Survivor Spotlight: JOANNE D'ALTON : Breast Cancer Survivor
Summer, 2007

Survivor Spotlight: FRANK YINKO : Colon Cancer Survivor
April, 2007

Survivor Spotlight: NANCY LAARMAN : Ovarian Cancer Survivor
January, 2007

Survivor Spotlight on MIKE LEMAHIEU : Colon Cancer Survivor (with liver metastisis)
December, 2006

Survivor Spotlight on MARY LICHTERMAN : Breast Cancer Survivor
September, 2006

Survivor Spotlight: JIM HAMMERLING : Multiple Myeloma Survivor
July, 2006

Survivor Spotlight: LORI SCHULTZ : Breast Cancer Survivor
May, 2006
Note from Tim: I knew very little about Lori before sitting down and chatting with her for this column. Although I have seen her quite often in the clinic we had only spoken on occasion. I asked her to be our Survivor Spotlight primarily because it is my goal to offer as many different perspectives of the cancer experience as I can. Lori, now 34, was diagnosed at the age of 28 and is a single mom. In the past when I sat down with our Survivor Spotlights I already knew them quite well so I was ready to be inspired and amazed. Because I didn’t know Lori all that well, I didn’t know what to expect. Well, guess what? She inspires and amazes me! But, as usual, I must apologize because as much as I ENJOY sharing Lori’s story with you I must ACCEPT the limitations of this column. Although you can read her words, unless you know her you cannot hear the joy in her voice, see the sincerity in her eyes, or feel the energy in her being!

“This is really going to be a bummer!”

In the summer of 1999 I noticed a lump. They tried to do a needle biopsy but couldn’t so I went in to have the lump removed thinking that it was nothing. It was July 22nd of 1999. I remember that because it was my daughter’s sixth birthday and we had a big birthday party planned for that afternoon. By 12 o’clock noon I knew that I had breast cancer… but we still had the birthday party. It’s kind of funny now because if you look at the pictures from the party all of the adults are so solemn but the kids are all just as happy as can be because they had no clue! I don’t’ think I ever really got upset. I just thought, “This is really going to be a bummer!” I don’t know if it was because I was young and naïve but I didn’t do any research on my cancer or anything. So I never really got upset about it back then.

My initial reaction was the thought of losing my hair. I had really long hair… it was all the way down to my butt! Back then a lot of my self-esteem was in my hair. I think I always have had lower self-esteem even though some people may find that hard to believe. That seemed to be the one thing that people noticed right away about me. I didn’t hear people say, “Lori, you’re such a nice girl!” but I often heard people say, “Lori, you have such beautiful hair!” But when I did lose my hair I quickly realized that there is so much more to me than my hair!

While I was going through treatment the first time I didn’t let it stop me. I got my pilot’s license and was flying airplanes every day. I didn’t “act” as if I needed other people’s help so I think everyone thought I was doing fine on my own and just let me be. No one came to my treatments with me and I did it pretty much on my own. And I had a lot of other stuff going on in my life at the time.

I tell people all of the time that going through treatment at that time in my life was nothing compared to what I was going through in my personal life. I was in a really bad marriage. In a way, coming here was almost a treat because it allowed me to get out of that environment. It was so nice to come here where people were kind to me and actually cared about me! There were days when coming here was truly the highlight of my day!

Dr. Matthews gave me as much chemo as he could have given me during my initial treatment followed by a lumpectomy and radiation. The node biopsy came back negative so I thought everything was good! I was put on Tamoxifen for the next five years. I went to cosmetology school and was working as the assistant manager at a hair salon and even located my biological parents. Everything seemed to be going great!

“I actually have to remind myself that I have cancer!”

I had a party to celebrate passing the “five-year mark!” About a week later I realized I sort of “jumped the gun” on that (Lori says with a smile and a laugh)! I was coming off my Tamoxifen and starting having bone pain. Dr. Matthews noticed that my blood counts weren’t right so, of course, we did a bunch of tests and found that I had a tumor on my tailbone. With more tests they found that the cancer had spread to my bones, my marrow, and my liver.

That was really a shock at first… not only that it had come back but that it was so widespread. At first I didn’t even believe it and told myself that someone must have made a mistake. But I’m over that now and I realize I am not the first person that this has happened to.

I’ve been back on chemo now since May of 2005. The way I look at it… that’s a good thing! To be honest, when I learned about the recurrence and how widespread it was… I didn’t think I would be around for more than a few months. But I feel better today than I did a year ago! At this moment I feel pretty good… and I usually feel pretty good as long as I take my pain medications. I think I have learned to deal with it pretty well and one way I deal with it is that I don’t really talk about it or think about it all of the time. Believe it or not, there are times I have to actually remind myself that I have cancer… and that allows me to go on and live my life!

“I don’t feel sorry for myself… so why should anyone else?”

Some people want to feel sorry for me. They may say, “Oh, poor Lori!” But I don’t feel sorry for myself… so why should anyone else? Yeah, there might be a couple days when chemo is really bad and I might ask myself, “Why does this have to happen to me?” But it’s usually just a passing thing and I get over it. I don’t have too many bad days but when I do, and I don’t mean to put this on other people, it’s usually when I’m not feeling well and the people around me are being really negative. That really brings me down. If you don’t have something positive to say… I really don’t want to hear it.

There is no doubt that the most difficult thing for me, and probably the ONLY difficult thing for me, is the worry that I have for my kids. Josh will be fifteen in June and Kayla will be 13 in July. They are both doing a great job of dealing with it in their own way… but I just wish they didn’t have to deal with my cancer! And, of course, I still worry about them just like any good parent would do.

