Cancer Survivor Sharon Spencer Receives NBA Honor

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and for Sharon Spencer, the horrible news came in 2006 shortly after her 40th birthday.

In 2008, Spencer got hit by a drunk driver while standing outside of her best friends car, according to Blavity. From that accident, her leg was damaged which resulted in an amputation. Through it all, Spencer powered through it.

Spencer, a worker for the Brooklyn Bar Clay Center was recently honored by the NBA with his annual Values of the Game award earlier this year for her persevering spirit and inspiring story of strength.

Since the award, Spencer has been sharing her story with so many people including Black Enterprise who featured her in an interview about her message of getting over obstacles.

Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner honored Spencer who’s worked as an usher at the center for since 2012 during a pre-game event in January. In addition, she was awarded a check for $10,000 to which she can donate to a charity of her choice.

In her Black Enterprise interview, Spencer credits her son for being her motivation during her diagnosis and accident. He was away at college during this time.

“After my accident, I feared that I would not be able to adapt to my new life and I would never be able to work again,” she said. “My three sources of strength were GOD, my family, and my therapist. I had to do it for myself and for my son Aaron who always looked up to me for strength.” She continued, “I have had a total of 22 surgeries and to add insult to injury I was fired from my job in 2009. God has helped me turn my tragedies into something positive.”

Since then her son has graduated college and received his masters. Her journey through breast cancer and horrific accident have motivated her to support others. She’s dived into public speaking and shares her time with breast cancer patients and amputees.

“Things may look bad now but if you keep the faith, pray, and try you can overcome your obstacle and live a productive life,” she said. “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. I am a woman of faith. I knew that God was going to use me before and after the NBA award. I was, and still, am honored.”

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