Survivors series 2017 by Gina Langston

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

LIKE A WARRIOR David O’Neill doneill@joplinglobe.com

The writing hadn’t only been on the wall for Marilyn Marshall-Miller. Rather, it had blazed brightly, in clearly marked letters, like a neon sign. First had come the news, late in 2014, that Marshall-Miller’s cousin Susan had been diagnosed with breast cancer in St. Louis. One year later, a second of her first cousins, Kristin, was stunned to receive the same diagnosis in Atlanta. Prior to 2014, Marshall-Miller was unaware of a family history of breast cancer. “We had none. Zero. Then, out of the blue, three of us on the maternal line were diagnosed within two years,” she said. Still, it wasn’t her cousins’ diagnoses that compelled Marshall-Miller to schedule a mammogram in the spring of 2016. “I honestly thought I was fine. But they urged me to get an up-to-date screening. They said they’d drive down here and take me,” Marshall-Miller said. So she complied, scheduling the necessary appointments.

A Difficult Truth Marshall-Miller’s last mammogram had occurred just prior to the May 2011 tornado, which destroyed St. John’s Hospital and its records, including Marshall-Miller’s information and X-rays. “So we had nothing to go on,” she said. Due to the sudden appearance of cancer in her cousins, however, Marshall-Miller’s primary care physician and best friend, Dr. Karen Porte, insisted on immediate diagnostic testing. “That was the urgency of it,” she said. Those tests first included a diagnostic mammogram and then an ultrasound, the results of which Marshall-Miller said were “curious.” Even then, she remained impervious to her potential reality. “I thought nothing would come of it,” she said. A CT scan with dye then revealed cancerous tumors in both breasts, or bilaterally. “The tumors on that CT scan just lit up,” she said. Marshall-Miller’s good friend and fellow performer Ricardo Field accompanied her to hear her results. “He brought me a hot dog from Instant Karma and off we went,” she said. “I still thought nothing would come of it.”

Breast cancer-survivor Marilyn Marshall-Miller at her Joplin home, on Sept. 28.

Moments later, Freeman Health Systems surgeon Dr. Alan Buchele gave her the diagnosis — bilateral Stage 1C invasive ductile carcinoma, a rare breast cancer to have in both breasts. “He looked at me and said, ‘it’s more challenging than we thought. And I’m just going to be straight with you.’ And I said, ‘That’s what I want. I want the truth.’ He said, ‘you have tumors and we need to get them out. We’re going to do what we need to do, in the time frame we need to do it. We’ve got this.’” The evening of her diagnosis, Marshall-Miller said she felt numb. “I didn’t even process it at the time.” But on day two, “I was in full combat mode.” She soon shared the very difficult news with family members, including husband Mike and adult son Christopher, who responded supportively. “He said, ‘We’re going to beat it. You’re my mom, and my mom can do anything.’”

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

Joplin breast cancer survivor urges others to be proactive with their health.

myriad of doctors, specialists and other medical professionals whose business cards now fill the front and back of a clear plastic card keeper in Marshall-Miller’s pink binder. It didn’t take Marshall-Miller long to realize that effectively treating cancer is often as treacherous as the disease itself. She underwent two surgeries, including a bilateral lumpectomy to remove two tumors, and began radiation five days a week for three months. “After you’re finished with radiation, you’re so exhausted, and your body feels like it’s on fire, so it’s very painful.” An unexpected and more loathsome side effect from the radiation was an outside infection on her right side that ran from her armpit down to her waist. Additionally, she still sees a pulmonologist for lung-related side effects with her breathing caused by the radiation. She will also take Tamoxifen daily for 10 years; side effects from that drug alone include fatigue, bone pain and hair and nail thinning. Marshall-Miller credits her surgeon, Dr. Buchele, with alleviating any pre-surgery fears. “He has a caring bedside manner and a strong intellect, so I felt safe,” she said. She also credits Freeman’s cancer resources with making her often-challenging treatment process more livable: The Wes & Jan Houser Women’s Pavilion, where she received cancer treatment and support, and the Pink Boutique, which offers cancer and post-mastectomy support products such as wigs and prostheses.

What You Don’t Want

She also wants both women and men — who also can develop breast cancer — to be proactive and participate in their own health by staying up to date on screenings. “And make sure all generations are tested,” she said. “It’s not just walks and runs and pink ribbons,” she continued. “It really can be very ugly. So if you don’t want radiation, surgeries or the side effects, go and get tested. Do it on the regular. Don’t let it get to the point that I did. If you have enough time to shop or get your nails done, you have time to get checked.” A realistic yet upbeat stance, Marshall-Miller said, is her only option. “I don’t want my life and my home to be defined by cancer. So my family and I define life with other things like happiness, walks, special dinners, and hanging out. Outside her Joplin family, yet very much still in Marshall-Miller’s orbit, are her cousins Kristin and Susan. The trio refer to themselves as warriors, and another warrior emerged nearly two weeks ago, on Sept. 19, when Marshall-Miller’s aunt was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer. “So our fight continues, but we’re survivors,” she said. “We become survivors the moment we receive that diagnosis. I’ve gone through radiation, surgery and all the treatments, and that makes me and my family survivors.” “This is important,” she continued, “because sometimes cancer is a war. We fight our way through breast cancer. You may not get that cancer-free card right away, because I still haven’t after a year. But you continue to take a breath, allow yourself to feel those feels, put on your armor and fight like mad.”

Breast cancer awareness, education and prevention loom large for Marshall-Miller. “I just want people to take this seriously,” she said.

Treatment’s Brutal Nature It’s that intrepid disposition that’s long driven Marshall-Miller, who’s already lived through some tragedy and heartbreak. At age 5, her own daughter Stephanie died as the result of a degenerative brain disease. Prior to that, in 1992, her mother had died from juvenile diabetes. Marshall-Miller, who works as an endocrinology research coordinator, said life before breast cancer was “extremely active. I hiked seven miles a day and I was in great health.” Both community theater and community service punctuated her spare time, as well as close friendships and weekends spent with family. Now, Marshall-Miller was walking through a life she sometimes didn’t recognize. Mostly, that life revolved around appointments with the

“I just want people to take this seriously,” Marshall-Miller keeps notes and self-education in a pink binder. In the sleeve at the right are business cards for about half of the doctors and other specialists she’s seen.

| MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN Joplin woman to serve as Stage IV advocate By Rebecca Haines

ent things,” she said. “Everybody’s path is so different. I’m in what is called ‘No Evidence Of Active Disease.’ So I’m one of the very fortunate few. Because of that, that’s why I feel I have a responsibility to advocate for Stage IV. Because I’m so blessed.”

Special to the Globe

An estimated 155,000 people are living with Stage IV breast cancer in America, and only 7 percent of research funding is spent on this stage. Ellen Broglio, of Joplin, hopes to change that. As a Stage IV breast cancer survivor, Broglio was selected this summer as one of 29 diverse applicants from across the United States to serve as an advocate with Living Beyond Breast Cancer. She will travel to Memphis, Tennessee for training later this month. Her goal is to make a political impact to engage additional funding for Stage IV research. According to Cancer.net, there are four cancer stage groups. Stage I means the cancer is still located in the place it originated and nowhere else. Stage IV indicates the exact opposite, that the cancer has spread to other organs or parts of the body. “I think it’s time to change the way we look at Stage IV, because before, people did just look at it as terminal,” Broglio said. “I’m really excited, and I just want to do some good. I’m going to be 58 on my birthday this year, and this would be very different if I was going to be 38. Each one of us brings a different perspective.” It’s been three years since Broglio was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. After a mastectomy, chemo treatments and a transition time into Stage IV, Broglio says there is still so much to learn. At the beginning, she was overwhelmed with information, she said. What ignited the fight within her was a statement that indicated she shouldn’t be given “false hope.” With more than 10 tumors in her liver, Broglio said that’s when she started collecting survivors’ stories.

Every four weeks, Broglio travels to St. Louis for infusion treatments through a port in her chest. Between those trips, she tries to look on life with eyes of faith, focusing only on the good. “I guess it’s a journey of discovery. For me — and I can only speak for me — it’s made me realize that I have to figure out how I want to spend my life. My energy is limited. Everyone’s energy is limited. We just don’t realize that. But I try hard not to squander my energy on things that don’t matter. It’s made me prioritize.” Time is not wasted on hope and information. In her immense library at home, one of her most cherished books is “Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against the Odds” by Kelly Turner, Ph.D. “I also believe in miracles,” Broglio said. “I don’t know how long this is going to last but I’m just like everybody else — nobody knows. For now, I have my miracle.”

by Erich Fromm: “The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.” Broglio holds English and Education degrees from Missouri Southern State University, a master’s in English from Pittsburg State University and a Journalism degree from University of Missouri-Columbia. In her career background, she said she loved teaching journalism, particularly at Carl Junction High School. “I’ve always loved an adventure,” she said. “Journalism was a way to see everything and do everything vicariously.”

Broglio credits her encouraged heart to her support system, her family: husband Peter, children Gabriella and Max, and granddaughters Olivia and Ella.

Before her advocacy adventure, Broglio is planning a trip to India (a place she once lived with Peter for two years). With a love for travel and discovery, Broglio said she’s not finished. She’s ready to be a positive light as a mentor for other cancer survivors.

On top of the comfort she finds in faith and mediation, Broglio stressed the importance of knowledge for all those affected by cancer. She wished to share a quote

“It’s a journey I never would have chosen for myself, but it’s been a good one,” she said. “Just know that miracles really can happen.”

“I have my miracle”

Breast Cancer AWARENESS

“With breast cancer, there is no one-sizefits-all because different types get differ-

EARLY DETECTION CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

98% 27%

EARLY DETECTION SURVIVAL RATE

ADVANCED STAGE SURVIVAL RATE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to bring awareness about preventative exams.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

‘ DON’T

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

LET A DIAGNOSIS DEFINE YOU’

Schroer sisters lean on each other to overcome individual cancers By Amanda Stone astone@joplinglobe.com

As the Schroer family knows all too well, cancer does not discriminate. Out of five sisters, two were diagnosed with different types of non-hereditary breast cancer before the age of 40. Six years ago, Amy, the eldest sister at 35 years old, was at a routine doctor’s appointment while home in Joplin from working in air operations in Afghanistan when the nurse practitioner felt a lump. “I was getting on a plane to go back to Afghanistan when they called and said they wanted to do a biopsy,” Amy said. “I asked if it could wait a couple months and they said, ‘sure, if you can get it done over there.’ I was thinking, ‘yeah, right, in Afghanistan?’ There’s no way.” She did end up waiting a couple of months until she could make it back home to get the biopsy. In December of 2011, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer which, according to the CDC, makes up between 10 and 20 percent of breast cancers. Amy was scheduled for a single mastectomy right away, followed by 24 weeks of chemotherapy. In hindsight, she said she wishes she’d had a double mastectomy; she was released as cancer-free last year, but still has to have regular mammograms as well as living with the possibility of recurrence. Amy said her “cancer goal” was to get back to work in Afghanistan. She had good insurance and money saved from working overseas, so she was able to take the year off in order to heal. “I lived in a little cabin on Shoal

Creek out in Newtonia, had a garden and kayaked and played music and went bald for pretty much that whole spring and summer and then once I got cleared, I went back to work in Afghanistan,” Amy said. “I was there for five more years.” Amy had genetic testing, and assumed her family would be in the clear since she was negative for carrying the BRCA gene. Then she got a call in Afghanistan from her sister Bethany, who is one year younger. “I couldn’t believe it,” Amy said. “I convinced myself the reason I got it is so my sisters would all be checked early and none of them would have to go through it. But then sure enough, two years later she was diagnosed.” Bethany was 35 years old when she had her first mammogram. It was normal, and she was given clearance to wait a couple of years to have her next one. It did not carry the same news. A nurse called within an hour of her leaving to tell her the radiologist found abnormalities. She was back in the office the following morning for an ultrasound and biopsy. A week later, she got the call; it was cancer. “It was a whirlwind of emotions. My son was in kindergarten. I was just thinking, ‘I’m a single mom, how am I going to do this?’” said Bethany. Bethany was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma, unrelated to the type of cancer her sister had. Although the cancer was caught early and thought to be contained, she opted for a double mastectomy. “The doctor said that at my age he would highly recommend a

Breast cancer survivors and sisters Bethany Shroer, at left, and Amy Shroer.

double, rather than a single mastectomy or lumpectomy. That’s one of the first things Amy said to me, was have a double mastectomy,” Bethany said. “‘Do them both.’ My thought was, I know they caught it early, but I’ll never be on the other side. I don’t want to take that chance.”

After surgery, her pathology report showed she still had abnormal cells. Unlike Amy, Bethany didn’t require chemotherapy, but she endured 28 radiation treatments instead. Until she reaches five years cancer-free, she will continue visiting her oncologist every six months for blood work.

Bethany’s cancer was not as contained as her oncologist hoped; surgeons found cancer in two places on her chest wall as well.

The Schroer sisters’ cancer was caught early due to their diligence at the doctor’s office. Treatment worked and all went as planned.

than cancer STRONGER together. TOUGHER

FIGHTING takes lots of Courage.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and the courage they have to share their stories with us.

Bethany and Amy feel like they got off easy, because they know the stories of the women who didn’t. They agree that leaning on public support and having a positive attitude helped them. “Don’t let a diagnosis define you. Continue your life as you were. Deal with it as best you can and just know positivity. Take charge and take care of it,” advised Amy.

| WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

‘GOD HEALS COMPLETELY’ Positive attitude, faith help Carthage woman overcome Stage III cancer

By Terri Nighswonger Laura Lane was in the doctor’s office with her husband, waiting for the diagnosis she knew would come. The doctor was late. “That was when the fear really started mounting,” Lane said. “You’re in this little room, and there’s nothing to look at except things that make you think you’re going to die.” Lane’s mother and aunt had breast cancer. Her mother died when it metastasized to her bones. When she found the lump on her body several weeks before, she instinctively knew what it likely was. “I remember just standing up and walking through that room and praying out loud,” she said. “I prayed while Lowell looked up the song “This Means War.” I suddenly had to know the words to it and we played it over and over again.” The doctor finally ducked into the room. “Maybe he was waiting for me to quiet down,” Lane said. Lane was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer at Stage III that was found in her lymph nodes. The doctor recommended chemotherapy first, followed by surgery and radiation. She recently completed the chemo and is waiting on her mid-October surgery. “I did pretty well through the chemo,” Lane said. “Obviously, there are a lot of side effects. There’s a lot that goes on mentally through this.”

Lane discovered the mental battle is almost as difficult as the physical one. “Yes, you’ve got fears you deal with,” she said. “Initially, my fears were, ‘Oh golly, this is it. My time is limited.’ I got past that pretty quickly, because I just determined my God heals completely.” Over the course of her treatment so far, Lane said she has relied on her faith, saturating herself with scripture. “I just know God is going to heal this. My declaration became, ‘I will live and not die and declare the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living,’ from Psalm 118:17,” she said.

identity. I was concerned that I would write too much about that, but people were so encouraging. I’ve gotten so many comments. I’ve gotten so many letters, gifts in the mail from people who have read it. I’ve just been overwhelmed with the number of people all over who are praying.” Lane has also found ways to encourage others. When she was receiving her chemo, she would stop and speak with other patients. Chemo day was the day she felt the best, she said. The treatment hadn’t knocked her down yet. “Here I am in a place that really offers hope, but yet a lot of people feel hopeless there,” she said. “Everywhere I go, I want to spread the sunshine of God’s love. Even the nurses and the staff see so much sadness, so I go in there and I am as cheerful as I can be. I’m as friendly as I can be. I ask them how are you doing, and I care how they are doing.

I want to spread the sunshine of God’s love After four chemotherapy treatments, Lane and her medical team could no longer feel the lumps. Lane said she has been blessed with an outpouring of prayers, care and concern through her blog: Harvest Lane Cottage. She struggled with writing about things that no longer seemed important. Writing about her cancer has given her encouragement. “I didn’t want cancer to become who I am,” she said. “I know when people look at me they know there is something wrong with me, but I don’t want that to become my

“I feel like we need encouragement where we can get it,” she continued. “The real encouragement comes from God and knowing that even if we don’t win the battle with cancer, we can win the battle with death by simply believing in Jesus.” Lane said the doctor didn’t give her a survival percentage, but she decided that with God it’s 100 percent. “That’s my decision. That’s my declaration. That’s the way it’s going to be.” A positive attitude and trusting God are the keys that have gotten her through.

Breast cancer survivor Laura Lane.

