Tell us about your survivor journey.
I constantly share articles I think are educational or inspirational on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CancerDidntDefineMe. With that I sprinkle in some positive quotes to hopefully keep other people faced with cancer focused on the most important aspect … staying as positive as you can no matter what comes your way. If you’ve ever read stories about survivors who were in a perilous situation, the one thing that kept them going was to imagine someone or something they wanted to survive for. It was the ONLY thing that kept them going and you must do the same. It’s
what kept me going; in my case it was the need to survive for my family!
I constantly share articles I think are educational or inspirational on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CancerDidntDefineMe. With that I sprinkle in some positive quotes to hopefully keep other people faced with cancer focused on the most important aspect … staying as positive as you can no matter what comes your way. If you’ve ever read stories about survivors who were in a perilous situation, the one thing that kept them going was to imagine someone or something they wanted to survive for. It was the ONLY thing that kept them going and you must do the same. It’s
what kept me going; in my case it was the need to survive for my family!
None of us have a lot of control over when or how we or a loved one will be diagnosed with cancer; at least I don’t think I did. In my case I was diagnosed with two forms of cancer, less than 6 months apart.
My first cancer was breast cancer which I found as a lump the size of a marble in my left breast under my nipple on the 8th of May 2017. I am amazed to this day that I did not find it sooner. As soon as I could manage, I was in to my doctor who referred me to a specialist. They did a mammogram and biopsy a couple of days later. The biopsies came back clean but the doctor recommended that I have the lump removed due to the fact that these types of growths can turn into cancer at a later day. The surgery was scheduled for two weeks later and went well. No problem … that was taken care of and I could get back on track with my life! Well that lasted one week, which is when I was scheduled to follow-up with the surgeon. When they biopsied the lump following surgery they discovered I had a “Microinvasive Solid Papillary Carcinoma.” He gave me a Surgical Pathology Report that, in my opinion, told me nothing. So I did the worst thing possible, I searched the internet for more information. Now I had so much information I overwhelmed myself and caused my anxiety level to escalate even further … if that was even possible.
My next stop was to see an oncologist by the name of Dr. Gregory Litton. He was wonderful and brought my anxiety back down to a manageable level. He drew me pictures, explained things in terms a layman could understand, and outlined everything for me along with my treatment options. My next step was meeting with a radiation oncologist, Dr. Grant Hunter, and commencing a twenty treatment regimen of radiation. As tough as it was I survived and was finally ready to get back to life as I knew it.
Prior to having my cancer scare, I was planning weight loss surgery and by October 2017, I was finally feeling well enough to continue with that plan. My insurance approved the procedure and I was finally scheduled for surgery. This was the day I had been working towards for a year and I was excited to have it behind me. While my surgeon was completing the procedure he found three small nodules that were later diagnosed as cancer on the peritoneum; which is the membrane lining the cavity of the abdomen and covering the abdominal organs. As soon as I was transferred to a room I was informed I had a new form of cancer; this one was called “Primary Peritoneal Carcinomatois.” To my amazement, my oncologist visited me in the hospital the next day to comfort me and explain what I was dealing with. Who does that? Oh yeah, my awesome oncologist, “Dr. Gregory Litton.” Then a week later I was back in for emergency surgery due to a rupture from the weight loss surgery. Could this year get any worse?
Around the end of November 2017 I was in Dr. Litton’s office again. We went through my treatment options and since he could not tell at that time what the source was for this new cancer, he was going to treat it the same as ovarian cancer. Since I had already had 3 surgeries that year, they decided to have me wait until mid way through the chemo treatments to do the hysterectomy. My fist weeks of December 2017 were spent getting a port put in for chemo and having my first chemo treatment. Four weeks later I started losing my hair and was as sick all the time because they could not find a good combination of drugs to manage the nausea. This was all on top of the symptoms I was dealing with from the weight loss surgery. I found myself having to have IV fluids every other day for the first week following a chemo treatment. I was getting chemo every 3 weeks and could count on being sick for the first 10 days after each treatment. Then I’d have 10 days of feeling somewhat decent before starting it all over again. They decided to do the hysterectomy the first part of March 2018 but I got pneumonia and the surgery was delayed 6 weeks so I could recover. Following my hysterectomy it was determined that the source of
my cancer was actually ovarian cancer, which they found in my left ovary.
I survived another surgery and finished my chemo treatments on 16th of July, 2018. I never thought I’d
make it to that day but there it was, more than a year since my first cancer diagnosis.
What has been the biggest source of support through your journey?
Now that you know my history, let me return to what kept me going … my family! I have a wonderful husband, who was there with me every step of the way. We have a blended family of 11 kids, 37 grandkids and 10 great grandkids. Life is full of obstacles that make it difficult and sometimes it seems meaningless, but faith will help you to find support and meaning. As you adjust to the changes of your day-to-day life after your diagnosis, or the diagnosis of a loved one, you will find that faith is a strong component in helping to pull you through. I suggest you keep a picture of what gives you the strength to survive and look at it often.
What are some lessons you have learned throughout your survivor journey?
One of my favorite quotes by Haruki Murakami: “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what the storm’s all about.”
In the space below, feel free to add any additional information like extra stories, lessons to live by, meaningful life quotes, advice or unique factors that contribute to your survivor journey.
For today I plan on living my life to the fullest but if I get a recurrence of my cancer, which is always possible, it will only make me stronger, braver, kinder, wiser. I may not have started this fight but I will finish it on my own terms. I won’t let cancer define me!
