BATON ROUGE - Tanji Cockerham is a local woman with a story to share. Tanji is a survivor who was diagnosed with breast cancer this year. While getting ready for a routine mammogram, she noticed some discomfort.

“I was experiencing some throbbing pain underneath my armpit," Tanji said.

Tanji didn’t expect the diagnosis that was to follow. Sure enough, the doctors at her appointment confirmed what she feared was true. 

“When I first received it, I was just. I just couldn’t believe it, you know? I was just hurt, confused. You know, a lot of times, we hear of it, but we never think that it could happen to us,” she said.

Tanji said at first she had a hard time deciding if treatment was the right decision.

“In the beginning, I decided that I wasn’t going to have the surgery, I did research on my own, which I’ve always been told, never Google things,” she said.

When a trusted friend and fellow breast cancer survivor reached out with advice, Tanji used that as motivation moving forward. 

“She supported me in the fact that I knew that she was someone that I could trust. She kind of, reassured me that everything was going to be okay, that, if I just put my trust in God and just listen to what the doctors are telling me to do then everything will be fine,” she said.

Tanji said that advice, along with the love and support of her friends and family helped her get through surgery.

“Easy peasy. I just had to keep faith, and you know just trust God. We prayed together every night about the situation,” she said.

Tanji said the staff at Baton Rouge General also made her feel comforted and supported throughout her treatment.

“I’m glad that I chose to come here because everyone has been so wonderful and so kind to me. And I just felt like I was in good hands,” she said.

Now, Tanji says it is her mission to share her story so that others will know what steps to take if they find themselves in a similar situation.

“It’s a lot of people that go through the same things that I go through, and they never tell their story. I knew that it was my time to speak because God had already told me that he was going to use me to share my story with people, to share my story with the world,” she said.

Tanji says she is grateful for her family, her friends and her faith for keeping her safe during her battle with breast cancer