“The scariest thing is really the unknown. I would ask a zillion questions. All I knew was what I had heard and what my mother had gone through.” The process of learning about her disease, Lane said, is “like you’re in a great big warehouse

and it’s pitch black, and every time someone answers one of your questions, it’s like someone turns on a night light somewhere and you can see a little bit farther in. When you find the right people who will turn on those night lights for you, it’s not as scary.”

e h t g n i Support S R E T H FIG Admiring the Honoring the SURVIVORS

TAKEN

and never, ever giving up

HOPE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to hope for a cure.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’I’M ALIVE.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.’

Pittsburg woman survives two bouts with two types of cancer ‘Oh wow’

By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

PITTSBURG, Kan. — The way Kathy Stuckey describes her two successful triumphs over cancer, it sounds like something lifted straight from a bestselling novel: “It’s a story,” this 61-year-old Pittsburg native said, “that goes way back in time.” How far back in time? Nearly 24 years. At the age of 38, nearing the birthday of her 1-year-old daughter, Maggie, her life took a sudden and frightening turn. During a yearly examination that included a pap smear, a large tumor, roughly the size of a grapefruit, was found in her uterus. She was soon diagnosed — in January, 1993 — with ovarian cancer. For Stuckey, there was only a 45 percent survival rate for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the time. In most cases, the cancer often goes undetected until it has spread to both the pelvis and stomach. At that stage, the cancer is more difficult to treat and can prove fatal. “I thought (the symptoms) were related to the fact that I’d just had a child,” Stuckey said. “I would be hungry and eat but I’d only take two bites and then I’d be full. I was bloated and losing a lot of weight, and I had some abdominal discomfort. But I’d never had a child before so I was like, ‘Oh wow, all of these things are related to (childbirth).’” Thanks to the timing of her examination and early discovery of the mass, “I was really fortunate that my cancer was contained in that one (tumor). It hadn’t spread. Ovarian cancer doesn’t have a very good survival rate. I was very lucky.” The tumor was removed through surgery, and no chemotherapy was needed, she was told.

Kathy Stuckey, a two-time cancer survivor, sits on a bench outside Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg, Kanas. The hospital has, for most of 2017, become Stuckey’s second home. Photo by Kevin McClintock.

Giving back Life rolled on. And over the years, she sat ringside as a rather abnormal amount of close friends and acquaintances were diagnosed with breast cancer: about a dozen of them in all, she said, with half succumbing to the disease. Because of this, “I’ve always tried to do positive things to help promote research for breast cancer,” Stuckey said. “I believe research to find the cure, or prevention, is the only way to end breast cancer.” She and two close friends received 2012 Live Well Apple awards for completing a three-day, 60-mile walk in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer. The Apple awards were created to recognize individuals who positively impacted the health and wellness of Crawford County, Kansas. “We raised over $6,000 for breast cancer research,” she said. “So that is something I’m really proud of ... to have honored my friends.”

During the winter of 2016 — less than a week out from her regularly-scheduled mammogram — Stuckey was sitting in a chair and reaching across her chest to pick up something “when I felt a really hard knot in there,” she said. She had her scheduled mammogram. And less than a week later, on Dec. 14, she received a letter from officials at Pittsburg’s Via Christi Hospital wanting her to come back in for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. When that was completed and the results analyzed, in walked radiologist Dr. Tariq Suwan. “He was so kind,” Stuckey said, “and I sometimes think he may have helped in how I reacted to everything ... he was so comforting. He told me, ‘You have a mass in your right breast. I feel almost certain that it’s cancer. But I don’t want you to be afraid. We will take care of this for you.’” This second time around, she faced the grim news with stoic optimism. “The first time I got diagnosed with cancer I remember thinking, “my daughter was (a year old). If I can just live until she reaches kindergarten—’” Here, Stuckey paused, wiping away tears. Even after all these years, re-telling a story that goes way back in time — the memories and emotions — are still raw. “But this time I didn’t really panic. I really didn’t.” At that time, Christmas was less than a week away. “Up to this point I hadn’t told anyone about anything; even my husband didn’t know,” she said. “That’s just the way I am. Why have others worry? I’d even told myself I’m not going to tell anyone until after Christmas, because I didn’t want to ruin everybody’s (holidays).” But she was to see her oncologist, Dr. Boban Mathew, on Dec. 23, two days before Christmas. That was the date her family was to be in Junction City, Kansas, celebrating the holidays

with her husband’s family. So she had to break the silence to her husband Douglas. The holiday trip was promptly canceled, and Douglas was right there at her side, holding her hand, when they met with Dr. Mathew. “(Douglas) showed up at that appointment with a pink ribbon tie on,” Stuckey said with a laugh. “I couldn’t have made it through without him.”

‘You’re lucky’ During a meeting earlier this year, on Jan. 12, Dr. Mathew laid out the plan for the coming months, consisting of tests, CT scans, advanced typing and blood tests, 12 weeks of chemotherapy, surgery to remove the lump and then radiation treatments for 33 days straight. “You’re lucky,” Dr. Mathew told Stuckey toward the end of that meeting. “When the doctor left the room my husband looked at me and said, ‘You’re lucky?’ But you don’t realize how many times he goes into a room and tells people that he can’t treat them with chemotherapy or radiation, that he has to tell them that he can’t treat them. So I was lucky.

Finding a A pink watch was just one of many gifts of encouragement Stuckey received during her fight with breast cancer at the age of 61. At the age of 38, Stuckey survived ovarian cancer. Photo by Kevin McClintock.

“And I was like, ‘Oh wow, I can do this. This is great.’ I reacted a lot differently than a lot of other people do,” Stuckey continued. “I was never afraid. It never once entered my mind that I would not survive.” Chemotherapy began in late January and lasted 12 weeks. Lumpectomy surgery went down on April 20. After that came the 33 radiation treatments, which wrapped up on July 7. During that final treatment inside Via Christi Hospital’s cancer center, “they had to practically kick me out. Because when you come to a place every day you feel safe and protected there. They’re treating you, making you feel better. And when it was over I didn’t want to go. I asked them (on the last day of treatment), ‘Can I come back tomorrow?’” She is now taking an estrogen inhibitor and will be on this medication through 2027. “I never cried,” Stuckey admitted. “Now that it’s over I cry a lot more. The week after I finished all my treatments, one of my friends was diagnosed with breast cancer and I cried for like a week. Because it’s like I wish I could do it for them.”

Kathy Stuckey smiles during her last chemotherapy treatment. Submitted photo.

CURE

To make a difference now, go to www.bcfo.org/make-a-donation/ or Scan the QR code below. BCFO is not affiliated with the Joplin Globe or it’s affiliates. The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks is a local 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization. BCFO reaches out to friends and neighbors who have been affected by breast cancer. BCFO offers personal support and comfort in real and practical ways, providing support networks, mentor programs, a full range of resources regarding breast cancer awareness, diagnosis and treatment, where to find related community services, and more.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and would like you to join us in our salute by donating to find a cure.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

TEAM ASHLEY lives on

Carthage mom shares of life after loss

In loving memory of her daughter, Carol Lee carries her ashes in a cross around her neck. The supportive group, Team Ashley, lives on with T-shirt sales and fundraiser proceeds benefiting local cancer patients. Rebecca Haines / Special to the Globe

By Rebecca Haines

hospice care, but on Nov. 22, 2010, she was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer. While facing the battle, she blogged “Whipping Cancer with My Wig On,” and found love and married Sean Bilbrey on Nov. 10, 2012.

Special to the Globe

Every day, Carol Lee carries her daughter with her. This Carthage mother lost her daughter, Ashley Lee Bilbrey, 34, in February 2015 to breast cancer after a fourand-a-half-year battle. Carol capsuled some of Ashley’s remains in a cross she wears around her neck, and a bracelet - both of which Ashley helped her pick out. But this isn’t the only way Carol keeps her daughter’s memory alive.

“I don’t know how she could have been that strong. It took tremendous effort for her to live,” Carol said. “She used her experience to try to help others understand. She was a patient advocate. She interviewed her doctors. I want people to know they need to stand up for themselves, and make doctors tell you all the possibilities.”

“It’s important people not forget her - I want them to remember her,” Carol said. “I need to talk about Ashley. I want to talk about Ashley. I don’t want people to think they’ll upset me. I mean, I will cry, but the sharing of her happy memories helps.” Good times stemmed from Ashley’s love of crafting and her chemo bag that was full of things to do while waiting for hours in doctor visits and treatments. In honor of Ashley, Carol continues to make purses and gives them to the Mercy Sisters Health Boutique in Joplin. In addition to the purses, monetary donations and other items are given from an annual Bunco event in the spring. Carol also makes covers, to protect ports from rubbing on seatbelts, as well as Team Ashley T-shirts and hoodies.

Life Without Ashley Ashley was in considerable pain in her last days, and the family gathered together to say goodbye. “We knew it was not going to get any better, and she had to give it up – and she had to be ready,” Carol said. “But I never dreamed, when you’re watching your child die, no one can prepare you for that.” Carol Lee holds a picture of her daughter, Ashley Lee Bilbrey, who passed away from breast cancer two years ago. Rebecca Haines / Special to the Globe

“It’s something I can do,” Carol said. “I can make those purses. I feel like I need to do something that keeps Ashley’s name alive and helps people. She would have gotten joy out of seeing this.”

Ashley’s Spirit Ashley Lee graduated with the Carthage High School Class of 1998, and then obtained her master’s degree in social work. She found her passion in

After losing her firstborn daughter, Carol described the first year without her like a fog. “God does that for you so you can survive,” she said, “cause there’s many times I wake up in the night and don’t believe she’s dead … That’s getting better … I can handle it better every

day. One thing I’ve always said is I want people to understand, I know she’s in Heaven. That’s what saved me – to know I’ll see her again … Looking at where I’m at now, yes, it is getting better. I couldn’t believe at the time it was going to get better – but it did, and it has.”

What Helps Once a month, Carol attends a bereaved parents support group in Joplin. She said first and foremost, prayer; but family, friends and this group have helped her through dark times. “I haven’t said anything they haven’t gone through or understand. It makes me feel like I’m not going crazy,” Carol said. “People are so supportive, and God and the family does get you through, but I needed more. And it’s really helped me, honestly.”

Those who share happy memories are appreciated, and Carol laughs about the moments that were shared around Ashley’s gigantic bed. One crafting project involved sand; which turned out to be a bad idea. And, Ashley and her sisters pulled an occasional prank or two on Carol. “I think God knew we needed to laugh,” she said, “it made Ashley happy to see – she loved that – that was just part of her personality.”

Every day, Carol Lee carries her daughter with her.

Breast Cancer AWARENESS EARLY DETECTION CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

98% 27%

EARLY DETECTION SURVIVAL RATE

ADVANCED STAGE SURVIVAL RATE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to bring awareness about preventative exams.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

CLARK ‘PINKS OUT’ TO SUPPORT BREAST CANCER n, decofrom Carl Junctio d as postmaster Breast ire of ret ion e nit sh e og for rec be e in Sharon Clark, nction Post Offic Ju r. rl vo Ca rvi su the er of nc rates the exterior two-time breast ca Month. Clark is a Cancer Awareness

Survivor embraces the mission of fighting disease Bagel campaign. On Oct. 13, Panera will donate 100 percent of pink bagel sales to Hope 4 You.

By Amanda Stone astone@joplinglobe.com

Carl Junction High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) is hosting the 8th Annual Breast Cancer Walk from 1 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, October 8 at Bulldog Stadium. The largest breast cancer walk in the area will feature fun for the whole family with food trucks, a car show, pink balloon launch, pumpkin painting and more. All money raised will be donated to CJ Cares, which divides it between Hope 4 You and the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks.

Sharon Clark has become the face of the local breast cancer fight. It’s not something she ever imagined happening when she was diagnosed 30 years ago, but she said back then breast cancer wasn’t something people talked about. There was no pink pride in the fight, no public victory for survivors. “It’s overwhelming and I’m humbled. I never set out to be the face, but people do recognize me and come up to tell me thank you, that they are a survivor because I reminded them to do a self-check or to get a mammogram. My goal was to raise enough money through breast cancer stamp sales to find a cure for cancer. My hope was that everyone would do their self-examinations, because early detection truly is the key,” said Clark. Carl Junction went pink during the years Clark served as postmaster; although she retired last year, the pink is there to stay. The community embraced her mission and ran with it, raising over $55,000 dollars for breast cancer since 2010. Clark doesn’t live or work in Carl Junction any longer, yet she is still very much involved in the community. She is a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Club and is committed to supporting Carl Junction student sport teams. The feeling must be mutual; a recent Carl Junction high school “pink out” volleyball match, bake sale and silent auction raised $1,500 for Hope 4 You. “Pink Night” for Carl Junction football will be on Oct. 13. “I love that town like crazy and all it stands for. The students are beyond amazing in their caring ways. The community is

A scene from Sharon Clark’s retirement party from the Carl Junction Post office, as she received greetings by her sisters, Barbara Russell (left) and Jayne Sill (right). After 40 years of service, Clark retired in 2016 to focus on her volunteer efforts. Soon after, she was tasked to helm Hope 4 You Breast Cancer Foundation of Joplin.

just incredible. When I became a part of it, it became a part of me,” said Clark. She recently passed the pink supplies she used to raise awareness when she was postmaster to the Carl Junction post office. Under her leadership, it sold the most breast cancer stamps in the nation for three years in a row, a considerable feat for a town of 7,500 people. “I kept it for a while, but then I thought, ‘I need to share the love. I want them to succeed.’ The more stamps they sell, the more money is raised for research. That’s the end result. That’s what I want,” said Clark.

Along with supporting the community and working at Judd McPherson’s Joplin law office, Clark also serves as president of Hope 4 You. The nonprofit organization raises awareness and funds for families throughout the Four-States Area, focusing on providing mammograms for the uninsured and underinsured. According to Clark, most of Hope 4 You’s funds come from two events: Race 4 Hope, an annual 5k and 1 mile walk which will be held in June next year, and Panera Bread’s Pink Ribbon

than cancer STRONGER together. TOUGHER

FIGHTING takes lots of Courage.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and the courage they have to share their stories with us.

Sharon Clark’s eyes well with tears when she speaks of the generosity of her adopted town and the people who have been saved by efforts often started by her. The pink campaigns are not only ways to raise money for breast cancer research and support, but are also meant to bring awareness to the importance of early detection. “I’ve had people come up and say ‘if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be here.’ And that’s because of talking about the importance of self-breast exams. It saves lives. I wish I could save them all. You’d think after all these years I could talk about it without these emotions. We’re going to keep doing our part,” said Clark, wiping her eyes.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

SHE NEVER ASKED

‘WHY ME?’

Diagnosed young and still undergoing treatment, a Joplin mom strikes back at breast cancer

By David O’Neill doneill@joplinglobe.com

Like so many breast cancer patients before her, Zoe Poor didn’t really suspect she’d developed breast cancer, but it had loomed in the shadows of her mind. At 36, she was still comfortably under the age of 40, the recommended age women should take part in routine yearly mammograms and regular self-exams. From time to time though, she felt disquieted. “A grandmother I never knew back in Mexico passed from uterine cancer. But I didn’t know of anyone who had breast cancer,” said Poor, now 37 and still undergoing regular treatments. Poor and husband Chad moved to Joplin from Chetopa, a southeastern Kansas town, in 2006. Daughter Valeria, now 13, was still a baby. Second daughter Isabella, now 11, came just a week later. Poor enjoyed robust health and routinely exercised. “I went to the gym for three hours a day. I alternated spinning, weight machines and the elliptical, so I was very active.” Because Chad, a truck driver, is often on the road despite working in the area, Poor keeps busy as a stay-at-home mom looking after daughters. Her scarce spare time, then and now, she used for lunch with friends or retail therapy: “I really love to shop,” she laughed. Starting late in 2016, Poor noticed a dramatic shift in her energy level. “I just wanted to sleep all the time, and I could barely get out of bed,” she said. The situation gradually worsened, and after several months, Poor’s lack of drive was affecting her life. She informed her then-OB-GYN of the lethargy and fatigue, but the doctor attributed her symptoms to depression and prescribed antidepressants. “She said to keep taking it for a month, but it made things worse. So I stopped taking it after a week.” Poor said.

Suspicious Discovery A month later, Poor was applying lotion when she felt a lump on her right side. When she showed the lump to her OBGYN, the doctor immediately ordered a mammogram, an ultrasound and an ultrasound-guided biopsy.

