A century of strength! - Breast cancer survivor turns 100

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Ivy May Lawrence thought that her time on this Earth had come to an end.

"Alright," she told her doctor. "Mi going home now. Goodbye doctor. Goodbye nurse." But that conversation took place 40 years ago. Now 100, the Ulster Spring, Trelawny, native still gets up on her own each morning, bathes herself without assistance, and begins her days with the same quiet certainty that has carried her through a century of hardship, survival, and grace.

Born on July 19, 1925, Lawrence has lived through colonial rule, Independence, and every major social transformation in modern Jamaica. She has three children, 15 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.

"Mi strong," she told THE STAR. "And is God give mi the energy to do it." She was raised in Ulster Spring, a rural district in southern Trelawny, roughly 18 miles from the Trelawny-Manchester border. Lawrence was the eldest of six children in a strict Pentecostal household. Her mother ensured they never missed a church service, even if it meant impacting school.

"We couldn't miss no church," she recalled. "But the next morning, we tired. We affi pace the walk and reach school late." Lawrence attended Ulster Spring Elementary, now Ulster Spring Primary School, and walked more than an hour to school each day with her siblings. They'd leave early, return late, and never once expected a ride.

"School done midday and we reach home after one. Dem time deh, yuh foot was yuh only vehicle," she said.

At age 15, she moved to Kingston to work as a domestic helper. It was hard labour, but it kept food on the table.

"It never easy," she said. "But it help mi raise mi pickney dem. And mi give thanks."

Decades later, at age 60, came the life-threatening diagnosis of stage four breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy at the University Hospital of the West Indies and, against expectations, declined chemotherapy. Instead, she followed a strict five-year medication plan and changed her diet completely.

"Mi never know how mi would a survive," she said. "But mi tell the doctor, is a miracle from God."

Her daughter, 71-year-old Rosey Livingston, remembers that day with clarity.

"She seh she done. She tell everybody goodbye," Livingstone said. "Mi couldn't believe it. Mi tell her, 'No Mommy. Yuh still have life to live.'" It was another daughter who finally helped her push through.

"Mommy, people beat cancer every day," she said. "You can too."

These days, Lawrence doesn't eat meat, dumplings, or rice. She prefers Irish potatoes, pumpkin soup, and drinks Ensure. And while she lives modestly, she finds joy in the simple routines that have kept her grounded. Lawrence's secret to a long life is simple, "Live for God and tek care of yuhself."

Her vision is no longer what it once was and doctors say surgery isn't an option. But she's not bothered.

"Mi can see," she said. "Just not like before. Mi nuh too bad still."

"Mi live long," she added with a quiet laugh. "But mi still a try live good."