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| Cliff and Sha Fields |
Written by Walter Pritchard
Soaring HIgh Media Group
Seven years ago, Cliff Fields was there for his wife, Sha,
during her battle with stage three breast cancer, managing the household and
helping her keep the faith as she bounced back from chemotherapy treatments, a double
mastectomy and bouts with depression.
Next month, in March, Cliff will have prostate cancer surgery and it
will be Sha’s turn to be there for her husband during his recovery period and
what it will entail.
The Fields, who will celebrate their fifth wedding
anniversary later this year, are redefining the meaning of caregiving – a love
for each that is wrapped in a deep rooted faith in God and life-giving personal
sacrifice – for better or for worse.
“God and Cliff never left my side,” Sha said. “I know the
challenges he’ll face and I’ll be there for him like he was there for me.”
Cliff, 48, is scheduled for prostate cancer surgery on March
20. He was diagnosed in December 2012 following a biopsy after experiencing
pain and discomfort in his body.
Knowing what his wife went through has hit home with Cliff as
to what they may encounter on the road ahead. “I said, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to go
through this?’ ” he said.
Sha, 42, has already started taking care of her husband. She
makes sure he exercises, eats properly and most importantly, that they pray
together. “It means a lot that she has my back,” Cliff said.
It was Sha that opened the door for her husband to take a
prostate cancer test. She is a member of a local breast cancer support group
The Breakfast Cub that received an invitation to attend the September 2012 Blue
Tie Gala sponsored by The Empowerment Network, a nonprofit, prostate cancer
advocacy organization. The two went to the event, where Cliff met the
organization’s founder and CEO, Mellve Shahid Sr., took a prostate blood test,
which was positive and forced the Fields to start thinking about what to do
next.
Sha urged her husband to contact The Empowerment Network, which
he did and they attended the organization’s support group meeting this past
January.
“I was impressed with
all the men sharing their stories about how they are dealing with prostate
cancer,” Cliff said. “They had a lot of information. The ‘brothers’ there told
me what to expect after surgery and that they will be there for me. They let me
know that I won’t be by myself through this.”
The Fields’ journey together started after a death, the breast
cancer diagnoses and a free wedding.
Sha’s first husband of only eight months, Jed Gause, died of
lung cancer in 2003. Then, in November 2006, at age 35, she was diagnosed with
breast cancer. Sha finished radiation treatments in 2007 followed by a radical
double mastectomy. In early 2008, she underwent breast reconstructive surgery.
And it was during this time that Cliff managed every aspect of the house - taking care of her children, cleaned the
house, cooked meals, helped her when she needed it and constantly lifted her
spirit.
“Cliff was there to encourage me,” she said, adding that she
experienced extremely low times in her life during this time. “On my lowest
day, he proposed to me and I said yes.”
In the midst of her
cancer treatment, Cliff proposed to her and she accepted; the two were married
on Aug. 09, 2008.
And during all this, she received a degree in business
management from the University of Phoenix. Since then, she has earned two
Master’s degrees in public administration and human resource management. She
currently works as a coordinator with the Special Administrative Board for the
Riverview Gardens School District.
Right after their engagement, Sha won a contest sponsored by
radio station FOXY-FM 95.5. The prize was a free wedding. Contestants had to
write an essay explaining why they should win. Her writing impressed radio
personalities at the station out of 460 entries.
As a breast cancer survivor, Sha knows that they’ll need
each other now more than ever as they embark on a new journey.
“My breast cancer journey prepared me mentally for the
challenges that my husband now faces,” Sha said. Cliff added: “She ensures that
I do what I’m supposed to do. She’s very supportive already. That’s the reason
I love my wife so much.”
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The Empowerment Network (TEN)
participates in more than 60 events annually to promote early detection of
prostate cancer in vulnerable, high-risk metropolitan males, age 35+. Founded by prostate cancer survivor, Mellve Shahid Sr., six years ago, more than 200 prostate cancer
survivors have joined TEN, which is housed in its own Cancer Center at 6000
West Florissant Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63136. For more information TEN, call 314.385.0998 or visit www.TheEmpowermentNetwork.net.
Hurnietha Delane Shahid lives her husband’s passion everyday.
During the period in 2007 when Mellve was diagnosed with prostate cancer and the surgery and recovery that followed, she was not only his nurse, dealing with the very personal aspects of the disease, but the researcher, too. It was Hurnietha who inspired Mellve to develop the "After-Surgery Kit," a collection of personal items given to men upon their release from the hospital. She also was the inspiration behind the “blue ties” of TEN’s annual fund raising event, the Blue Tie Gala. 