About a week later, over the phone, Poor first heard her diagnosis: “You have breast cancer.” Specifically, she’d been diagnosed with triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma. Poor was encouraged when her family responded more with encouragement than tears. She first told daughters Valeria and Isabella. “They were aware I’d done the tests, so they already knew something was going on. They were scared, but I reassured them,” Poor said. When she told husband Chad, “he said, ‘you’re going to be okay,’” Poor said. During a long-distance phone call to family members back home in Merida, Mexico, Poor shared the difficult news. “When I told my dad, we cried,” Poor said, but mostly she found even more support. “My big brother wanted to educate himself about the cancer I had and my treatment for it.” Armed in part with that emotional backing, Poor met with Freeman Health System surgeon David Baker and oncologist Kerry Williams-Wuch, to counterattack the cancer that, unbeknownst to Poor, had been assailing her.

The Counterattack Poor began her first rounds of radiation and chemotherapy in June 2016. In October, she underwent a surgery, during which doctors removed tumors and lymph nodes. Six additional, often-agonizing months of chemotherapy followed the surgery. “I felt terrible. I was constantly nauseous, tired and dizzy. It took everything I had just to get out of bed. It was like I was too tired to even feel emotions.” Physically, though, she felt masses of unpleasantness and pain. Her symptoms— among them severe nausea, crippling fatigue, shortness of breath, painful urination, discolored skin, and nail and hair loss—were not altogether uncommon. But that didn’t make them any less bearable. Dizziness occasionally made driving problematic, and while she had an appetite, particularly for sweets, “I couldn’t even taste food. Everything tasted like metal,” she said. Taking the cancer-treatment drug Xeloda, “five pills every 12 hours,” also beset her with side effects.

Equally exhausting was maintaining a sunny disposition for her family: “Sometimes I just wanted to sit and cry, but I didn’t want them to worry my kids,” she said. Instead, Poor masked her anger and grief until retreating to the shower late at night. Throughout her ordeal, Poor’s prevalent fear was being unable to properly care for her children. Fortunately during her treatment, Poor received much-needed relief from mother Margarita, who came from Mexico for six months to help her look after the girls at home.

First Things First Poor wants others to act proactively and preventively and to be communicative and persistent with doctors when experiencing dramatic shifts in their well-being, as she did early on. She urges anyone 40 and up to take breast cancer seriously by utilizing the myriad available resources available. “I still can’t believe how people over the age of 40 don’t get checked for breast cancer. Make an appointment, and get checked.” As a patient still in treatment, Poor’s life still has not gone back to “normal.” “I don’t even know what it’s like to feel normal. It’s like I forgot how that feels since all of this started,” Poor said.” Still, she’s grateful. “Every day, I just thank God it was me, and not my kids.” She remains humbled by her experience, declining the labels other cancer survivors—justifiably— are often given. “I’m not really a warrior. It is a ‘fight,’ but I don’t have any option but to fight. But I never once said ‘Why me?’” Breast cancer survivor Zoe Poor in Joplin on Sept. 28. Photo by David O’Neill

| MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES not Do n a C r e c n What Ca d ...

’I’M JUST A TOUGH OLD BABE’ 89-year-old still preaches cancer screenings and prevention By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

There’s a fairly simple explanation as to why patients sometimes grow enamored with their doctors or surgeons. Those doctors and surgeons save their lives. Which is why Mary Braddish, Joplin, who just celebrated her 89th birthday, has such a sweet spot for Mercy surgeon Dr. Walter C. Dandridge Jr. He is the sole reason, she said, why she’s still alive and kicking today. “It’s like the old saying, ‘Don’t fall in love with your doctor,’ but if I had a choice I’d take him,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. It was Dr. Dandridge who did the biopsy on her right breast in 1982, diagnosed her with breast cancer and, shortly after that, performed a mastectomy inside the former St. John’s Hospital. And it was Dandridge who Braddish saw for her check-up, like clockwork, for the next 33 years. The special bond between surgeon and patient was never more evident then in 2007, when Braddish went to see him for her annual physical check-up. After scanning her chart, Dr. Dandridge lifted an eyebrow and asked her if she knew the significance of her visit. When she shook her head no, he smiled a bit and said her visit marked her 25th anniversary as cancer free. But Braddish, who doesn’t put much stock in dates and lives one day at a time, merely shrugged

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her shoulders. “I told him, ‘the reason I’m here (today) is because of you.’”

about breast cancer in public, for

it was considered a dirty word — it was nothing like it is today. Still, First Lady Betty Ford’s comments and private thoughts about her breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy was still fresh in everyone’s mind. Heck, the iconic pink ribbon wouldn’t even be introduced to the public until the early 1990s. Long before breast cancer screenings or the popular buddy check reminders, a vast majority of breast cancer cases were being discovered during regular physical or medical examinations.

Deeply touched by her sentiment, Dr. Dandridge sent her a basket of flowers two days later, delivered right to her doorstep. “He’s just special,” she said of Dr. Dandridge. “He’s a marvelous doctor.” LIFE GOES ON Braddish needed a caring doctor with good bedside manners in 1982, when another doctor, during her annual physical exam, saw something he didn’t like in her X-ray. She bounced between doctors before a biopsy was taken from her right breast. The results came back inconclusive. Another biopsy was taken soon after. “He said to me, ‘you can go home or wait here in the hospital’” for the results,” Braddish said. “I told him, ‘If I go home I’m not coming back,’ so I waited. And of course the word came back that it was cancer and so I went ahead and had the surgery done.” That night before her surgery, one of her good friends from Carthage laid on the nightstand beside her hospital bed a little stone that read, “Sleep, and God is awake.” “And that has been at my bedside ever since, over all these years.” Braddish didn’t dwell on the fact that her right breast was missing; there was no deep dark depres-

Mary Braddish, 89, is a strong advocate for annual breast cancer screenings despite the fact that her triumph over cancer occurred in 1982, long before the national push for pink ribbons and buddy check reminders for breast examinations were vogue.

sion or rivers of spilled tears in the weeks following the surgery. “I’m just a tough old babe,” Braddish said with a grin. “I didn’t just sit around on my butt. I had five sons. Life goes on. I stayed in bed I think for a couple of days, and that was at my husband’s insistence. Even in the hospital I was walking the hallways wanting to go home.” “YOU PUT IT BEHIND YOU”

into effect when asked if she ever worried about the cancer creeping back into her life. “I don’t have the time to worry about that,” she said. “You put it behind you and you go on. Life is one day at a time. Make the most of it.” While 1982 wasn’t exactly the dark ages when it comes to breast cancer awareness — in the early 1900s, for example, women were pretty much forbidden to speak

But unlike many of her generation, Braddish never shied away from speaking about her breast cancer surgery. She also didn’t shy away from using her breast cancer survival status to educate others about the importance of screenings. Maybe it’s because she is a native of Czechoslovakia, who settled at Long Island, New York as a child before she and her husband Herb and their sons moved to Joplin in 1961. “I kept getting my check-ups annually and I worked with support groups,” said Braddish, who still has a collection of medals and themed T-shirts from past breast cancer survivor reunions in her closet. “I encourage all other women … get checked every year with your doctor. And to follow up with anything” that could be detrimental to one’s health, she said. “Don’t ignore it. Go see your doctor.”

e h t g n i Support S R E T H FIG Admiring the Honoring the SURVIVORS That same tough attitude came

TAKEN

and never, ever giving up

HOPE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to hope for a cure.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

‘DON’T FEEL SORRY FOR ME’ Stage 4 survivor looks at cancer as one chapter of her life By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe “I am forever scarred. That’s one thing that I struggle with. It doesn’t matter because they are never going to go away. On the flip side I can look at the scars and be extremely grateful and know how blessed I am to be where I am and not in the ground somewhere.” Shannon Ingle, Joplin, was 36 years old when she was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. Her story is like many. Her mother had breast cancer, and Ingle found a lump during a random breast self-check. “I was never consistent with it,” Ingle said. “I did a self-check and I was like, that didn’t feel normal. I didn’t freak out. I didn’t think about it. A couple of weeks, maybe a month went by and I was at the doctor for something not related,” Ingle said. When she finished with the exam, the doctor asked her if she had any other questions.“She didn’t (normally) do that. It was totally a God thing,” Ingle said.The doctor felt the lump and immediately sent Ingle for a mammogram. The lump was suspicious and she was then scheduled for a biopsy. ‘That can’t be good’ During the ultrasound just prior to the biopsy, the ultrasound technician was looking at the screen, and Ingle was trying to read her facial expression. “I said, ‘is everything OK?’ She said ‘yeah, just a second,’ and gets up and

leaves the room. I thought, that can’t be good.” When the tech returned, she told Ingle there was a second spot that had appeared, and they needed permission to biopsy both places. On Oct. 6, 2015, Ingle was in the doctor’s office, ready to get her biopsy results. She was preparing herself for the worst. “It doesn’t matter how you try to work yourself up, when you hear the word ‘cancer’ it’s a complete game changer,” Ingle said. “I’m sitting on the table, and the surgeon comes in, his nurse comes in, a resident comes in and what they call the breast cancer patient navigator. Four people walk in the room, and I’m thinking ‘holy crap’ what is happening right now. I’m on the end of the table and doc says ‘after we looked at the biopsy both spots are cancer.’” The doctor told her a lumpectomy was not an option, and she would need to choose whether she wanted a single or double mastectomy. “He says all this and leaves the room,” Ingle recalled. “I would rather he be to the point, boom boom and I’m out. Mic drop.” Staying positive Ingle’s double mastectomy was done Oct. 30, followed by eight rounds of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. By the time she had surgery a third lump had already formed and was considered Stage 4. Ingle said her experiences with chemo

and radiation were not bad. Although she lost her hair and was very tired, she was never sick. She got through her days with laughter, fun and faith and wanted others to help her stay positive. “People want to come up and tell you horror stories,” Ingle said. “I don’t want to hear about your aunt that died. People going through this don’t need to hear that. You need to hear positive things. You need to hear humor.” Ingle works as a school secretary at Soaring Heights and Stapleton Elementary schools, and one of her favorite moments involved a student’s reaction to her bald head. “I’m sitting there, this little boy comes in and my head was still as slick as snot, not a bit of hair. He came in and walked around behind me and I hear him say, ‘Uh oh, there’s no hair up there,’” Ingle said. “Then he put his hands on top of my bald head and everyone in the office just gasps, like

Shannon Ingle ‘how is she going to react?’ Of course, I just bust out laughing. That’s my favorite story. I tell people if I ever decide to write a book that’s going to be my title, “Uh-oh there’s no hair up there.” Ingle said it’s not that she didn’t feel the loss of everything, she chose to handle it with humor. “Don’t feel sorry for me,” she said. “This isn’t the end of my story. This is just a chapter in my life book.”

| WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

I’M NOT A FATALIST’ Woman fends off aggressive cancer By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

SOUTHWEST CITY, Mo. — Mary Mueller’s mother died of Hodgkin’s disease. Her father, who had five different kinds of cancer, succumbed to colon cancer. Her first cousin fell to breast cancer. Her sister also had colon cancer; her brother prostate cancer. So it was only a matter of time before the disease caught up with Mueller. “I had a target on my back, and it finally got me,” she said.

Facing cancer In 2011, Mueller was giving herself a self-examination when she noticed a lump inside her left breast. Her local doctor also took notice of the lump. During a follow-up examination, her doctor grew alarmed. The lump was larger. Much larger. “‘You’ve got to get it checked out,’ she told me,” Mueller said. When she had a mammogram — probably one of the most important tools doctor have at

Fighting cancer

their disposal when it comes to diagnosing cancer — no lump was found. Neither the doctors nor the technicians could find it.

Her doctors certainly didn’t wait around. Because Mueller was positive for HER-2, her treatment was immediately put on the fast track.

“They could feel it,” Mueller said, “and they could locate it, but the mammogram wouldn’t show it.”

“I was diagnosed on a Friday. By that next Friday, I had the port installed.” These ports are inserted beneath the skin in the chest area so chemotherapy can be injected directly into a vein near the heart. “By the (following) week, I started chemotherapy.”

It was a bit unusual, to say the least. “The tumor was coated with mucus … that shielded it. So they had to take a sonogram (an X-ray photograph of the breast) to see it. If just the mammogram (had been taken), it would have come back clear.”

She took nine treatments each of Cytoxan and Taxotere. She took a third drug, Herceptin, for an entire year. The symptoms were all the expected ones: loss of hair, nausea and vomiting, limited appetite; she survived mostly on cottage cheese and Ensure drinks.

When the biopsy came back, it confirmed Mueller’s worst fears. The lump was indeed cancerous. Worse, she was HER-2 positive. These cancers, she said, tend to grow and spread faster than other breast cancer types. “It’s very aggressive and it can just go crazy inside people,” Mueller said.

But the experience was no pleasure trip, she said, though she continued to work her job at Cornerstone Bank in Southwest City despite the toll the chemotherapy was having on her physically. After all, she was head of the bank’s bookkeeping department, and had been a daily face there for 30-plus years. Thankfully, she said, she lives less than two blocks from the bank — she can even see the bank’s back lot from some of her house’s north-facing windows. She normally walks to work each day, but the chemotherapy prevented such luxuries.

In the end, she accepted the fact that she had cancer. “I was dismayed,” she admitted. “I said, ‘Yeah, it got me.’ But I’m no fatalist. I said, ‘OK, what do we do next?”

“A friend would come by and pick me up and take me home at night so I didn’t have to walk the short block to work,” she said. “There were two days that I basically passed out on them at work so they brought me home. But out of those months of chemo, just two days missed isn’t too bad.” And her “bank family” was an additional inspiration during her time of need, she said.

Mary Mueller was diagnosed positive for HER-2 in 2011, but has now been cancer free for nealy five years.

“They had these special breast cancer awareness T-shirts printed up, gray with pink lettering, and everybody wore them for me. It was a great comfort and a feeling of family.” She was lucky to be surrounded by so many people who cared for her well-being, she said. “I had family that I could call on for anything and I could also call on the bank for anything. They were always there for me.”

Fending off cancer The chemotherapy did its job, Mueller said, cutting the tumor down by half in size. Surgery

quickly followed on Nov. 1, 2012 to remove the lump.

The combined chemotherapy/ surgery assault worked. By Nov. 1, Mueller will be five years cancer free, which is a huge landmark among cancer survivors.

But due to her genetic propensity for cancer, there’s a nagging worry the disease will make a come back at some point down the road. Still, she reminds her friends and family, she’s no fatalist. If it occurs, “then it will be just a bump in the road and I’ll get over it,” she said with a grin.

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| THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

STORIES WORTH

SHARING

Carthage sisters undergo preventative mastectomies and endure nearly a year of painful tissue and muscle expansion in preparation for reconstruction, Kathy said, “I’ve never regretted my decision. It was the right choice for me.” While Kathy needed tissue expanders to prepare her muscles for breast augmentation, Dolly was able to have the procedure at the same time as her mastectomy. “She went to sleep with her old boobs and woke up with her new ones,” said Kathy pointing to her sister, and of course, laughing.

Sisters Kathy Gunnon and Dolly Baird.

By Amanda Stone astone@joplinglobe.com

Laughter, it’s said, is the best medicine. The old adage rings true for Carthage sisters Kathy Gunnon and Dolly Baird. Both are breast cancer survivors, both underwent preventive double mastectomies and neither had to endure chemotherapy or radiation. Laughter comes easily to the women when they compare their surgeries and reconstructions, but laughter always comes easily when they’re together.

chemotherapy or radiation. It’s for this reason Kathy and Dolly said they feel guilty, like their bilateral mastectomy breast cancer stories aren’t “bad enough.” A breast cancer diagnosis always comes with a story worth sharing; they offer hope to others newly diagnosed and struggling with the overwhelming future.

just knew. Doctors don’t call with test results. Nurses do. When I called him back he told me I had a little cancer. I said, ‘isn’t that like saying you’re a little pregnant?’ It felt like I got punched in the gut. You just don’t expect to hear that,” said Kathy.

Kathy and Dolly lost their mother to breast cancer just a few years before Kathy’s diagnosis in 2001. Numerous aunts and cousins had had breast cancer as well. That knowledge didn’t help prepare Kathy for the phone call.

Her cancer was small and it was caught early with a mammogram. Although her doctor recommended a lumpectomy, she chose to have a double mastectomy. She said with her family history, she felt the risk was too great. Kathy did undergo genetic testing, but tested negative for the gene mutation that can be passed down through families. As far as the decision to remove both breasts

Risky history

Dolly’s experience wasn’t as simple as the sisters’ joking makes it seem. She was just under a year from her colon cancer diagnosis and still seeing an oncologist. A spot was found on a mammogram and a biopsy was performed the same day. “I just heard ‘cancer.’ Again. When the breast cancer came so soon after the colon cancer, it just snowballed in my mind. I still feel blessed because out of all of that, my energy level may not get back up to where it was. But that’s all. I’m OK,” said Dolly, who will soon celebrate five years cancer-free.

