Pittsburgh grandmother pens ‘Juni Loves Mom,’ a children’s book to explain illness to kids

Trisha Gadson had recently started a new job as chief executive of the Jefferson Regional Foundation when she traveled to Atlanta in early 2023 to stay with her young grandson, Juni, while her daughter was undergoing a mastectomy.

Before the trip, Gadson had prepared for potential questions Juni might pose about his mother's absence by writing a story about how his mother learned she was sick, and ways he could help her when she got home from the hospital.

Gadson pasted family photos throughout the story so Juni recognized himself and his mother, Ryah Gadson Wooten, 32.

As expected, Juni, who was 2 years old at the time, asked about his mother.

"Remember the story," Gadson told him. "Your mom's with the doctor and your dad is there too."

Almost two years since her daughter's surgery and breast reconstruction, Gadson has published her story as a children's book, "Juni Loves Mom: Explaining Illness to Children." She hopes it will assist families facing the same challenge hers did when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer.

"Creating the book helped me as a support person," says Gadson. "And publishing it helped me help others."

It was published through Kindle Direct Publishing and features illustrations by David C. Edmunds.

Gadson also aims for the book to spark conversations — especially among Black women whose mortality rate from breast cancer is 38% higher than that of white women, according to data published Oct. 1 by the American Cancer Society.

Researchers say the reasons range from economic disparities and access to health care to genetic factors that make Black women more likely to have aggressive breast cancers.

As part of a book launch during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Gadson and her daughter were part of a panel discussion held at Everyday Cafe in Homewood.

Participants included Dr. Tajh Ferguson, obstetrician and gynecologist, Allegheny Health Network; Jada Shirriel, CEO of Healthy Start Inc., a Pittsburgh nonprofit that addresses maternal and child health; and Kenya Boswell, senior vice president, Highmark Health.

An audience of about 40, mainly Black women, filled the cafe on North Homewood Avenue.

Ferguson told them Black women are typically diagnosed with more advanced stages of breast cancer "that are harder to treat."

She advised them to investigate their family history for breast cancer as well as any types that impact the reproductive system including ovarian, uterine, colon and prostate cancer in men.

"Start your mammogram screenings by age 40," Ferguson says, "and get in for yearly screenings."

Shirriel says women need to trust their doctors and educate themselves to be effective advocates for their own health.

"You don't have to be stuck with your provider if he or she is not meeting your needs," she says.

Health insurance companies can also assist with resources, she says.

"Look on the back of your insurance cards and make that call for help."

Boswell had a scare several years ago, but a biopsy determined she was cancer-free.

"Since then I go for a mammogram every single year, and I schedule it along with my dental appointment," she says.

Gadson Wooten, who grew up in McKeesport and played college basketball at California University of Pennsylvania (now part of PennWest University), is director of sales and marketing for The Best Dirty Lemonade, a THC-infused beverage.

After she initially noticed pain in her left breast and a bloody discharge from the nipple, she kept it to herself before confiding in her mother, who urged her to have it checked.

Her gynecologist scheduled a mammogram, but well before that appointment, she woke up one day "with excruciating pain in my breast and it was very swollen." Doctors at a local emergency room told her it was probably mastitis, an inflammation often caused by a bacterial infection.

After she healed, "My mother told me to keep my mammogram appointment." That exam led to a biopsy and her diagnosis.

Since her surgery, Gadson Wooten says she carries "survivors' guilt" because she did not require radiation or chemotherapy.

She struggles with depression and is seeking a support group "to live my life as a survivor."

For Trisha Gadson, who has worked as a nonprofit administrator for years , it was tough to relinquish control of her daughter's care after she realized that her son-in-law was Ryah's next-of-kin.

"The reality of that was eye-opening ... but I had to support Ryah, her husband and my grandson."