I don’t look too far into the future. It’s the little things that are huge to me. My son Josh will be starting high school this year! To me, that’s a huge thing and I appreciate it so much! And being at the Unity Music Festival for the Sheboygan County Cancer Care Fund and seeing and hearing my daughter Kayla sing… that was huge to me also. Next it will be my son getting his driver’s license… and my daughter starting high school. I don’t really think about being there to see them get married. Maybe I’ll be here to see that… who knows. But focusing on the things they are going through now is good because it forces me to slow down and appreciate things as they come.

“I’ve found a whole new understanding of life…”

My dad who adopted me is a minister and a lot of what he taught me through the years and what I learned in Sunday school has come back to me. I talk with God all of the time and feel that I have a good relationship with God. I still sin… I still get angry… I still make mistakes… but I am doing the best I can and I think God knows that and will take care of me!

When I first learned about the recurrence I thought about death and dying a lot more than I do now. Now, I guess, I just see death and dying as a part of life… something that we are all going to experience at one time or another… and it’s not really a sad or a morbid thing to me. Sure… it would be sad for my kids because they might not have a real good understanding of it right now. And it would be sad for my family and friends. And, of course, I’d much rather live a healthy life… but if I’m in a lot of pain or misery I’d rather go to a better place… and in my heart I know that place exists! Living and dying… it’s all just a part of life!

I’m still learning but I think I’ve learned a lot about what the meaning of my life is supposed to be… so in a way I have passed the test. And with that new understanding of life has come the realization that whether I am here or whether I’m not isn’t the most important thing. I’ve found a whole new understanding of life… and it’s not all about being alive. I don’t know how to explain it but I know what I mean in my heart!

The funny thing is when I was younger and before I had cancer I would have panic attacks because of an overwhelming feeling that I was just going to die! I didn’t even know what I thought I was going to die of… I just had this thought I was going to die. I even ended up in the emergency room at times! But since all of this has happened dying really doesn’t scare me that much. I don’t want to die… and I want to be there for my kids for as long as I can… but I am at peace with dying if that is what is in store for me.

“A better person… and a much happier person, too!”

Honestly, I think all of this has made me a better person than I was even a year ago. I just don’t see the sense in being negative! I don’t see the sense in speaking badly about other people. I think there is good in everybody. It’s really hard for me to see the negative in other people. I think that has made me a better person… and a much happier person, too!

I see a lot more good in the world since I have been sick… I see a lot more good in people and in life! I think part of that is simply because so many people have been so kind to my kids and me through all of this. Family members, friends, and even people I don’t know have done so much for us. They have given me so many things to be thankful for! I really do feel blessed!

A lot of people will tell me, “If I was in your shoes I could not be as positive as you are!” I just kind of laugh to myself because I think they would be! Before my cancer I would often tell people that I could handle anything except going blind or getting cancer. But it seems when you face something that you fear you find a way to handle it. I don’t see many people here who are going through cancer that are negative… most of them are so very positive and have the same positive attitude! I certainly don’t think that I am any different than anybody else going through this.

“I think my whole well being and outlook on life is much better!”

It’s important to hang around people that are positive. There are going to be those days you get down and a lot of times I think the world is going to try and drag you down and make you think that it is worse than what it actually is. So when you start feeling down you just have to try to realize that it may not be as bad as you think. Before you know it… another 3 months have gone by, or 6 months. I honestly felt worse, mentally and physically, a year ago. The scans and the tests may say otherwise but as a person I think my whole well being and outlook on life is much better! And that’s all that matters.

Survivor Spotlight Update: BOB SHAROT : Head & Neck Cancer Survivor
May, 2006

Survivor Spotlight on MATT RILEY : Medullablastoma Cancer Survivor
December, 2005

Survivor Spotlight on MARTY TEN PAS : Breast Cancer Survivor
September, 2005

Survivor Spotlight Update on RALPH LEMP : Prostate Cancer Survivor
September, 2005

Survivor Spotlight Update on SANDY AMWEG : Breast Cancer Survivor
June, 2005

Survivor Spotlight on STEVE PHILIPPS : Prostate Cancer Survivor
June, 2005

Survivor Spotlight on IONE HEINEN : Breast Cancer & Colo-Rectal Cancer Survivor
April, 2005

Survivor Spotlight Update: DON FICKETT : As Told By Caregiving Champion: LINDA FICKETT
March, 2005

Survivor Spotlight Update on AUDREY SWITA : Breast Cancer Survivor
January, 2005

Survivor Spotlight on BOB SHAROT : Head & Neck Cancer Survivor
January, 2005

Survivor Spotlights on DIANA BRAY & MARY SCHMEISER : Diana - Lung Cancer, Mary - Breast Cancer
October, 2004

Survivor Spotlight Update on GENE TE WINKLE : Melanoma Survivor
October, 2004

Survivor Spotlight Update on MARY ANN HAMMES : Breast Cancer Survivor
August, 2004

Survivor Spotlight on ART WESENER (Colon Cancer) : with Caregiving Champion JOANNE WESENER
August, 2004

Survivor Spotlight on JUDY FRIEDERICHS : Breast Cancer Survivor
June, 2004

Survivor Spotlight Update on PAT JENKINS : Breast Cancer & Hodgkin's Disease Survivor
June, 2004

Survivor Spotlight on: DR. PHIL WALKER : Prostate Cancer Survivor
March, 2004

Survivor Spotlight Update on: Rollie Huibregtse : Leukemia Survivor
March, 2004

Survivor Spotlight on: PEGGY KERR : Colon Cancer Survivor
January, 2004

Survivor Spotlight on EUGENE TEWINKLE : Melonoma Survivor
November, 2003

Survivor Spotlight Update on LINDA BURKART : Thymoma Cancer Survivor
November, 2003