Regular exams key Dolly and Kathy agree that sitting in the waiting room at the cancer center made them feel simultaneously blessed and guilty. “I waited alongside a lot of really ill people. When I was first going to doctor’s appointments, it blew me away how many people didn’t walk in there like I did. Even though I’ve had three different types of cancer, I feel like I skimmed through without chemo, without radiation, without all the stuff that goes with it. Well, except the surgery,” said Dolly.

Finding a

Dolly is a three-time cancer survivor: cervical cancer in 1980, colon cancer in 2011 and breast cancer in 2012. All were removed with surgery without the need for

“I had just gotten home from golfing. My husband told me the doctor called with the results of my mammogram. I knew then, I

Cancer is enough. Surgery is enough. Being a survivor is enough.

CURE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and would like you to join us in our salute by donating to find a cure.

The sisters spoke of the feeling of sitting there knowing everyone in the room has one thing in common, yet also knowing everyone is different in how they deal with their emotions. “Some people don’t want to talk about it. Some people have to talk about it to get past it. I will pour out whatever; that’s what some people need. We’re all different,” said Dolly.

The women credit their husbands with support, helping them sift through their feelings and with their recoveries. Kathy’s husband Fred and Dolly’s husband Marvin were their primary caregivers post-surgery. At a time when the sisters agree it was difficult to even look at their own chests, their husbands took care of the drains coming from incisions and all of the other real life unsavory tasks associated with major surgery. They even helped them do their hair, a task that was impossible without being able to lift their arms. Both women call their husbands “my rock.”

Because cancer is in their past, the sisters continue to visit oncologists for blood work and their other siblings and family members are more aware of the necessity of regular exams. “Once you have cancer, your fear is tunnel vision. Where is the cancer? How did it get there? How far has it spread? Then you’ve got tunnel vision on your recovery. During that time you’re going to all those doctor’s appointments, because your calendar is loaded with them, your vision is slowly widening out to other people and what they’re going through,” said Dolly. Some benefit from sharing their stories while others don’t have that need, but finding reasons to laugh in the face of cancer is hard to argue with.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

SHE TREATED ME LIKE

I WAS STILL ME’ Joplin woman says support system was amazing see all my kids graduate. I want to see them go on and get married. I want to see who they turn out to be. What inspired me was knowing that I want to be around for them.”

Overwhelmed Owen received her cancer diagnosis in April 2017. She was on vacation with her husband when she found a suspicious lump. “Thank goodness I have a very proactive doctor and she got me in immediately which led to my diagnosis the beginning of April,” Owen said.

mammograms until you’re 40 so I did the self checks.” Owen was at first overwhelmed by her diagnosis but she didn’t let herself stay there. “First I think it was just a shock,” she said. “You feel like everyone continues to move forward and you’re kind of stuck. For me I was stuck in that spot for a little bit.” She used her humor, sometimes twisted, to laugh herself through her battle.

couldn’t stop moving because their life couldn’t stop moving. They didn’t need to unpack in my cancer zone and stay with me.”

Cancer doesn’t discriminate Owen said she wanted to be treated normal. She didn’t want cancer to define who she is. “I had cancer. I am not cancer. That’s how I think,” she said. “Everyone looks at you…’Oh, I’m so sorry’ or ‘I’m sorry this happened to you.’ I’m not the only one going through this.”

“there’s more to life than my cancer.”

Breast cancer survivor Katrina Owen.

By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe

“The best piece of advice I had was, it’s OK to be upset, but I wasn’t allowed to unpack and stay upset,” said Katrina Owen, 35, of Joplin. “I needed to find joy in life and keep going forward because there’s more to life than my cancer.” Owen said her inspiration to press through and beat the cancer came from her children ages, 18, 16, 6 and 22 months. “My kids inspire me,” she said. “I couldn’t give up and I wouldn’t quit because I have four kids. I want to

Owen was diagnosed Stage 3 with one main tumor and some in her lymph nodes. She completed 16 weeks of chemotherapy and had a bilateral mastectomy just six weeks ago. During her pregnancy with her youngest son, doctors believe hormones allowed her tumor to grow. She has a hysterectomy scheduled soon that will take care of any further issues, she said. “I hadn’t started mammograms yet,” Owen said. “My grandmother had breast cancer but it was a completely different kind. We did genetic testing and everything came back negative so they told me it was just a fluke. Our insurance doesn’t start

“When my hair fell out I literally pulled a hand full of hair in front of my oldest kids and said, “look what you made me do. You made me pull my hair out.” Anything that I could find to laugh about is what I did. It was better to laugh and to know that I was still alive than to sit down and give up.” Laughter and her “amazing” support system also got her through. “There are times when you want to curl up and not get out of bed,” she said. “For me, my kids, my life

Owen said one friend would call and check on her regularly to see how she was doing. “Never once did she make me feel like I was cancer,” Owen said. “She treated me like I was still me. If I said something off the wall or snide it wasn’t, ‘oh well are you upset about your cancer?’ it was just me.” One thought that Owen wants to leave with other women is, even if you are young that doesn’t mean it can’t happen to you. “It doesn’t discriminate,” she said. “If you find something that’s off or different or doesn’t feel right have it checked.”

Breast Cancer AWARENESS EARLY DETECTION CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

98% 27%

EARLY DETECTION SURVIVAL RATE

ADVANCED STAGE SURVIVAL RATE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to bring awareness about preventative exams.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

’DON’T WAIT. GET CHECKED’ Mobile mammography unit a lifesaver

days of work, as her recovery coincided with several snow days. She has been cancer-free since the surgery.

From staff reports In October 2012, Mercy Hospital’s mobile mammography unit pulled up at the Carl Junction Community Center thanks to Carl Junction C.A.R.E.S., a local nonprofit. Amy Graskemper was persuaded by her sister to drop by for a checkup.

Best advice Graskemper was 39 when she was diagnosed. Now 44 and a secretary at Carl Junction High School, she has become an active participant in fundraising events. She ran her first 5K race in May 2013 at the Joplin Memorial Run, and she has been known — along with her dog — to dress up as a certain female Amazonian superhero to reflect her strength and power.

“I kept putting it off and putting it off,” she said recently. “Then my sister was like, ‘Hey, Amy, it’s right here. Just come with me.’” She had no idea how significant that quick mammogram would ultimately be. “Twenty, 30 minutes tops — and it saved my life,” she told the Globe about a year later. Graskemper was diagnosed with breast cancer after the mobile unit’s mammogram hinted at some potentially worrisome masses in her breast. Another round of mammograms in late 2012 showed calcifications in her breast that doctors said were cancerous.

Double mastectomy On Jan. 15, 2013, Graskemper got the diagnosis: ductal carcinoma in situ, a non-invasive or pre-invasive type of cancer. In some cases, this type can continue to become an invasive cancer, but nearly all women diagnosed at this stage can be cured, according to the American Cancer Society. Graskemper said getting the diagnosis was the most difficult part of the process;

Her best advice for other women is what helped detect her cancer early enough to save her life: “Don’t wait. Get checked.”

Amy Graskemper gives a pass to Jordan Jones, senior, at Carl Junction High School on Oct. 3. Globe/Roger Nomer

proceeding with procedures afterward was the easy part.

going forward with a double mastectomy in March 2013.

Her doctor opted for a lumpectomy to try to remove the cancerous spots from her left breast. Graskemper said the process was painful, and when it was over, the surgeon couldn’t be sure that he had removed all the spots because they were so spread across her breast. So Graskemper made what she calls one of the easier decisions of battling cancer —

“I didn’t even think twice about it, really,” she told the Globe several months later. “After the lumpectomy thing, I’m like, ‘I’m done. I don’t ever want to have to do this again.’” Graskemper underwent surgery to remove both breasts and — thanks to her fairly comprehensive insurance policy — reconstruction surgery in the same day,

which was right before spring break. She told the Globe earlier this month that she had taken out her cancer insurance policy less than a year before being diagnosed, and it covered most of the cost of the initial procedure and subsequent reconstructive surgery. The cancer was caught early enough that Graskemper didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation. She also said she missed only two

than cancer STRONGER together. TOUGHER

FIGHTING takes lots of Courage.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and the courage they have to share their stories with us.

For those who might need the same prodding that Graskemper required, the mobile mammography unit from Mercy Health System is brought to Carl Junction twice per year, in April and in October, by Carl Junction C.A.R.E.S., a nonprofit that raises awareness about breast cancer and channels funds from local donors to larger foundations. “Our awareness campaigns have motivated many women to get a mammogram,” said Gary Stubblefield, director of the nonprofit. “As a result of that, several women have told us the mammogram indicated a problem. ...Those ladies are still with us today.”

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

HAVING THE LAST WORD David O’Neill

doneill@joplinglobe.com

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” With that, Virginia Woolf spoke a great truth. Witness “Blessings and BRCA,” the blog that details breast cancer survivor Julie Moss’s experience. That experience includes undergoing a preventive double mastectomy and then being diagnosed with breast cancer two days later, but we’ll get to that later. By slapping breast cancer across the face with a humorous and knowing wit, Moss entertains and informs readers regardless of their cancer situation. Moss’s story actually begins with that of identical twin sister Jill, who was checked for BRCA due to their mother’s extensive family history with ovarian cancer, which had ravaged the Canote family for generations. “My mother lost her mother to ovarian cancer when she was seven. It seems to be the Canote’s female kryptonite. And that is scary.” Moss herself got tested for the heredity genetic mutation known as BRCA-1 in August 2014, while still living in Joplin. Having BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 greatly increases the likelihood of those diagnosed with it to develop breast or ovarian cancer.

Julie Moss today.

Despite testing positive for BRCA-1, Jill remains cancer-free and now lives in Florida. Julie, however, found herself on a different path after being alerted to her own positive BRCA-1 diagnosis in August 2014.

The Old Normal “I never thought of myself as tough, but this experience changed all that. I feel so empowered by it,” said Moss. An adjunct professor of psychology at Missouri Southern State University, Moss resided in Lake Ozark at the time of her BRCA1 diagnosis. She prized life with husband Richard and their 7-year-old son, Mason. Before graduating from MSSU, Moss grew up in Branson with twin sister Jill and their older brother Josh. Their father Jack worked as a family practice physician, keeping the family even further cognizant health risks. Like many Pink Sisters, Moss

enjoyed robust health even after the BRCA diagnosis. “I was physically active. I didn’t smoke, and I only drank socially,” she said. Still, due to the strong odds of developing breast cancer with BRCA, she underwent a preventive prophylactic hysterectomy in September 2014. Later that month, she had a mammogram. “It came back clean, so I wasn’t worried.” All seemed right with Moss’s world until a week after her mammogram, when she felt a lump near the center of her chest, just underneath her left breast. “At first, it seemed like a side effect from the hysterectomy, and I didn’t want to look like a hypochondriac,” she said. “So I didn’t want to tell anyone.” But she did. At 11 p.m. one night, she told Richard and then scheduled a meeting with Dr. Buchner, a surgeon at Cox Hospital in Springfield, where she would undergo a double mastectomy on Oct. 15, 2015. “So that surgery was also preventive,” she said. Two days later, test results came back positive for a cancerous tumor. She told Richard first. “He had to drive away by himself. That’s when he broke down.” But he maintained a sense of humor throughout the ordeal, blasting Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger” as the couple approached the cancer center.

A Backwards Journey In November, Moss began six

Julie Moss and Sam Mason who was just 4 when she battled breast cancer.

months of what she calls “hard chemotherapy, the kind you see in the movies, with nausea, throwing up, mouth sores,” she said. She gained 25 pounds and could barely climb stairs. She bid farewell, albeit temporarily, to her mane of blonde hair. Richard shaved his head in a show of support, as did Moss’s close friends Natalie and Travis Bruce. Son Mason, then 4, responded to Moss’s hair loss and other side effects with a matter-offact candor: A child at Chik-fil-A asked, “Is your mom going to die?” Mason assured her, “She’s sick, but she’s gonna get better.” Moss’s blog documents those lighter moments and her rage. On Feb. 16, 2015, she writes that while both her faith and her caretakers justly and richly deserved credit, the disease itself hadn’t made Moss or her loved ones better people. “Certainly some rogue, bastard cancer cells don’t deserve the credit. All cancer does is take. And steal. And abuse. And ravage.” Her final chemo session was “an exorcism of sorts. I was convulsing and shaking. I thought, ‘I’ve come this far, and now I’m going to die.’” She underwent maintenance chemo for a year, and the family moved back to Joplin in 2016, when Richard took a position at Lowe’s on Range Line Road. Lowe’s, Moss says, was “fantastic. They accommodated Richard so he

could be at my appointments,” she says. The company also produced a short video on the Moss family, with Richard narrating. Richard’s boundless support made Moss completely rethink what “caretaker” means. “They’re so undervalued. Women get support groups and ribbons, but he didn’t get any of that. He had a full-time job, he was my caretaker, and he was Mr. Mom.” Moss also credits Freeman OB-GYN Dr. Hugh Lacey. “He encouraged me to do the BRCA test, and we did the testing in his office,” she said.

The New Normal “Once you’re declared cancer-free, you have a new normal,” Moss says. “There’s the follow up care, and you wonder ‘What if it comes back?” Uncertainty about recurrence lingers, but Moss quite literally finished strong exactly one year to the day after being declared cancer-free, when she completed a half-marathon in Kansas City. “I was crying when I crossed the finish line,” Moss said. Both Joplin and the breast cancer survivor community—its caretakers and supporters included—will lose a strong voice next month when Moss and her family relocate next month to Shreveport, La. The move will represent another new chapter. Of this one, Moss says: “My faith grew, and my marriage grew, and I grew.”

| MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

‘SETBACK SALLY’ Neosho woman faces complications after defeating cancer By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — Tongue firmly in cheek, Kristen Skaggs calls herself “Setback Sally.” Why? “My three-year journey has been like no other,” Skaggs said. “I am literally a hot mess.” Skaggs only wishes her struggle with cancer could have ended the way it does with a vast majority of breast cancer survivors: a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Skaggs was applying body lotion following a shower on a lazy Saturday when she discovered a lump in her breast. She contacted her gynecologist, Dr. Cheryl Fogerty, on Monday morning. A few hours later, she was in to see her. Soon after that, she was rushed into an appointment at Joplin’s Breast Life Center. “I had my very first mammogram the following Friday, along with an ultrasound and biopsy,” Skaggs said. At the age of 32, “I was diagnosed on July 28, 2014.”

Cancer strikes early The description of her cancer sounds every bit like the medical jargon it truly is: “Stage 3 Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma, ER/PR + HER-2.” Broken down into layman’s terms, the first part, “Stage 3,” means her cancer had extended beyond the breast region. The “Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma” simple means the cancer began growing in the duct

and had invaded the fatty tissues surrounding it — this is the most common form of breast cancer, or roughly 80 percent of all breast cancer diagnosis. The “ER/PR” meant her cancer was both “ER-positive” and “PR-positive.” Finally, she was a part of the 25 percent of breast cancer victims whose cancer was deemed HER-2 positive, meaning the tumors tend to grow much more aggressively than other cancers.

It was a trying time, to say the least; it would have been too much for many women already suffering from the physical effects of both the chemotherapy and radiation. But Skaggs admits she’s a tough gal.

Her reaction to the news was what most would expect from a young woman and mother of three children: “Scared,” Skaggs said. “Not only for myself but for my family. It was very emotional. Fear of the unknown. Worried for the outcome.

“Every doctor I have had has said that I’m special,” she said. “Dr. B (Dr. Govinda Brahmanday, her oncologist at the time) would always tell me that I’m not difficult, (but) challenging, and he liked that.”

“My daughter was only 10 months old at the time of the diagnosis,” she continued, “and I had just quit breastfeeding her a couple of months prior (to the diagnosis).” Her maternal grandmother had died of breast cancer in 2005, so there was a chance Skaggs could get it herself; that it was in her genetic makeup. The plan all along was for her to begin scheduling annual mammograms at the age of 35, which was five years earlier than the norm for women. But the cancer struck three years early. “My biggest fear was leaving my husband (Travis) and kids (sons Logan and Brayden and daughter Emma),” she said.

