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

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
Note from Tim: I have known Peggy since our childhood and remember playing with her when we were both quite young. Who would have known that there would come a time when we would be brought together again to talk about the cancer experience? But, as “luck” would have it, here we were! How, you may ask, is it possible to consider a young woman of 38 years with seven children ranging in ages from 1 to 13 who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer as “lucky?” Ask Peggy and she will surely tell you! Hers, however, is not the random kind of luck that lottery winners experience but it is the kind of luck that Dr. Richard Wiseman, author of “The Luck Factor,” speaks of. According to Wiseman, lucky people aren’t born but they act in a way that predisposes them to experiences in life that offer more good than bad, more blessings than burdens. Yes, if you talked to Peggy she would surely tell you she considers herself “lucky!” Despite the demands of raising seven children while undergoing chemotherapy Peggy took the time to speak with me during the busy week before Christmas without a single complaint of all that she had on her plate! We would spend an hour together on the same day as treatment, a day she admittedly “didn’t feel the greatest,” but you never would have guessed it. She was filled with energy, enthusiasm, optimism, smiles and laughter. And, in the end, I wondered if the wisdom she attributes to have gained through the cancer experience hasn’t been there all along!

Summer of 2003:

I was having a normal summer. I had a couple of weeks when I was really, really tired and worn out. With our history of seven kids I thought, “Oh, maybe I’m pregnant!” I went in and they did some blood work and they called me back later that day and told me my H&Hs were so low that I had to go to the hospital for a couple units of blood. My neighbor is an OB nurse and she told me that the only people she has ever seen with H&H levels that low were semi-conscious patients and she was amazed that I was out mowing the lawn that day (she explains with a laugh and a smile).

The tumor had started causing some bleeding which was a God-send because other than that and the tiredness I didn’t have any symptoms. I think when you are a mom and you are busy with stuff you just kind of overlook things and you’re maybe not as aware with what’s going on with your own body. Dr. Werner who did the surgeries for me said that if it had not caused the bleeding it could very well have progressed before they found it. So that was a blessing!

They did a scope into the stomach and found nothing so they scheduled a colonoscopy. They ended up putting me out for the colonoscopy because they were having trouble getting around one area. When I woke up John, my husband, was in the room and I asked him, “So, did they find anything?” I really wasn’t expecting that they would find anything! John said, “Yeah, they found a tumor!” I just kind of sat there and asked, “A tumor? Well, what about cancer?” And he told me it was cancerous! So we just cried! You know, like most people. What can you do? It’s just such a shock! And it was so hard to go from thinking that maybe I was going to have another baby to finding out I had cancer (she expresses the unimaginable pain with a few tears). I just remember the rest of the day being in shock and calling people. That was a hard time! I was diagnosed on August 1st. And that pretty much took care of the summer. We had plans to do things. But from that point on it was just chaos!

The First Part Is the Worst Part:

It’s just so hard at first. You’re in limbo and you really don’t know what you’re dealing with. And nobody expects it. It’s the kind of thing that happens to other people and doesn’t happen to you. And being so young… even the surgeons were telling me, “You’re really young to have this kind of cancer.” I couldn’t help but think, “Why couldn’t the odds have smiled upon me in the lottery instead (she quips laughingly)!” But it’s just something that you have to learn to deal with!

At one point I was talking to one of the nurses at the hospital who was explaining everything I was scheduled for and my head was just spinning! You want to go through it all and you want to find out where you are at while at the same time you don’t want to know. I couldn’t help but think, “The more tests I have done the more likely they are to find something!” At the time I was perfectly content with where I was and with the good prognosis.

It took us about two weeks to go through all of the tests. The prognosis looked very good initially. Dr. Werner had thought that maybe he had even gotten it all through surgery. But then they discovered it was in two of the lymph nodes. When I had the CT scan a spot showed up on the liver. I was convinced the cancer had metastasized to the liver because it was so close to where the tumor was. So we went from thinking everything was going to be okay to things progressively looking worse. That weekend we were out at Terre Andre with a bunch of friends and I remember thinking, “Gosh, I’m not going to be here next year at this time!”

I work as an Advanced C.N.A. at Memorial Hospital, which means I am able do more than the usual routine work of a C.N.A. I have always been interested in the medical field. It was kind of funny because as I was going through the staging I found myself looking through one of my medical books all of the time wondering, “What if it’s this?” or “What if it’s that?” It surely didn’t help that my book was about ten years old (more pleasant laughter).

The hardest part was the waiting and what to do during that time when you don’t have all the information you need. I really didn’t talk to others who had cancer until I started my treatment, but I would think that would have been so very helpful – talking to people who had been through that waiting time. Thankfully, though, I did have prayer and I had family and friends around to help me through that time.

Undergoing Chemotherapy:

I was never really afraid of going through chemo or anything. I just remember coming in for chemo the first time and just feeling really sad that I had to be here. That first time I was here it seemed like everybody else knew what was going on and here I am crying (she smilingly reflects). I remember having the flu about a week or so before I started chemo. I was sicker than a dog and I said to John, “If chemo is anything like this… forget it… I’m not doing it!” But I have to say, compared to the flu I had; chemo has been a breeze! I feel kind of “queezy” the day of chemo but by the next day I feel like I’m getting back to normal. Today was chemo day, for example, and I don’t feel the greatest. But by tomorrow I should feel better. And I feel tired!

