Monday, March 17, 2014

Cancer Survivor #4


Overview

My story

When I found out that I had cancer, I decided that I was going to make cancer the best thing that ever happened to me, not the worst. At 39 years old I was diagnosed with stage IIIB breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. I’d been told the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and bloodstream, and I had a 49 percent survival rate. I was not about to accept those odds!
My husband, Michael, had lost his dad to colon cancer two years earlier and he was determined it wasn’t going to happen to me. He went online and learned about the integrative care offered at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). He spoke with an Oncology Information Specialist about the program at CTCA and within a couple of hours, he had set up an appointment for me and announced that we were flying to Chicago. It was more than 2,000 miles from my home in Vernonia, Oregon, outside of Portland, but the distance didn’t faze me in the least. I wanted to live, and I was going to do what it took to make sure I survived.
My first day at CTCA at Midwestern Regional Medical Center, I knew I was in the right place. They offered me so much more than my local doctors had. I underwent a variety of diagnostic tests to help my care team determine where the cancer was in my body and how we needed to treat it. When I met my oncologist, Dr. Citrin, he told me we were going to attack my cancer from every direction possible. My treatment plan consisted of three different chemotherapy drugs delivered in fractionated doses every three weeks, eight weeks of radiation that included TomoTherapy® radiation (given by another one of my favorites, Dr. Eden), and two final doses of chemo. A complete hysterectomy was recommended and performed by Dr. Williams once these treatments were completed.
Not only was my treatment program designed to kill the cancer, it also nurtured me and prepared me for life after cancer, with things like nutrition support, massage, and acupuncture to fight my disease on all fronts. Sharon Day, my nutritionist, re-educated my family and me about how to eat and what to eat. She even grocery-shopped for us and told us what to look for in our foods. My naturopathic clinician, Lise, recommended supplements to help me cope with the side effects of chemo and radiation, and helped me establish a long-term supplemental regimen to stay healthy.
Being away from my family and friends during treatment was hard at times, but a blessing as well. I missed them and worried about them, but it gave me time to reflect and heal. The time I spent alone really put things into perspective and I addressed some anxiety issues I had struggled with long before my cancer. I felt strongly that my stress and negative thoughts had contributed to my getting sick. I wanted to take responsibility for how I got this sick, and then change course.
I also appreciated the support of my family and friends. My husband Michael was at every chemo round, and we included my daughters and Mom on a visit so they could be reassured that I was in the best hands possible, which was important for them to feel good about the care I was receiving.  During my nine-week stay for radiation, my Mom was able to spend a few weeks with me and a very dear friend, Mary, also spent a week with me.
Today, I still travel more than 2,000 miles for my yearly checkups at CTCA. Each visit, I see my entire care team and get the full deal, from a massage, to physical therapy, acupuncture, nutrition, naturopathic medicine, and of course my primary care doctors.  During my last visit, it was wonderful to hear Dr. Eden tell me he never needed to see me again! Of course, I will stop by every year to say “hi” but I am happy to no longer be his patien
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)