The journey begins She began chemotherapy in August, 2014. The following month — right before Christmas — Skaggs underwent a bilateral mastectomy with lymph node dissection. She

was successful at three bypasses, she said. She also underwent lymph node transfer surgery, where healthy lymph nodes were micro-surgically transplanted. Her final surgery, called TRAM flap — which took place in December 2016 — in which fat, muscle, tissue and blood vessels were used to rebuild her breast. But there were more unexpected complications here, as well, Skaggs said. The main incision burst open in two separate areas. Surgeons had to go back in and completely clean out the entire umbilical area, removing dead tissue and infection. The wound measured 9 centimeters by 6 centimeters and was 2 inches deep. She even gave this wound a comical name: “Bertha.”

Kristen Skaggs could not have gotten through her cancer diagnosis, treatment and more than a year of recovery from complications had it not been for her best friends and family, which includes husband Travis, sons Logan and Brayden, and daughter Emma.

ended up undergoing tissue expansion of the breast skin and muscle and undergoing implant exchange surgery in February, 2015. Radiation began after the exchange surgery. But that led to some unexpected complications. “I was able to complete 23 of 28 radiation treatments” but soon began suffering from a painful reaction to the radiation treatments in the skin. It was “the most severe reaction that (Freeman radiation oncologist Michael Driver) had seen in 30 years,” Skaggs said. “He told me he honestly didn’t know what to do with me.”

Complications Throughout 2015 and 2016, Skaggs would undergo five revision surgeries, she said, before ending up at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, to be treated for severe lymphedema. This is a disorder, she said, in which lymph fluid accumulates, leading to chronic (and quite painful) swelling. It’s a common complication following lymph node removal or radiation therapy as part of her cancer treatment. In April 2016, she underwent Lymphatic bypass surgery on her right arm to connect blocked lymphatic vessels and allow excess lymph fluid to flow more freely, reducing the swelling. This

It took Skaggs 10 months to heal from the TRAM surgery. Those 10 months, she admitted, represented the lowest point during her entire ordeal with cancer and its after effects. “Being down for 10 months really took its toll on me emotionally,” she said.

Light at the end Still, she can now say, as of a few weeks ago, that she’s fully healed and recovered; she’s been cancer free for two years now “It’s been a long … recovery,” she said. “Most people don’t realize (that I’ve been cancer free for so long). One’s journey doesn’t stop when treatment does.” Humor and laughter, she added, “is what has gotten me through this roller coaster of a ride. Things that mattered before seem so trivial now.”

e h t g n i Support S R E T H FIG Admiring the Honoring the SURVIVORS That, she added, isn’t “something you want to hear.”

TAKEN

and never, ever giving up

HOPE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to hope for a cure.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

‘FIND YOUR

STRENGTH’

Kindergarten teacher looks through cancer’s lens By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe

“I had to go through this, and there is nothing good about it, but I’m very grateful for the lens it gave me,” said Sherry Spaeth, 48, a kindergarten teacher at Joplin’s Soaring Heights Elementary. That lens allowed Spaeth too see that when faced with her own mortality, all the things she worried about simply weren’t as important anymore. In the end, it made her a more positive person. Spaeth had recently married and signed a contract to begin teaching in the Joplin School System; she even had her classroom ready to go when the breast cancer diagnosis shattered her world. Her mother had breast cancer before age 50, putting Spaeth at higher risk for the disease. Spaeth began having the recommended mammograms after turning 40. At age 43, her doctors had noticed a spot. They weren’t too concerned about it, though, and had her come in every six months for a mammogram in order to keep an eye on it. If it changed, she said, then the doctors would become concerned. “I had been going every six months for the mammograms and everything was fine. I was actually getting kind of tired of it because I had been doing this for two years. I’d gotten remarried and had moved down

here and (was) having to go up to Columbia every six months,” she said. “I told my husband I’m just going to have a conversation with my doctor about this. Either it’s cancer or not — let’s just biopsy it or just forget about it just because I was getting tired of doing mammograms every six months.” She scheduled a final mammogram and had plans to speak with her doctor. And that’s when they sent her to the hospital for a biopsy. She was 45 at the time. “I got the call Aug. 1, 2014, that it was cancer,” she said. “They wanted to get me back as soon as I could. I had (just) 10 days until surgery.”

Blessing in disguise Spaeth said her tumor was near her chest wall and wasn’t anything she could have felt with her fingers during a self-examination. Her cancer was Stage 2A with a very high replication rate. She chose a double mastectomy and had chemotherapy but no radiation. “I’m a pretty upbeat person and for me, looking through this, it was a blessing in disguise,” she said. “The support of people that you don’t even think will show up (do), they’ll text you. And then it’s kind of surprising, too, that some of your closest friends will pull away. They are scared, I think.” Spaeth said the hardest part of breast cancer was losing those things that made her feel like a woman.

“You feel mutilated. Not that I’m like this girly girl, but when you lose your hair and everything that makes you a woman … all of it combined was really, really hard. I remember looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, ‘how in the world? How is my husband ever going to...?’ That part’s hard. It’s hard for every age.”

Emotions are justified Spaeth provided words of wisdom for someone going through breast cancer. “It’s probably going to be harder than you think but you will find the strength,” she said. “God will give it to you.” She also said people going through cancer just want to be treated normally and they want you to show up to support. “If you need your floors vacuumed then say it,” she said. “Let people know. Most people want to help you, they just don’t know how. It is scary. It’s scary for us going through it.” Spaeth said the loss of her hair made her come to terms with her journey. “When that hair comes out it’s real,” she said. “I stood out in my yard and cried when my hair was coming out, but I didn’t stay there. Have those moments. It’s OK to get angry. For me it was the impatience of wanting to be through this. Having those feelings and emotions are justified and valid but you can’t stay there.”

Kindergarten teacher Sherry Spaeth was diagnosed with Stage 2A breast cancer in 2014.

| WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’I SURVIVED IT’ Grove, Oklahoma woman has new outlook on life

By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe

“I thank God that he let me go through that journey,” said Kelli Greer, of Grove, Oklahoma, about her recent success in her fight against breast cancer. “Your heart and everything about you just becomes…you look at a flower or a tree and you see the beauty in it. You don’t rush around every day anymore. You take your time and enjoy the life that you’ve been given.” Greer, 48, was diagnosed two years ago after finding a lump during a breast self-exam. “I noticed one day I was stretching and it hurt,” she said. “I kept checking it for a couple of weeks. Then one day I got out of the shower and I went to dry off. I went to my husband and said, ‘I want you to feel a couple things and tell me what you think.’” Greer said his eyes got big when he felt her skin. He told her she was going to go see the doctor the very next day. Although the lump was the size of the end of her pinky finger, the cancer was Stage 3, metastatic, invasive and aggressive. In a short time, the tumor grew to the size of a quarter. She had 10 lymph nodes come back positive for cancer. The hardest part, she said, was telling her family about the cancer. She still gets emotional when she talks about it to this day. On top of her own personal tragedy, she had also lost both her mother and grandmothers right around the time of her surgery. “Everything was so emotional,” she said. “I knew that God had my hand.” Through it all too, Greer had her family right alongside her. Above all else, she never lost her sense of self. “I went through chemo and radiation and lost my hair for two years,” she said. “I loved being bald. I hated the wigs. I have a perfectly round head, so I rocked the baldness.”

Life is different now, Greer said. She has a permanent port for ongoing treatment and sees her oncologist every three to six weeks. She will continue doing this for the next five years to ensure the cancer does not return. Cancer affects every part of you body, Greer said. “It affects your teeth, your hearing, your sight,” she said. “It’s not just in one area — it literally infects us from head to toe. It’s not something that we just get over; that just because you’re done with your treatments that it’s all over and done with. That’s not true.” Cancer affects emotions as well. “You start hurting in an area and you get terrified,” she said. “I have a knot underneath my armpit that we’re watching. The day I had to go back to the women’s center I started shaking so bad and crying. It’s PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from that. Who would have thought? I was terrified. All that stuff started coming back.” Cancer changed how Greer now looks at life. “It doesn’t define you,” she said. “It doesn’t choose an age. It doesn’t choose a gender. It doesn’t choose the time it’s going to happen. It’s your mindset whether you are going to make it or not. You don’t let it beat you. I’m too stubborn. I have too many grand babies and kids to want to sit back and let it take who I was.” She emphasized that breast cancer is not just a woman thing. She has several men in her family that have had it. One of those men, Norm Wininger, Jr., was one person she knew who fought the disease with everything he could muster. “He was the epitome of life,” she said. “This man was a gentle giant. He fought breast cancer to the very end. I was diagnosed right before he passed. He lived every day to the fullest.”

Kelli Greer was diagnosed with an aggressive Stage 3 metastatic cancer at age 46.

While reflecting on the good days and the bad on her breast cancer journey, Greer said the scars remind her of what she has gone through. “Sometimes you look in the mirror and you see the scars and you think, ‘Oh my God, I’m so hideous. I feel like Mortimer from Harry Potter.’ Then there are days when you look at yourself and say, ‘I’m beautiful. I’m a warrior.’ That is something I never thought I could do. I survived it.”

“I’m beautiful. I’m a warrior.”

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

‘DON’T WANT TO

JINX IT’

Kansas woman survives two bouts with breast cancer

ial Center ford County Judic ctomy in kers at the Craw or ste -w ma co r r he he m d fro an Brenda Chappell r upon her return he r no ho to s irt k sh who bought pin 2009. New Orleans in

Cancer free – for a while

By Kevin McClintock

Chemo ended in early March, 2006. Radiation treatments began at the end of March and ran until early May. “I took radiation treatments — 37 in all — over my lunch hour every day. I did not have any problems with radiation except for a minor burn at the radiation site.”

kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com PITTSBURG, Kan. — Brenda Chappell will always associate, strangely enough, her cancer with kitchen cabinets. A chapter advisor for Pittsburg State University’s Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, she and her husband Paul were in the thick of some major remodeling to the sorority house’s kitchen during the summer of 2005, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “Our cabinet maker quit before the job was done and, basically, we had no doors on any of the kitchen cabinets,” Chappell said, “and sorority recruitment was scheduled to start the following week, and the women were scheduled to move into the chapter house; there was no way the cabinets would have door fronts in time for the … recruitment tours. We were already under a lot of stress.” Adding to the stress was the fact that Chappell had discovered a lump in her breast on July 21; she was reading a book “when the bookmark in a book I was reading fell onto my chest and I could feel the lump.” The day the cabinet maker unfortunately walked off the job is when Chappell undertook her mammogram. “I had a biopsy on Aug. 11, which confirmed the cancer.”

It begins Chappell, 66, would be diagnosed with Stage 2A, Grade 3 Ductal Carcinoma, a cancer that her oncologist described as being “wild and bizarre and highly aggressive.” A lumpectomy was quickly scheduled and performed on Aug. 23, 2005. She began chemotherapy treatments on Oct. 10. It was a trying time for her family. Her father had been hospitalized around the same time with bone cancer. He would pass away, still in the hospital, from congenital heart failure, Chappell said. “We never told him of my diagnosis, so I was preparing for all my treatments and trying to keep it

Chappell with her sister, the fall before she passed away from breast cancer in January of 2013.

from my mother as well, since she was dealing with my father.” She was given four rounds each of Adriamycin — nicknamed ‘The Red Devil’ because it makes many women very ill — and Cytoxan, she said, and later, Taxol. Despite being horrifically ill, she continued to trek to work each day at her job as Chief Court Services Officer for the Eleventh Judicial District, a job she’s proudly held for nearly 45 years. “I was extremely ill with these first four treatments, and continued to work, but would miss work on the days I was very ill, at first just one or two days, but with each treatment I got sicker and sicker, so by December I missed almost a week of work due to the chemo. I would have one bad week, one week so-so, one good week, (and) then time for chemo again.” It was during a chemo session that things bottomed out for her emotionally, she admitted. “I was so incredibly ill, day after day. I remember telling my husband that if I had to have one more of these treatments, I might opt out of doing it. I felt so bad I didn’t want to see anyone or have visitors. Those were my darkest days. I didn’t want to read, watch TV or do anything but try and sleep so I wouldn’t feel so bad. My son came home from medical school and I think was quite shocked at my appearance and reaction to the last chemo. Finally, the fog lifted, and it has been upward and onward since then.”

Despite beating cancer, Chappell’s story doesn’t end here. Sadly, a regularly-scheduled mammogram showed a suspicious source inside Chappell’s other breast in late 2008. By Nov. 8, a biopsy confirmed she had Invasive High Grade Ductal Carcinoma and Ductal Carcinoma in situ. “My second cancer was also a shock, as I really didn’t think about it returning,” Chappell said. “I figured chemo and radiation had killed everything. Not so.” Surgery followed, a second lumpectomy on Nov. 30, 2008, with radiation to follow. But she got a second opinion from her new oncologist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who didn’t feel like the surgeon took a large enough margin. She wanted to schedule a second surgery in lieu of radiation. Chappell decided to go with the second operation. Her bi-lateral mastectomy surgery took place at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in New Orleans in February, 2009.

the gene, as do any children they have,” she said.

blah.’ He took extremely good notes and asked very specific questions.”

During Chappell’s second struggle with cancer, her sister was also fighting cancer for the second time. First diagnosed at the age of 41, her sister had a mastectomy. When the cancer came back for a second time, in 2008, she had the other breast removed. “When she had her second mastectomy, cancer was already in her lymph nodes, which is how cancer travels to other areas of the body,” Chappell said. “She passed away of complications of her breast cancer in January of 2013 at the age of 59.”

Being a national officer in Alpha Sigma Alpha also had its perks. “I received literally hundreds of cards and emails from women, some I had never even met, wishing me well, during both bouts of cancer,” she said.

Family is my rock

“To this day I still see an oncologist twice a year,” she said. “I am always cautious. I never say I am cancer free, and will never use that phrase. Cancer can lie dormant in the body for many years, as if did with my sister.

But like so many others during such trying times, her immediate family was her rock: husband Paul and her two children, Eric and Andrea, as well as her three grandchildren. “(Paul) was extremely supportive and went to all of my initial appointments,” she said. “Once they said the word ‘cancer,’ all you really hear is ‘blah blah blah blah

The so-called “light at the end of the tunnel” occurred during her last radiation treatment. “I could see my hair, eye lashes, eyebrows, start growing back,” Chappell said. Another positive moment occurred when a lab report came back showing she was cancer free in 2009.

“I will never tell anyone I am ‘cancer free,’” she said. “I hate to even say I am a cancer survivor. “I don’t want to jinx it.”

“I did not want to have to keep worrying about the ‘what if’s,’” she said. Not wanting to receive breast implants — her sister had had some problems in that area — Chappell traveled to the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in Louisiana; a DIEP flap was used in March, 2009 — fat and tissue taken from her stomach — to reconstruct her breasts.

Trying times for all It was a horrible time for Chappell and her family. Aside from her second fight with cancer, she had tested positive for the BRCA gene. Her sister, daughter and niece were also positive. “So my daughter’s two sons each have a 50 percent chance of carrying

Brenda Chappell and her entire family (including 93-year old mother), from this past Easter.

than cancer STRONGER together. TOUGHER

FIGHTING takes lots of Courage.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and the courage they have to share their stories with us.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

‘KEEP ME IN YOUR PRAYERS’ Carthage woman faces second test with cancer

Angela Hill holds a picture of herself 2012, when she was going through radiation treatments and lost her hair.

By Rebecca Haines Special to the Globe CARTHAGE, Mo. — In the fight again, Angela Hill shows no frowns. After more than four years in remission, Hill started her second battle against breast cancer in January. This Carthage native says she’s responding well to stronger chemo medication; and the treatment has dissolved the cancer in her breast, and the spots in her lung are shrinking. “I try to stay positive and do what I can do,” she said with a smile. “The hardest thing is, well, one of the hardest things, is not being able to do what you used to do. Normal things, like cooking or opening the seasonings — I love barbecuing and smoking meat ... You just don’t have the energy.”

Facing cancer again Retiring a bit early was difficult, too. For 10 years, Hill wore many hats for Head Start in Granby and Webb City. “That wasn’t my plan,” she said. “I was hoping to continue to work. I’m OK with it. It’s God’s plan. I don’t know what He has in store for me, but it’s going to be OK. My co-workers are awesome. They had a retirement party for me. It was nice to be around those kids. They made my day. The hugs — you never know what they’re going to say.” Hill was able to keep working the first time she faced breast cancer, but the fight was more intense at that point in time. In April 2012, she discovered a lump in her breast when her mother was sick. After she had her mammogram, a week later she and her siblings buried their mother. “That was hard to do that year,” Hill said. “Trying to be strong. She’s our mother — I knew what everyone was going through. Eventually I had to tell them, but until then I spared them. And it may not have been the right decision, but to me it was. My mother deserved to go in peace.” After all, her family gives her strength; especially her husband of 35 years, Tim, and their daughter, Helena, who is serving in the United States Air Force. “I wouldn’t be able to make it without Tim, my daughter, and of course God. He’s got this,” Hill said. “He’s in control.”

