Terry and Rebecca Crews have faced their fair share of challenges together, but have always managed to come out on top and keep their relationship strong. In an exclusive interview with SurvivorNet, the couple shares how they coped with Rebecca’s breast cancer diagnosis as a team and how Rebecca’s calm and determination helped Terry take care of her.
Rebecca Crews, 54, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy in March right before COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions were implemented. Upon hearing the diagnosis, her husband, Terry Crews, 51, recalled that he was casually working out on the treadmill at home when she delivered the news to him.
Read More“She said don’t look at me like that,” Terry says. “I was like ‘right, right, OK.’ It’s almost like she grabbed me and said ‘come on man, wake up.’ She said she was ready to fight, and I knew I needed to be strong.”
Facing Challenges Together
Despite immense fear the couple felt following Rebecca’s diagnosis they knew, based on their history of beating previous challenging times together, that they would prevail. In fact, their relationship only got stronger.
“My wife and I have been through a lot of things,” Terry says. “We’ve lost homes; we’ve lost children before things that would have taken a lot of people out and we survived them all. I looked at it like an opportunity. This is what love is. When you look at the marriage vows it’s not when everything’s great. This is where the rubber meets the road.”
Related: When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Terry had to take on the role as Rebecca’s caregiver while she recovered from surgery and the stress from treatment. Fortunately, it ended up being an experience they both actually appreciated, given how busy they both were before the outbreak. A hopeless romantic, Terry jokes that the world shut down so he could take care, support her through tough days, and ultimately watch her get better.
“Our love right now is the strongest it’s ever been because we survived,” Terry says. “We made it. You get a new appreciation for what life is. We’ve been through everything, but we have never faced a problem like this. It’s a whole new challenge, and I was proud of how she became a warrior. My wife is 100% cancer-free. This is a win.”
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