Mercer County school celebrates principal for finishing cancer treatments

MERCER COUNTY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Edie Bennett has been the Principal of Melrose Elementaty School for the last six years. Her students know her as Mrs. Bennett. She is a southern West Virginia native and a graduate of Concord. In November of last year Bennett was diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer.

Bennett started radiation treatment soon after she was diagnosed. Last Friday she completed her 33rd treatment and it was her last. Bennett says her doctors are declaring her cancer free. To celebrate this milestone, pink is the color of the day at Melrose and the bells rang in her honor.

“It made it a lot easier going through everything, knowing that you did have that. That if I was tired, I knew that I could count on my staff to step up and do whatever may need to be done. I have a great staff they go above and beyond everyday anyway.” said Bennett.

During Bennett’s treatments from December until last week she did not miss any time from work. She would go to and from work to treatments, five days a week. Coworkers say Bennett is an awesome role model.

“Mrs. Bennett is just a real inspiration to all of us. We were heart broken when we learned that she had breast cancer. But she is a trooper like none other. We were just really blessed that she went through the treatment as well as she did.” said Secretary, Debbie Cook-Bailey.

“We’re so proud of her for doing that. We really didn’t have much of a lag or difference. She would go to her treatments in the morning and come back. Most of the kids didn’t even know she was gone. You know it’s great to have her back full time but it really wasn’t like we missed her. She never missed a beat.” said Travis Collis who is a teacher at the school.

It seems there’s a lot of agreement here that Mrs. Bennett is the glue that holds the school together and there’s real joy that she’s a cancer survivor. Bennett added she’s not only grateful for the support at the school but also the support she received from her friends and family.

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