Angela Hill, of Carthage, is in her second battle against breast cancer. Never failing to offer a smile, Hill says all she asks for is prayers. Rebecca Haines / Special to the Globe

Angela Hill straightens her Breast Cancer Awareness flag outside her home in Carthage.

Enduring in silence

she receives to this day.

“Watching your skin go down the drain isn’t an easy thing to do,” she said. “Even being bald was nothing compared to this.”

“They’ve been so uplifting, you can’t believe how everybody is — prayers, coming by, calling, cards. It’s just a terrific family,” she said. “Cancer is not just one word. It’s devastating. It’s a killer. It messes with the whole body. A lot of people don’t understand cancer affects not only you but your whole family.”

But, with a proud smile, Hill remembered what Helena told her: “We’re in this fight together. You are not alone.”

Complete strangers, too. While sitting in a cancer center in Joplin, Hill says she’s humbled to see so many people fighting their battles.

The communities that know and love Hill held four different benefits for her. As a member of the Carthage High School Class of 1974, Hill said she’s still overwhelmed by the amount of support

“You see elderly and young people – that breaks my heart,” she said. “There’s always somebody worse off than you are.”

Hill endured radiation treatments from November 2012 to January 2013. She said Tim was there in both her best and worst moments.

Happy birthday! Hill will celebrate her 62nd birthday next month. “For my birthday, that’s all I want — to be cancer-free,” she said. “No cake, no money, no gifts, no nothing … And when it comes to mammograms – you should do it. “It’s not an easy road. But I can make it. One day at a time. I give God all the glory, because He’s been with me every step of the way. It’s a battle. Pray on it. Every day. That would be a blessing — to stop all this hate and start praying for cures for all diseases and pray for the children. I’d rather take chemo every day than to see children suffer. That’s all I ask of people. Keep me in your prayers.”

e h t g n i Support S R E T H FIG Admiring the Honoring the SURVIVORS

TAKEN

and never, ever giving up

HOPE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to hope for a cure.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’DETERMINED

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

NOT TO LET CANCER WIN’

A positive attitude helps Joplin woman triumph over cancer

By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe

“Blessed to be here” is the first thought in Jennifer Bowerman’s mind when talking about her cancer. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed in 2001. “I was 30 years old,” she said. “I was terrified, to say the least.”

Cancer cannot win Bowerman was immediately taken into surgery and given a left-breast mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. “I did six months of chemotherapy, and it was hellish,” she said.”The chemotherapy made me very, very sick afterward.” Bowerman said she was lethargic to the point of not getting out of bed for a day or two after treatment, suffering from “chemo brain” for a full year. That term is a commonly used by cancer survivors to describe memory problems that can occur following treatments. “I would push myself to get out of bed and at least walk to the kitchen,” she said. “I was determined not to let cancer win.”

Second time around

“My church family was a big inspiration to me as well,” she said.

“This time,” she said, “the ultrasound showed that the lymph nodes under my arm were swollen. They did a biopsy and it was malignant — again. It was always in the back of my mind but, honestly, I thought I had a better chance after my 10-year mark.”

Like others, Bowerman just wanted to be treated as if she didn’t even have cancer. “It was such a touchy subject, especially for my immediate family,” she said. “I didn’t want to be the elephant in the room.”

Bowerman said the second time around was a bit different from the first.

Bowerman just wanted others to be there for her and tell her they had her back. She believes sometimes it was harder for them than it was for her.

“I had a right-breast mastectomy, and they knew from the biopsy that the cancer had not spread anywhere,” she said, “so I felt so very lucky.”

“I would tell anyone not to let cancer take away your soul. Look to God and listen for him in the tough times. After all, He is in control. And remember that life is so incredibly short, so live what you love in the short time you have.”

She had 12 weeks of chemo one time per week and then a different chemo for a year. She was given steroids for more energy as well as a full hysterectomy. “There were many sleepless nights,” Bowerman said. “I had a few side effects, but nothing like the first time. I tell everyone it was a breeze this time around, and it was. I put on about 15 pounds throughout my treatments but I lost it when I was finished.” Bowerman went through many other physical and mental changes, as most cancer patients do, but she said the second time was marked by a spiritual change.

Jennifer Bowerman was just 30 years old when first diagnosed in 2001.

that have come from all of the experiences I have had during my treatments,” she said. “But my inspiration my second time with it was, first and foremost, that I had God in my life.”

through it this time,” she said. “My husband was my biggest supporter. He got me up out of bed and showed me so many beautiful days out on the lake. He also went to all of my treatments with me.”

Finding a

That was Bowerman’s attitude throughout her first cancer journey. Skip to 15 years later, and doctors discovered a second lump.

“There are so many blessings

Family and friends

Family and friends also played a positive role in her recovery.

“There are so many people God used as vessels to help me

Bowerman attends St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and had many friends checking on her and being there for her during her lowest times.

CURE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and would like you to join us in our salute by donating to find a cure.

She also wanted to teach her 9-year-old daughter what it means to be a survivor. “I had decided when I was diagnosed the second time that I was a fighter and that’s what I was going to do. Kick cancer’s butt,” she said. “I have so much work left here on this earth to do. God is amazing, and He shows us how to fight when we are in the wilderness. He gives us just what we need. I appreciate all of the prayers, because they really work. I’m living proof.”

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

CAUGHT IN THE NICK OF TIME 3-D mammography — available in Joplin only at Mercy Breast Center — reveals a survivor’s Stage 0 breast cancer early on.

By David O’Neill doneill@joplinglobe.com

It’s something one rarely hears from a survivor, but LuAnn McConnell of Joplin says she doesn’t feel like a breast cancer survivor. Despite having gotten that diagnosis in August 2016, she doesn’t think she has much of a story to tell. Because early detection saves so many lives, however, McConnell can now raise awareness with her own experience.

“I was so glad I had a 3-D mammogram because the cancer was caught so early,” McConnell said. “If you have to have breast cancer, you want it to be Stage 0. I feel extremely lucky.”

How it works Here’s how the technology works: During a 3-D mammogram, the scan takes a series of X-rays of the breast from different angles. A computer digitally recreates the breast so radiologists can view “slices” of

Watts performed a lumpectomy. When the tissue was sent for analysis, no cancer could be found, so a biopsy sample was sent to confirm the cancer. Because the cancer was so small and at such an early stage, McConnell’s lymph nodes were not checked for cancer, which is standard after most diagnoses; nor did she undergo chemotherapy or radiation. “I don’t feel like a cancer survivor, except they did remove some tissue,” she said.

“I was so glad I had a 3-D mammogram

McConbecause the cancer was caught so early. nell, 68, was diagnosed If you have to have breast cancer, you want Next up with Stage 0 Despite her it to be Stage 0. I feel extremely lucky.” breast cancer, Stage 0 diagnothe earliest sis, McConnell – LuAnn McConnell stage of will undergo 3-D breast cancer mammograms and one that typically requires the image one at a time, making more frequently for the time minimal treatment. According it easier to see and evaluate pos- being, and for five years she’ll to the National Cancer Institute, sible abnormalities. take an anti-estrogen drug. The the five- and 10-year survival drug blocks estrogen receptors About two-thirds of mamrates for women with Stage 0 are on breast cancer cells and stops mograms performed at Mercy close to 100 percent. estrogen from connecting to any Breast Center are 3-D, and cancer cells that could grow and Like many others, McConnell they’re only offered in Joplin at divide. She’ll also have recurring can credit her own early detecMercy. appointments with oncologist tion to the 3-D mammogram Although McConnell had the Dr. Samir Dalia, who oversees she underwent on Aug. 4, 2016 earliest stage of breast cancer, blood draws every three months at Mercy Breast Center. It was she quickly moved forward with and watches for side effects from her first 3-D mammogram, and treatment. A biopsy was perthe anti-estrogen medication. she subsequently was told the cancer likely wouldn’t have been formed Aug. 15, when radioloMcConnell was fortunate to gist Dr. Steven Taggart removed detected with standard 2-D elude the myriad discomforts all of the cancer. As a precaumammography, the type she’d that ordinarily accompany breast tion, breast surgeon Dr. Kenneth had before. cancer treatment. Still, she

Breast cancer survivor LuAnn McConnell and her husband, George. She advocates for 3-D mammograms, which are offered in Joplin only at Mercy Breast Center.

believes she has a message for other women and advocates for regular 3-D mammograms with the hope that more who are diagnosed with breast cancer will only be at Stage 0. That advocacy, which McCo-

nnell shares with her husband, George, punctuates the Christmas letter the couple sent out last year: “We always were believers in mammograms,” George said, “but now we’re super believers in 3-D mammograms.”

| MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

CRUSHING CANCER & CELEBRATING LIFE By David O’Neill

“We have many more adventures planned,” Graham says. “We have learned that life can change in a minute.”

doneill@joplinglobe.com

Joplin native Bev Graham was already acutely aware that she was at high risk given her extensive family history of breast cancer. Graham’s mother is a 28-year survivor, and her maternal grandmother had it, as did aunts on both sides of the family. But Graham had had no health issues and diligently went for mammograms each year. Graham was unaware, however, that having dense breast tissue necessitates 3-D mammography to most effectively check for cancerous tumors and other growths. That said, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer—specifically Stage 2B Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) on Dec. 7, 2015, she reacted partly with rage. “I’d followed the rules! I’d had an annual mammogram,” Graham said. “Before my diagnosis, I didn’t even know [3-D mammography] was an option. If I would have had a 3-D mammogram, they would have found my cancer earlier.”

Graham and her husband, Gary, during their recent vacation in Italy. The couple, she says, is “celebrating life more than we ever have.”

That’s not how Graham’s breast cancer experience began to unfold. Nonetheless, her often-difficult journey has both inspired Graham and changed her perspective.

Life of public service Both Graham and her husband of 29 years, Gary, are Missouri Southern State University alumni. Along the way, Graham also has earned a master’s in public administration, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Ph.D., from the University of Kansas. Public service runs thick in

Graham’s blood. Born and raised in Joplin, Graham followed in the footsteps of her mother, who worked for the Joplin Family YMCA for 30 years. “I’ve also spent my entire career working in the public sector,” Graham said. After many years in the Kansas City area, Graham and her husband of 29 years, Gary, headed back to Joplin. Here, she worked as chief executive officer of the United Way. She currently serves as Vice President for USA Programs for Enactus, a global nonprofit organization. After a mammogram in 2015, Graham was informed she had dense breast tissue but needed no immediate follow-up. Ten months later, she felt a hard, shelflike area on her right breast.

“It wasn’t a lump. It felt different,” Graham said. At an annual physical the next week, she asked her doctor to check it. “I knew by the look on her face that there was a problem,” Graham said, noting that “ILC grows different that ductal breast cancer. It spreads like a tree, not a lump.” “I knew in my heart it was cancer before I got the final diagnosis,” Graham said. After a biopsy at Freeman Health Systems on Dec. 4, 2015, Graham was informed that the 5.2-centimeter growth wasn’t a cyst and was being sent for further analysis. “It didn’t sound good,” Graham recalls.

‘A tough conversation’ Fortunately, Graham found solace in her best friend, Lesha

Goade, coincidentally a nurse practitioner with her Freeman oncologist, Dr. Hugh Lacey. “I went straight to Lesha’s office after the biopsy. As soon as I saw her, I broke down crying.” It was Goade who told Graham she had breast cancer on Dec. 7, 2015. “It was a tough conversation, but I was blessed to hear it from her.” On Dec. 28, Graham began an exhaustive course of treatment: six rounds of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy with expanders, 18 Herceptin treatments required for Graham’s HER2 status, and 28 radiation treatments, which Graham completed in September 2016. She also underwent a partial hysterectomy last March and will have a second reconstruction surgery, “hopefully my last,” this Wednesday, Oct. 25. Additionally, Graham will take the cancer-prevention medication Arimidex for the next five years.

Paradigm shift This December will mark two years since Graham’s diagnosis. “I’m getting my life back, but it’s taking a lot longer than I ever thought it would,” Graham said. Nonetheless, life now includes a new perspective and new priorities. “Most of the things I stressed about before cancer were just so irrelevant,” she said. Graham is quick to count the blessings at her side, then and now, as she walked through breast cancer. These include family—“100 percent supportive”— and “Surviving Together,” the closed Facebook page frequented by Graham’s Pink Sisters. “They truly understood. I could tell them things I couldn’t tell anyone else—even family.”

an amazing company and stood by my side. Not all companies are that supportive, which is shameful,” she said. Ironically, Graham, with a career spent in positions where she helped others, found herself “on the other side by being the one that had to ask for help instead of giving it.” Now, she can help others. She strongly suggests “fearlessness when it comes to getting second opinions, and don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself during your treatment.” Their pets—three dogs and a talkative African gray parrot—in tow, Bev and Gary Graham are “celebrating life more than we ever have,” she said. During their Italy trip, Graham detoured in Colobraro, the town from which her great-grandfather emigrated to Kansas in 1899. In Rome, she came within four feet of Pope Francis, emerging with a Life-magazine-worthy photograph. “We have many more adventures planned,” Graham says. “We have learned that life can change in a minute.”

Breast Cancer AWARENESS Graham’s employer, Enactus, “is

EARLY DETECTION CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

98% 27%

EARLY DETECTION SURVIVAL RATE

ADVANCED STAGE SURVIVAL RATE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to bring awareness about preventative exams.

Breast cancer survivor Bev Graham in December 2016, when she completed chemotherapy.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BATTLING BESTIES Carthage friends approach 10th year in remission By Rebecca Haines Special to the Globe

CARTHAGE, Mo. — In times of work, cheer and struggle, Janet Waggoner and Linda Houck have stood together. At first, they grew close by sharing an office as legal secretaries at Checkett & Pauly in Carthage. Then they realized they shared the cheering section for their spouses’ ballgames; then they learned they lived down the street from one another. They’re both mothers, and now grandmothers. But what has made these two inseparable was their fight against breast cancer nine years ago.

Dealing with cancer Houck had moved on to a position at McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital, but during a lunch with her “bestie,” she offered her a free mammogram certificate through the McCune-Brooks Healthcare Foundation. The results of that mammogram in 2008 caught the diagnosis. “I called my bestie and cried, and she said, ‘I will shave my head for you,’” Waggoner said. “Two weeks later, she got the same kind of news.” Waggoner recalled that conversation well. “I said, ‘it’s OK to cry today, but tomorrow we’re going to put on our big girl panties and we’re going to go on,’” she said. That was their motto, and they even wore it on pink T-shirts as they rallied against the disease. They made a tradition of the Race 4 Hope in Joplin, and this year will serve as ambassadors

for the event. Their story continues to be shared through the years, and they say that’s fine – especially with their 10-year remission milestone approaching. “It’s important to get the message out to get your yearly mammograms,” Houck said. “It pretty much saved my life,” Waggoner said. “Now she’s going to owe me of the rest of her life,” Houck added with a laugh.

Separate but together Houck and Waggoner’s treatments had few differences, and they chose to fight it together with the same doctors. “I know that God had a plan that she was to get it at the same time as I, and if it’s because of me that she got it, I’m sorry, but I know His plan was for her to help me,” Waggoner said. Houck had four chemotherapy treatments, and Waggoner had six, including radiation. They shared each other’s pain, and unexpected emotions along the way: like the loss of hair and eyelashes. “That was something I thought I wouldn’t care about,” Waggoner said. “It hurt. I went outside and brushed my hair because it itched and hurt so bad.”

Play and pain Before, during and after cancer, the ladies have golfed — even when it involved ACE bandages and attached draining jugs. “With cancer, you can just sit

Linda Houck and Janet Waggoner, both of Carthage, are approaching their 10-year milestone of breast cancer remission. They fought their battles together, with the same doctors, and strengthened their friendship along the way. Rebecca Haines / Special to the Globe

there and feel like you’re dying, but you just have to do, because you’re not going to feel better,” Houck said. “So you might as well do what you would have done. My theory was I could be nauseated and throw up in a golf cart just as well as I could on the couch. It consumes everything, and you’re thinking, ‘I don’t have time for this.’” Through fatigue and pain, the ladies chose to participate in life’s events. Their first Race 4 Hope was rough, but they found strength in numbers. “That was very meaningful to

us,” Houck said, “people would come up and tell their story. It was new to us, and it really touched our hearts.”

Stronger than ever Today, Houck and Waggoner don’t hesitate to share their journey and motivate others going through the battle. “It didn’t just change my life, it changed my husband’s life,” Waggoner said. “There’s so many things they don’t tell you about cancer. Your body is just never the same again … I heard that every 74 seconds, someone

than cancer STRONGER together. TOUGHER

FIGHTING takes lots of Courage.

