary conference each week to discuss cases, so treatment is streamlined and not fragmented, Ragauskaite said

“We talk about each patient’s diagnosis of breast cancer and come up with the best treatment for each patient,” Ragauskaite said. “Everyone is so different and very much an individual. We follow the standards, but we just make sure everyone is on the same page.”

Moore also had physical therapy two times a week at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross Hospital, which included massages and arm stretches to prevent lymphedema, Moore said. She faithfully wrote in her gratitude journal during all her treatments, Moore said.

She attended her final radiation treatment May 13 in a Superman shirt and cape. Moore said her family and friends pampered her when she turned 45 on Sept. 27.

These days, Moore is feeling as glorious as her middle name and eager to put her breast cancer journey behind her.

“My birthday meant so much to me because I’ve come a long way,” Moore said. “I’m certainly grateful for my life and grateful that I’m in a happy place.”

For information, visit silvercross.org and erickagloriousmoore.com.