The people I have met in the treatment room are all just so wonderful. Mary, one of the chemo patients for example, brought in hot chocolate and cookies on the day of her last treatment. She even said to us, “You know, I’m kind of going to miss this! I don’t get much time away by myself anymore! And it’s really been kind of nice!” Everybody’s just very friendly. At least when you are here there are some really nice people to talk to so it is pleasant that way!

If anything, my greatest challenge has been to keep myself from doing too much! You see, before I was diagnosed my H&H levels were dropping and I started feeling more and more tired but I kept right on doing the same things. The more tired I got the more I pushed myself. But after I was transfused and now whenever I get shots of Procrit® I feel so much better and have more energy. So, it’s hard for me to try and take it easy when, in some ways, I’m feeling better than I’ve felt in a long time. One day I even told John, “I’m getting a shot of Procrit® today so maybe I’ll pick up a couple gallons of paint because I’m going to have to do something (more laughter)!”

I’m getting close to the end now. I’ve finished up four cycles and have two more cycles to go. I should be finished some time in February! Things are already beginning to feel like they’re getting back to normal! There are times when it all seems so surreal, like when I come in for treatments, but I think that is because I am feeling so good and I keep so busy that it just doesn’t seem right.

The Value & Importance of Family:

The kids have all handled it very well. We have seven kids ages 13, 12, 9, 6, 5, 3, and 1. Is that seven? Yeah, that’s seven! I have to count them to make sure I got them all (she humorously remarks)! The younger ones probably don’t really know what’s going on but we’ve made sure that we spend time talking to the older ones. John and I talked quite a bit before telling them especially since the older ones can remember when John’s dad died of lung cancer several years ago. We were afraid they would take it really hard and as soon as they heard the word cancer they would think that mom was dying! I really spent some time with them. And they were like, “Okay!” And that was it! I went upstairs and said to John, “They took that TOO well, I think!” But kids are so adaptable and they adjust! And they helped out too. After the surgery I had a lifting restriction and couldn’t even lift the baby out of the crib so it was nice that they were home from school and able to help out.

I’m used to being in control; with seven kids you have to be. Having to let go of that control was a big thing for me. When something like this happens that you have NO control over it is a hard thing to accept. By the time we came in to hear the results of the PET scan I started feeling a little better because I started giving up that control. I figured I’m really not in charge of this situation and I was just going to have to go with whatever happens. And, even though I’m glad I didn’t have to, I was really ready to hear some not-so-good news! But the news was good – the spot on my liver was not cancer!

Probably harder than dealing with the cancer diagnosis for me was dealing with the idea that I couldn’t have any more babies. I love babies! I was thinking that maybe I would have one, two, or even three more babies. But I’ve come to terms with that and I can see there are some pluses to it as well. Obviously you are so much more limited when you have little ones around. We’ve already talked about doing some foster care down the road. I was driving home one day and listening to the song “I Hope You Dance” by Leann Womack that talks about whenever one door closes another opens. This isn’t how we had planned things and foster care is something we may have never thought about otherwise. Things happen for a reason and I think that there are things down the road for me to do! Maybe it’s foster care or caring for kids at another level. I think maybe someone decided, “We better do something here or she’s just going to have babies forever (she says with a smile and a laugh)! So I’m just being steered in a different direction.

So Much Support from Others:

We’ve had so much support from family, friends, and the church. The thing that has really amazed me is how so many people, even those that I haven’t seen in years, have contacted us and offered to do absolutely anything; meals coming in, prayer chains, cards, phone calls. It always seemed to that it would be on my worst days when someone would do something really meaningful – something really touching. It’s as if somehow they knew! That extra support really makes a huge difference! Just having someone there whether it be just listening… or lending encouragement. One person told me of this little old lady who I didn’t know and who didn’t know me that would go out in her garden for hours and pray for me!

I certainly feel closer to the church because so many people have rallied around us and helped us with whatever we needed. I also feel a greater connection to God and even though I have cancer I feel really blessed because they found it when they did. And I feel so blessed to know that so many people have been praying and continue to pray for me. I just feel like I’m being watched over and taken care of in the midst of all of this. And that’s all very comforting. Initially, you’re just so scared and overwhelmed and you’re thinking, “My gosh, I’m going to die!” And now, even though I don’t know what my future has in store for me, it doesn’t scare me nearly as much anymore. I guess I just feel more content with where I’m at with my life.

It’s funny because cancer has not only made me appreciate what’s going on in my life more today but it has also made me look more to the future as well. I am realizing that there are a lot of things that I would like to do. There are a lot of people I would like to help. And I think I kind of got into a rut. I mean, you have babies and you get busy with your family. And even though there may be other things you want to do you are just too busy. And now that we aren’t a growing family any more and some of the kids are getting older I hope I’ll actually have the chance to do some of those things.

Just Some of Cancer’s Many Lessons:

Cancer has reminded me to appreciate things more, take life a little less seriously, and enjoy every day! I’ve learned to relax a little bit more and am trying to appreciate just being in the moment. It’s about enjoying whatever it is you are doing at that particular time and not worrying about what needs being done… Like at night just tucking the kids in or watching them sleep and just knowing that you’re there to do that!

I know it sounds like just a cliché and a lot of people say it… but that’s because it’s true! Cancer certainly changes everything. Things that were important before just aren’t anymore. As they say, when we are on our deathbeds the kids aren’t going to remember that the house wasn’t always spotless. And there is even more joy in the little things. It hasn’t been so bad and I realize that things could have been a lot worse! We’re just trying to go on with our lives and think good thoughts. I think things are going to be okay. If not… well… we’ll deal with it then.

Survivor Spotlight on EUGENE TEWINKLE : Melonoma Survivor
November, 2003

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