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and the courage they have to share their stories with us.

dies from breast cancer. Every 19 seconds, someone finds out they have breast cancer. It’s a hard thing for me, to know now my kids need to pay attention … If you get that dreaded phone call, do your homework. Talk to people. Don’t just look on the Internet, that’s scary. Talk to people – that helped me a lot.” Laughing and triggering each other’s ornery side, Waggoner and Houck agreed they’re enjoying life. “God knew that I couldn’t handle it, so He gave me Linda,” Waggoner concluded.

| WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’NEVER GIVE UP. DON’T EVER GIVE UP’ Two-time breast cancer survivor inspires others By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com The roles that a husband, or a son, daughter or even a young grandchild, play for a mother struggling to overcome breast cancer — the initial diagnosis, followed by surgery, chemotherapy and radiation — is often so understated. But speak to breast cancer survivors and they will often tell you, long after the “medical babble” of chemo drugs and radiation dates fade into memory, that it’s the support that family and friends gave them during their toughest times of need that helped them stay above the fray. So when Elaine Shewmake spoke to a gathering of fellow breast cancer survivors during a breast cancer awareness themed Wellness Speaker Series at Mercy Joplin earlier this month, it’s not surprising that she wanted to thank, first and foremost, her husband Buck. It was Buck, she said, who was at her side, holding her hand, inside a hospital cancer center getting treatment while simultaneously celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary. Fast forward to 2017 and once again, husband and wife found themselves inside Mercy’s infusion center, just days from their 39th wedding anniversary. Again, there was Buck, faithfully at her side, his hand in hers. “I would like to have a shout-out to my husband who has been my rock and has been by my side all the time,” she said, barely getting the last word out before pausing to blink back a spill of tears. A few of the breast cancer survivors sitting in the audience were nodding their heads in silent support, knowing exactly what Shewmake was feeling at that moment. She admitted she was a bit apprehensive about getting up in front of a large gathering of people to speak,

due to what’s been dubbed the “chemo brain,” or as she put it, “to know what you want to say but not being able to deliver it to the tip of my tongue.” But she decided to overcome her fears by speaking out about the very thing that caused those fears to surface in the first place: her cancer.

Because a mother battling cancer never quite knows what the future outcome will be — if they’ll live long enough to see a young child grow up

to graduate and have a family of their own — she decided to make a bucket list to give herself goals to strive for back in 2005. As it turned out, she

Now retired from public schools as a physical education and health teacher as well as a sports coach for 30 years, Shewmake is a two-time survivor of breast cancer: the first occurring in 2005; the second 12 years after the first, in January of this year.

One wish on that list that was quickly checked off was to sit behind the home dugout of a St. Louis Cardinals game in Busch Stadium. Another marked-off bucket list item, also St. Louis Cardinals related, was to see the redbirds play a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, which took place in 2006. The last, and most important bucket list wish, was a longterm one, and easily one of the hardest to follow through with, she said, and that was to see her oldest son — Dr. Cole Shewmake — get married and start a family, and to see her youngest son, Stone, to graduate high school. She was able to do both, she said proudly. Both are proud University of Arkansas graduates.

Self-examinations, she said, helped in the discovery of her two cancers. “Remembering back to my coaching years,” Shewmake said, “I realized that being hesitant never ended up having a good outcome.” Several times during her speech Shewmake urged others to listen to what their bodies are trying to tell them and “to ask questions to people who know the answer. Denial is not an option. As my husband always said, ‘Eyes open, no fear.’”

“Those are such special (moments) that any mother would wish for,” she said. After her second diagnosis, she decided to create a new bucket list. This one was even shorter than her first one.

Later, Shewmake had to again pause to push back tears as she recalled a heart-warming moment when, still coping with the loss of her hair back in 2005, her youngest son — now grown and graduated from the University of Arkansas — found her crying inside her bedroom. Concerned, he picked up the phone to call Buck. “He told his dad that we had a weeping willow on the premises,” she said, as the audience chuckled. Ironically, earlier this year, her grandson wandered in and saw her without a wig or hat. He stepped back and said, “Grammy, your hair.” She felt guilty for allowing him to see her in this condition, but moments later, he hugged her tenderly and said, “I love you, Grammy.” Here, she paused again, blinking tears from the memory of that embrace.

said, it was a pretty short list.

“My hope for all of you comes in the form of a message,” she read. “Don’t let the little things in life pass you by. If you can, to live the moment (with your loved ones and friends) each day, as much as your schedule will allow. “Don’t give up,” Shewmake said at the conclusion of her speech, quoting legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano’s end-phrase of a speech made two months before he died of glandular cancer in 1993. “Don’t ever give up.” Two-time breast cancer survivor Elaine Shewmake, rocking a sparkling pink ribbon baseball cap, speaks during the Mercy Speaker Series earlier this month at Mercy Joplin.

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| THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

KICKING CANCER Webb City woman is 3 years cancer free

Barron said her cancer was hormone sensitive to both estrogen and progesterone, infiltrating ductal carcinoma Stage 1A, grade 2, also called triple positive. She is the fourth female in her family to have breast cancer although she did not test positive for the BRCA gene.

By Terri Nighswonger Special to the Globe

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Mary Barron, who turned 50 this year, has been kicking cancer’s butt for the last three years. She found a lump in her breast on her birthday in May of 2014.

She was overdue for her mammogram by a couple of months.

When Barron had her surgery, early cancer cells were found in her right breast.

“I’d been having mammograms for 10plus years because I also had fibrocystic breast disease and dense tissue,” she said. “My coworker had been diagnosed in February of that year so mammograms were on our minds at work. Once I felt that lump I called my gynecologist and they were like, ‘Let’s get you in for a mammogram.’”

“Once again I was lucky I made that decision so I wasn’t dealing with that later on,” she said. “I then had to do chemotherapy.” Barron’s chemo regimen went on every three weeks for nearly a year and a half with several different drugs.

At the appointment, Barron said the tech asked to see if she could feel the lump. She did feel it but it did not show up on the mammogram. Because of the tech’s experience, the radiologist decided to do an ultrasound that same day.

“It was terrible,” she said. “I think I was the last one to go back and they did find it on the ultrasound. The reason it wasn’t found on the mammogram was because of dense breast tissue. If that tech hadn’t spoken up I could have been in a lot of trouble later.”

“Cancer is everything,” she said. “It’s every emotion, feeling, pain… it’s not just one thing. It affects the person that had cancer but it also affects everyone else. My husband was so scared he didn’t talk for a whole year I don’t think. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. My son looked up my treatment path and found where it was a trial five years prior. My daughter, she’s the one that was so full of inspiration and said, “You’ve got this mom.” She was always there saying the right words. I just think the whole thing comes back to family.”

“Three different aunts (had breast cancer) and then my cousin died the year before that at 55 with breast cancer so that was fresh on all of our minds,” she said. “I made the decision to have a double mastectomy.”

“When my finger hit it, it just felt like a lightening bolt,” Barron said. “I knew something was wrong.”

Barron said the waiting room was full of women of all ages waiting for their outcome.

Barron said that support system was also affected by the decisions she had to make. Even though it was her decision whether to do chemo or not, the people around her had to take on the results of that decision.

“There were times I had to quit for a month because it’s hard on your heart but I was able to finish my whole treatment,” she said. Barron went through hair loss, esophageal dysmotility (difficulty swallowing), neuropathy and chemo brain fog. “Chemo brain fog is a real thing, believe me,” she said. “It doesn’t go away for a long time and I still have problems with it.”

Barron said caregivers are the forgotten heroes.

While defeating her cancer, Mary Barron says the disease is constantly on her mind, which keeps her diligent.

“They change their lives, their plans, their year or a couple of years for you,” she said. “From my view I couldn’t have done it without them. It truly does take a village. The people in your life are very important.”

lump something? Is this pain something? You never know. It’s just crazy. It doesn’t ever go away.”

Barron found inspiration from her friends and her family. She recently celebrated 30 years with her husband.

Barron credits her great support system for getting her through.

“My daughter was married last summer and I can’t wait to see and meet grandchildren someday,” she said. “My family clustered together and it gave me strength that I didn’t know that I had. I’ve been very, very blessed through all of it.”

FIND A C F She currently sees her oncologist every six months.

“This disease is never ending,” she said. “It’s on our mind every single day. Is this

“I have a great support system with my family, my coworkers, my mom, my sister, my kids and my husband,” she said. “Some women don’t have that and it’s very sad for them.”

ind a cure EST. 1944

Hope. Strength. Love.

| FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’WE ALL HELD TOGETHER STRONG’

Area woman leans on friends, family during cancer journey

Health found herself back inside the cancer center less than a week later with a fever, a heart rate that had climbed into the 140s and a blood pressure reading of 97/65, among others.

By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

ELMA, Arkansas — Shanda Griffin fought breast cancer, and survived it, primarily by the grace of God, she believes.

“I was in … septic shock,” she said. This is a serious medical condition that occurs when sepsis, usually damage from an infection, leads to dangerously low blood pressure and abnormalities in cellular metabolism.

Over a 24 month span, Griffin admitted she skipped her routine mammograms; as it often does, life just got extremely busy. But now, she said, “I have often wondered, if (I’d) had my mammograms, would I have escaped the painful, yet victorious journey? So I do not concentrate on such things. I choose to live my life as an adventure and have peace, joy and freedom.” Regardless, she had a mammogram in 2015 and the image revealed an abnormality. Further testing was conducted, and an ultrasound confirmed that, indeed, there was something suspicious inside her breast. “I then underwent a biopsy and was sent home to await the results, which seemed (to last) forever,” she said. As she feared, the results came back positive: invasive ductile carcinoma, meaning the cancer had the ability to leave the area and spread throughout the body. That day was Sept. 8, 2015, one she won’t soon forget. The diagnosis also came as a huge shock to her system. There was absolutely no cancer history on either her maternal or paternal sides of the family, so the cancer couldn’t have been hereditary, she said. She would later learn it was directly estrogenand progesterone-related. “I was taking (the steroid) estradiol for two years prior to diagnosis,” she said. “I learned it was actually

Shanda Griffin

feeding the mass.” Bilateral mastectomy surgery took place before the month was out on Sept. 22. Thirteen lymph nodes were also extracted and sent off to a lab for testing. One of the 12 nodes tested positive to cancer. Sixteen weeks of chemotherapy followed: a cocktail mixture of Taxotere, Adriamycin and Cytoxan. The day after the last chemo treatment — March 29, 2016 — she received a Neulasta shot, which helps give the immune system a boost to white blood cell regeneration in the bone marrow, simply because chemotherapy wipes out not only all the contaminated cells, but the good ones, a well. But this caused her “severe bone pain throughout my whole body,” she said. Still, the end of the chemo sessions was a huge day for her. “My husband (Gary) and my children (Shawn, 33; Ashley, 30; Levi, 29; and Cori, 25) and I had a celebration day.” All of them, she said, “have been very supportive, loving and compassionate through my entire journey.”

“Being in septic shock and losing my hair,” Griffin admitted, “was probably my lowest times during my journey battling cancer. I was in denial at first, and then anger set in, because I never thought it would ever happen to me. And I wondered where God was in this. I felt a huge loss, and grief filled my soul, spirit and mind.” But her immediate and extended family, which included her friends and co-workers, helped to keep her spirits up. “We all held together strong like a family should,” she said. Her husband was always at her side: “I could not have made it through this journey without you,” she said. Her children wore ear warmers on her behalf, selling them as a fundraiser which “really touched my heart and humbled my spirit.” Her daughter created a website for meals to be delivered to her each week. Her friends stepped up and raised more than $1,000 on her behalf: “A huge thank you with gratitude goes out to everyone that God has placed in my path before me in my journey,” she said. Multiple surgeries followed from April 2016 onward: reconstructive surgeries, umbilical hernia repairs, a cholecystectomy, even carpal tunnel repairs. She even found out she had

Shanda Griffin (top and above) hugs friends who helped her overcome her breast cancer. “I (choose) to surround myself with positive thinking people.”

been suffering from post traumatic stress disorder due in large part because of the shock and agony that the cancer diagnosis had on her. Still, she managed to accept the 2015 diagnosis in April, 2017, more than two years after she found news that had completely altered her life. She recommends future cancer victims meet with a counselor during their breast cancer journeys to deal with the emotional and traumatic stress it has on a person’s body, mind and soul.

“I chose to surround myself with positive thinking people and positive affirmations for myself,” she said, as well as accepting strength in her faith, “my rock and my foundation. “My journey has almost to come to a completion,” she continued. “I will have my last procedure in November of this year! I will make it through whatever comes along, with courage and strength.”

e h t g n i rt o pp u S S R E T H G I F Admiring the Honoring the SURVIVORS This registered nurse with Cox-

TAKEN

and never, ever giving up

HOPE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to hope for a cure.

10A

| SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’A POSITIVE ATTITUDE IS 99 PERCENT OF THE BATTLE’ Common flu helped lead to breast cancer diagnosis, successful treatment experience ended up being an all-day affair.

By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com NEOSHO, Mo. — On an early spring morning in March 2015, Shannon Brodie went to see her doctor about flu-like symptoms that had been plaguing her for nearly a week, including shooting pains in her right breast, a place in that same breast that felt dense when touched and a tender knot under her right arm. When she left the doctor’s office later that morning, she was no longer thinking about the flu. Her mind had turned to far more dangerous ailments. But not cancer. “Cancer never even entered my mind,” she said. “I have no cancer history in my family.” Looking back, however, she now realizes those seemingly innocent flu-like symptoms may have saved her life. “To this day I truly believe my flu-like symptoms and pains that I was having God’s way of getting my attention to go the doctor,” she said. Brodie — a travel agent with GalaxSea Cruises and Tours in Neosho — was quickly scheduled for a mammogram on March 18. When she went to have it, accompanied by her husband Eric, it

“Once they did my mammogram, they realized I had two spots on my right breast and a lymph node that needed to be biopsied right away,” she said. “They asked us if we would stay to do the testing that day and I said absolutely, I couldn’t go home and wait another day or more.” The radiologist later met with them and said he didn’t like the looks of two tumors found inside her breast. A pathology report was scheduled two days later. “I left that day,” Brodie said, “knowing in my heart what my fate was, but just prayed that my gut feeling was wrong. It was wrong. She was diagnosed, on March 20, 2015 and at the age of 44, with Stage 3 ER/PR positive, HER-2 negative breast cancer. “I remember sitting on the examination table listening to (a surgeon) tell what he recommended for me to give me the best chance of survival. I was literally in shock by the news. I remember feeling like someone had knocked the breath out of me. It was definitely the darkest day of my life. I felt so alone; for a moment time stood still, as my mind raced a million directions. I was hearing the prognosis, trying to let it sink in, trying to

Shannon Brodie after her surgery.

wrap my mind around what it would mean to have a bi-lateral mastectomy and chemo that would cause me to be sick and lose all of my hair. You definitely fear the unknown.”

especially heartbreaking at first, considering she had hair that reached down to the middle of the back for most of her life. She began losing her hair at day 19 of her treatment.

But the age-old survival instinct kicked in, as it often does with women faced with a cancer diagnosis, and she began thinking about her family.

“I remember struggling at bit at first at the thought of losing my hair, but I made my peace with it and (I) didn’t get it another thought,” she said. “The day we left from my first chemo I was determined to get a wig to wear so that I would be prepared for the dreadful day. (Morgan) was a senior in high school at the time and I wanted to have a wig for all of her upcoming graduation festivities. I didn’t want her to look back at pictures of me and remember me being sick. Graduation is supposed to be a special time. I wore my wig just a handful of times. I realized pretty quickly it was hot and uncomfortable for me. I embraced my baldness and typically wore a turbine while at work or out in public.”

