Country singer Del McCoury once sang, "Ain't nothing gonna come up today that me and the Lord can't handle."

There were times just a few years ago when Geralyn Andrews of East Penn Township doubted this.Gerry, as she prefers to be called, had battled two rounds with breast cancer. Even though the second bout was not as aggressive as the first, which had occurred two years earlier, she had a hard time handling it."I didn't care if I lived or died," she said of her second incidence. "I didn't care because I was going home to see Mom."Part of the reason for her depression was that her mother had died of lung cancer just a year earlier.But Andrews had support. Her husband cooked, did the laundry."He was like Mr. Mom," she said.Her son took her for treatments.Her sister visited from California.She had grandchildren.Her attitude quickly changed.'Why not me?'"I used to say, 'Why me?' But why not me?" she asked. "Maybe it keeps someone else from getting it."On Sunday night, Andrews, 60, will be one of four cancer survivors who will be presented with Courage Awards by the Tamaqua Carbon Unit of the American Cancer Society. The presentations will occur after 7 p.m. on the ACS telethon from Penn's Peak, to be broadcast on Blue Ridge Communications TV-13.The telethon begins at noon on both Saturday and Sunday.She has been married to John Andrews, an employee at the Kovatch Corporation, for 41 years.They have two children, a son, John, in East Penn, and a daughter, Jenell Marquiz in California.Andrews works as an office employee for Realtor Pam Gothard. Despite the effects of chemotherapy and her temporary bout with self-pity, she never stopped working, although she did go on part-time status at times.'How long doI have to live?'Her first bout of cancer was the worst, she said, but she endured it like a true soldier.It was in 2009 that through her own regular breast exam, she discovered a huge cone-shaped lump on her right breast.When she went to her doctor, she was told it was Stage 3 cancer."My first question was, 'How long do I have to live?' " she said."Cancer scares everybody," she added. The doctors assured her that despite it being an aggressive form of cancer, she wasn't going to die."I found it in time," she said.The cancer caused her to quit smoking.In 2010, her mother, Joyce Muffley died from lung cancer. Her father, Mike Muffley, died from a stroke in 1978.In 2011, a mammogram detected a tumor in Gerry's left breast."This was deeply embedded," she said.There are five girls in her family. She's the only one to be diagnosed with cancer.She stressed how important her family was to help her through the ordeal."Family is one of the big things that keeps you going, keeps your spirits up," she said. "Everybody needs that interaction."She added, "Attitude has a lot to do with it, too."Andrews has even more to fight for. Her son and his wife, Chrissy, have a new daughter, Brilee, born two months premature on March 24.She has two other grandchildren, ages 16 and 12, in California.Refuse to loseAndrews had breast reconstruction done via the tram flap method, using some of her stomach components."If I had it to do over again, I would have had both breasts taken off at once, when I had cancer the first time," she said. "If you're going to get it in one, you will likely get it in the other."She's been cancer-free for three years in one breast and five years in the other. Her prognosis is good.Her doctor told her he doesn't anticipate more problems, but she will remain on preventive medications.She spends her spare time doing crafts. She makes cancer pins, using colors that represent the various types of cancer.She also makes cloth bracelets in cancer-fighting colors and stuffed pumpkins.Gerry said she would like to be able to talk to people about cancer."My best advice would be, 'Have your mammograms done,'" she said.Attesting to the attitude the survivor now possesses, she wears a T-shirt that has a pink ribbon and the phrase, "Refuse to lose.""That's me now," she beamed.