There is no easy way to talk about cancer.

It is insidious. It can be debilitating. It can change your life.

For Fountain Hills resident Sandra Powers, breast cancer has been all of those things, and more. And yet, Powers, 46, has embarked on a mission to make a difference to others in spite of her diagnosis.

“People need to be dedicated to getting routine cancer screenings,” Powers said. “Mammograms, Pap tests, prostate cancer screenings, skin cancer. Routine tests. Things we hate to do.”

Powers, the mother of one daughter, was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2013. She had not had a mammogram in “awhile.” She just decided to get it done; she was losing her insurance and wanted to get her routine medical work done before it expired. She was not expecting the outcome of her mammogram.

“My cancer is a type that cannot be detected by self-checks,” she said. “If I had had a mammogram sooner, I might have avoided a whole lot of this.”

Powers does not sugarcoat her suffering. Chemotherapy has left her weak, exhausted, depressed. She tries hard to be pleasant, but her eyes show reality.

She is brave and graceful, even in her pain. She has wigs and head coverings, but she mostly goes without. She has lost all her hair. The chemo also has resulted in losing her finger- and toe-nails.

Her chemotherapy is now every three weeks, instead of weekly, but it will continue through December.

In a couple of weeks, she begins a six-week regimen of radiation treatments. Five days a week for six weeks. Radiation comes with its own set of side effects.

Her double mastectomy is shocking. When she lifted her shirt to show the scars, her bright blue eyes teared up.

“It is very hard to see this in the mirror,” she said. “But if people realize what can be done to possibly avoid it, then I’ll look at myself in the mirror.”

Powers is looking forward. In February, she will undergo reconstructive surgery. Meanwhile, she must wear “expanders,” used to stretch the skin to handle the implants. The expanders dig in to her underarms. One began to leak recently, creating a need for surgery.

“There is not one good thing I can tell you about breast cancer,” Powers said. “But I can tell you this: I have had 26 people get their mammograms because of me. I tell every woman I meet to get it done. If I help one person, I’ve done a lot. And I have inspired 26 people to do it.”

Powers’ road is a long one. Her medical expenses continue to mount. She is learning to take help from others.

Her close friend, Lynn Hennessey, set up a fundraiser on youcaring.com to help Powers with expenses. To date, nearly $9,300 has been donated. Hennessey’s goal is to raise $18,000. All the proceeds go directly to Powers.

Powers said she is grateful for the support from Hennessey and her other friends.

“It is extremely humbling to be in this position,” she said.

“But people have been amazing. They want to help. They want to give. And I cannot begin to tell you how much that means to me.”

Powers knows the rest of her journey is a long one, but she says the power of prayer, the help of friends, the support of strangers, her doctors and just knowing she may be helping someone by telling her story “kind of makes it worth it.”

It’s like that with Powers.

She isn’t telling you a happy story when she talks about her illness. There just is no easy way to talk about cancer.