“I consider myself a strong person and after that short moment I knew I had three children and a husband that needed me and I was going to do everything within my powers to beat (this) cancer.” She reached out to officials at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, wanting a second opinion. She and Kevin made the five-hour trip to meet with a breast surgeon (Dr. Julie Margenthaler), oncologist (Dr. Barbara Horn) and plastic surgeon (Dr. Keith Brandt) on March 31. “I knew right away just after meeting (them) that Barnes-Jewish is where God intended me to be treated,” she said. “I had complete confidence in all three of my doctors and their plan for me.” That plan, Brodie said, was an aggressive one, due to the fact that her rate of cell growth number was 67, meaning her two tumors were fast growing. She would have four treatments of Cytoxan, Taxotere and the “Red Devil” — Adriamycin — every three weeks over a six-month period. She would also have to give herself shots of Neupogen to keep up her white blood cell count. After a month’s recovery from chemo, she had her bi-lateral mastectomy surgery done on Oct. 1, 2015. Following a month of recovery from that, she had five weeks of radiation treatments due to the size of one of her tumors in Springfield, a little bit closer to home. Her first chemo treatment was on April 7, 2015 — her wedding anniversary. “I remember thinking, ‘what a way to spend your anniversary.’ My husband and my mother were both with me that day. My husband took me to most of my treatments. My sister and daughter (Morgan) took me once during the six months. We would get up usually around 4 a.m., leave our house by 5 a.m. and make the (drive) to be at the 10 a.m. appointment. My … chemo treatment would take up to four hours. We would then make the trip back home on the same day, usually not getting back home until around 7 p.m.”

Of all of her children — Morgan, 20, Dalton, 14 and Aiden, 11 — it was her youngest that seemed to take her mother’s sickness best in stride. The others had a harder time with her cancer diagnosis. “(Morgan) struggled with worrying about me missing out on her activities (sports and graduation) and really struggled with me losing my hair. Dalton would seem fine at home but go to school and get upset and struggle with my diagnosis — he told us he worried that I would not survive. My husband and I sat them all down and explained to them that I was going to beat this, that it would be tough, I would have days of feeling bad, I would lose my hair and we would be gone quite a bit, but we tried to assure them all that life would be as normal as possible and we would get through this together.” To her credit, Brodie never missed a single kid’s track meet, baseball, basketball or football game. But the strength of her husband, a positive attitude and support from family and friends — including her friend Becky, who gave her a bracelet to wear during treatment — helped her get through the rough patches. And every member of her “inspiration” team was there when she had her first reconstruction surgery on March 9, 2016, and her final surgery on March 29, 2017. “I believe that a positive attitude is 99 percent of the battle,” Brodie said. “I tried to never get discouraged or get depressed. I always looked for the ‘silver lining’ through my journey. I would always try to see the good despite the bad. There will always be bad days with cancer; you just have to remember to never give up.”

Breast Cancer AWARENESS

Shannon’s family, particularly her husband, two sons and daughter, gave her some much-needed strength As for most cancer survivors, losing their hair was a traumatic experience. For Brodie it was and support

EARLY DETECTION CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.

98% EARLY 27% ADVANCED

DETECTION SURVIVAL RATE

STAGE SURVIVAL RATE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and together we will continue to bring awareness about preventative exams.

| SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’I FEEL MORE EMPATHY AND WILL TRY TO REACH OUT AND HELP’ Neosho woman learns valuable lessons with cancer experience By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

NEOSHO, Mo. — At first, it felt like a pulled muscle. That’s the best way Jo Charlton could describe a dull ache she’d experienced deep in her chest prior to her annual well-woman check-up at the end of 2015. At the time, she didn’t think much of it. But sitting there in Dr. Jason Sloan’s office, it all came back to her. Particularly when he felt something unusual in one of her breasts, and recommended that she get it checked out. A mammogram was scheduled for January 2016. When that showed a “concern,” an ultrasound of her underarm area was conducted by radiologist Dr. Sonu Suri at Mercy Breast Cancer. A biopsy showed that that “concern” was indeed “cancer,” hovering between Stage 1 and Stage 2. “Being still at a young age,” the 37-year-old said, “I didn’t have any concerns about breast cancer.” Which makes sense, considering the only family history of breast cancer she could recall was her mother once telling her at a young age that her aunt had died from breast cancer sometime during the 1950s,

when she was in her 30s. But that was it. “After the diagnosis, I had a hard time believing it.” And dealing with it, as all cancer survivors will tell you, getting bombarded with a dizzying array of treatment options, dates, schedules and procedures. At first, Charlton kept asking God, “Why?” Soon after that, she came to grips with what faced her and began asking a different question: “How?” “How do you want me to do this?” she said. “How do you want me to deal with all of my emotions?” Thankfully, she could rely on her family for some much-needed strength and support: her husband Dustin, son Shane Haddock, a close friend and her her mother-inlaw. “Things got fuzzy there for a while,” she admitted,” but I knew I wanted to hurry up and get it done and over with.” Getting it “done and over with” meant chemotherapy, surgery and reconstruction. Her age helped; also the fact that she was in good physical shape. “They told me in the beginning that because I was more

in shape, I’d be able to handle the treatment better than some, and I did,” she said. “I never got horribly sick (during the chemo treatments), but was weak and tired.” Charlton also dealt with the so-called “chemo brain.” “The majority of the time it felt like I was in a fog,” she said. “I couldn’t remember stuff. I had conversations with others that were off the wall. Even now, there are things I can’t remember during that time.” After weighing her options following the chemo sessions, she decided to bypass the lumpectomy on just one breast and go with a double mastectomy. “I just didn’t want to take the chance of having breast cancer return,” she said of the surgery by Dr. Kenneth Watts in July 2016. Reconstruction surgery followed. After finishing maintenance chemotherapy, she’s been cancer free for nearly two years. “I know quite a few other ladies now who also went through this, and I feel like I had an easier time of it,” she said. “It still was very hard, but a cakewalk compared to a few other ladies.

Jo Charlton of Neosho is all smiles, nearly two years removed from her bout with cancer.

“When I hear or see others who are struggling with health issues or hard times,” she continued, “I feel more empathy and will try to reach out and help more than I did before.”

Listening to what the body is trying to say and never assuming one’s too young for cancer are the two biggest lessons Charlton learned from her experience.

Had breast cancer in the family. A higher risk for ovarian cancer. And ways to fight back.

Ovarian cancer. Do you know the symptoms? Ovarian cancer may show no signs. Sometimes called the “silent killer,” ovarian cancer will affect one in 75 women. Knowing your family history and listening carefully to your body can make all the difference. Symptoms often seem like other common problems: • Feeling full quickly • Stomach bloating • Upset stomach • Frequent urination • Pelvic or abdominal pain If symptoms last longer than two weeks, contact a Mercy OB/GYN specialist. We offer genetic screening and counseling, and a dedicated care team that will be with you every step of the way. Learn more at Mercy.net/JoplinOvarian

Your life is our life’s work.

Mercy Clinic Women’s Health

100 Mercy Way, Suite 510 | Joplin, MO 417-623-6056 UnitedHealthcare® members can now choose Mercy.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

MONDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

A TERRIBLE BIRTHDAY GIFT Local woman learns she has cancer on her birthday my theme.’ Everyone in the room — my husband, a dear friend, the radiologist, the nurse navigator — all looked at me. And it (superhero as a theme) has been. That’s how I tackle things that make me unhappy. I find something to enjoy in it. Luckily, the Wonder Woman movie came out this year. I’ve gotten lots of Wonder Woman gifts!”

By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — It was supposed to be a routine mammogram, nothing more. But aren’t they always supposed to be like that? But this particular one happened to be anything but ordinary, Angie Casavecchia discovered.

Like a sailing ship in storm-chopped waters, she eventually righted herself. Her family rallying around her was helpful and greatly appreciated.

It was February 8, 2017, and the mammogram image found “something unusual” in her left breast, she said. Fourteen days later, that “something unusual” turned out to be one of the most dreaded words in the English language. “I was told I had breast cancer on my 48th birthday — Feb. 22, 2017,” Casavecchia said, who serves as the Jasper County Public Administrator. Chuckling, she added, “That was a terrible birthday gift.” Unlike a majority of women, Casavecchia wasn’t really all that shocked by the diagnosis.

Not shocked at all “I had always assumed that I would have breast cancer. I just thought I would have longer before I had to deal with it,” this mother of two said. “As my sister and I like to say, ‘my family has breast cancer PTSD and we are all just sitting around waiting to see who gets shot next.’ Several years ago I made a family history of breast cancer chart that I printed out and gave to all the females in our family so that they could provide it to our doctors. I wanted everyone to be prepared.” Still, the word “cancer” is an ugly sounding noun, and hearing it come out of a doctor’s mouth can have quite the negative impact on a person, even if they are mentally fortified to hear it.

Angie Casavecchia before diagnosis.

not sure that I even let the radiologist tell me I have cancer. I knew what she was going to say because when she met with me she brought the breast cancer navigator in with her. I had been through this enough with my family to know why the nurse navigator was there. It did suck the wind out of me though.” Sadly, Casavecchia had lost her mother to breast cancer in 2008, she said. “My beloved aunt, who was closer to me than my own mom, had breast cancer twice, a cousin had breast cancer at 39, and my sister and another cousin both chose to have prophylactic bilateral mastectomies.”

Getting on with it “Over the years I would occasionally think ‘When I get breast cancer I’m going to do this or do that.’ I know that is not the best thing to be thinking, but I really thought I was preparing myself for the inevitable. Still, when I knew for sure I had cancer, I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was and I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling,” she continued. “I knew what this meant for me. I had watched this happen before. I knew that I was going to be sick and lose my hair and it was scary. After I stopped crying, I told myself that I needed to suck it up, I wasn’t going to cry anymore and out loud, I said, ‘Superhero is going to be

“My family took hearing of my diagnosis well,” she said. “This was new territory for my husband and daughters ... they hadn’t experienced this yet. My husband (Steve Reed) became my knight in shining armor, doing everything he could for me. My 21-year-old daughter (Hannah) was scared for me, I think, but never (showed her concerns). I could see that she searched my face for clues on how I was really feeling. My 11-year-old daughter (Lucy) only asked: ‘Can they get it (the cancer) out?’ Once I assured her that the doctors could get the cancer out, she was good.”

The treatment The tumor in her breast was Grade III invasive ductal carcinoma. When given the option to have a lumpectomy with some radiation and possibly chemotherapy, Casavecchia didn’t even consider it.

“I was lucky in that my cancer hadn’t spread to lymph nodes and my margins were clear when they removed the tumor,” she said. “I didn’t require any chemo or radiation. I know how lucky I am and hope that the measures I took will prevent me from having future breast cancer or metastasis.” Her husband, she said, was a rock during her recovery. “He took on triple duties at home. He did everything that I normally do in addition to dressing me, helping me in the bathroom and moving me in the middle of the night when I became uncomfortable. He told me that when I was in the hospital and he was helping me get to the bathroom in the middle of the night I said, ‘Thank you so much for helping me get to the bathroom.’ He replied, ‘You’re welcome! You would do it for me!’ I don’t remember my reply, but he says that I replied ‘I know, but I wouldn’t like it!’

Staying positive She also tried to stay positive, mentally shoving away any negative thoughts, and approaching everything with a sense of devilish humor. For example,

“I said, ‘I want both breasts removed and I want my ovaries out.” He also asked if I wanted to do a nipple-sparing procedure. ‘No, I want everything gone.’ I watched my aunt go through breast cancer twice. I wanted everything gone that could possibly have cancer in it. (And) because my cancer was ER+/ PR+ (hormone receptor positive), I wanted my ovaries removed to stop the hormones since that was feeding my cancer.”

during reconstruction surgery, she asked her Mercy Joplin surgeon, Dr. Watts, if he could give her the same sized breasts she had at the age of 17. His answer? “This is reconstruction, not Playboy.” To her plastic surgeon, Dr. Gray, she innocently asked if he could put squeakies in her implants for her husband. His answer? “Uh... no.” “Through this entire process I really tried not to think of negative things,” Casavecchia said. “I have a huge love for Jesus and I knew if I had to go through this process that He already had everything planned out. If my mind ever slipped to the possibility of me dying and what would happen to my children or my husband, I would just remember that Jesus already had those things figured out and there was no need for me to worry! I took great comfort in knowing Jesus was in control. The worst part is now past her. She’ll be on hormone suppression medication for the next five years, and she had her “exchange” surgery on Oct. 10, but that’s about it. “I don’t foresee any problems in the future,” she said rather proudly. “I’m going to make it!”

FIND A C F

“The word ‘cancer’ is so scary, and when someone tells you that you have it, no matter how prepared you think you are, it sucks the wind out of you,” she said. “As hard as you try to listen to everything said to you after that word, you just can’t hear anything (else). At least that’s how it was for me. I’m

Her bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction surgery took place on March 28, 2017; a hysterectomy followed on July 7. Her support group was amazing during this time, with friends even throwing a big “Bye-bye boobies” party for her before the surgery.

Angie Casavecchia with friends.

ind a cure EST. 1944

Hope. Strength. Love.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

THE EYE OF THE TIGER By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

Through good times and bad, the lyrics of the song “Roar” — I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire; ‘cause I am the champion, and you’re gonna hear me roar — by Kate Perry always kept Amanda Gish’s spirits buoyant. And while the song helped her cope, it was the cancer itself that transformed Gish into a new, mentally stronger person. “Cancer changes the ‘normal’ for a person; patients have to find and accept our ‘new normal,’” said Gish. “Cancer made me tougher. Cancer burned out the wimpy parts of my personality and strengthened the sinew that holds me together mentally and emotionally. Cancer taught me to grab what I want from life.” To that end, Gish has gone back to school and is now in her third semester of obtaining her master’s degree. She also wanted to travel and see some of the beautiful parts of the United States and the world, so she’s been up to Montana for Christmas last year and is planning a trip overseas. In 2014, she found a lump in her breast. A biopsy was taken and the abnormality was proven to be an infection, nothing more. It was chased away by strong antibiotics. The following year, in late 2015, another lump appeared. Naturally, Gish thought it was another infection. During a regular doctor’s check-up in 2016, she asked Dr. Troy D’Amour to look at the lump, which by this point “looked like

someone had sliced a golf ball in half and inserted it right under my skin, next to my left arm.” When he eyeballed it, he immediately requested treatment.

“He had cancer but no matter how much his cancer metastasized, he fought and fought,” Gish said, who works in the IT department at Missouri Southern State University. “He was told his case was terminal but he always held out hope (that) he could beat it. He did pass away on Dec. 19, 2010, after a five-year battle. He taught me to never give up.”

By Jan. 18, 2016, Gish was diagnosed with poorly differentiated breast carcinoma. The “poorly differentiated” simply meant the cancer cells were not well formed, while the dreaded “invasive” meant the cancer had broken through the ducts of her breasts. “Oh my, yes, I was shocked … total shock, then fear,” Gish said. “I had to ask the nurse to repeat what she had just said, I couldn’t take it in. The rest of that conversation is a blur. I have no idea what we talked about after that.” The diagnosis came out of left field — she had no family history of cancer; even her mother was shocked by the news. “Wide-eyed, my first question was, ‘is this terminal?’ Dr. (David) Baker assured me that it was not terminal, and my thinking switched to ‘how do we treat it then?’ Then, the infamous bucket list started forming in my mind.” She chose to have surgery — bilateral mastectomy, which took place on June 24; before that, from Feb. 1, 2016 to May 9, she took eight rounds of chemotherapy every two weeks. Thirty-six radiation treatments followed, from the second week of August through the end of September, 2016. It was during the chemo and radiation treatments she hit near-rock bottom.

Since overcoming her cancer, she’s taken to social media to help other women in need.

Amanda Gish is all smiles after overcoming breast cancer. Her family played a pivotol, positive role.

for all nine rounds,” she said. And when she lost her hair, “It took me two months (to be) able to look at my reflection in a mirror.” As usual, family rallied and surrounded Gish when she needed them the most. “My family consists of my parents and my brother, they earned sainthood in my eyes,” Gish said. “My brother, Paul, flew in from Montana to help care for me after my bilateral mastectomy. My father, Tom, mowed my yard and drove me to doctor appointments for the whole year of 2016. My mom, Marlene, fixed food for me — a much bigger problem than you might imagine — and helped me decide how to proceed with treatments.”

Finding a “I was miserable, each bone hurt like I’d been beaten in the ring by Mike Tyson

A dear friend, John Hughes, was a further inspiration for her, she said.

CURE

The Joplin Globe salutes breast cancer survivors and would like you to join us in our salute by donating to find a cure.

“We have a closed group on Facebook for patients in our area; those of us who have ‘been there done that’ answer questions for those who have been recently diagnosed, even to the point of advising them to go to the ER. If I have material items that another can use then I pass it on; for example, I’ve given away one wig (which had been given to me) to another patient,” she said. “I try to help others with cash when I can. I want to share my story if it gives hope to those with cancer or it gets someone to get early checkups if they do not have cancer. “We women are raised to be caretakers,” she continued, “not the one needing care, but cancer treatment is so much larger than we are. Don’t try to tough it out; allow others in to help you.” “(So) I tell everyone, ‘Don’t do what I did.’ Pay attention and just do mamagrams. If it weren’t for pneumonia, I’d probably still be running around completely unaware (today).”

| SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2017 | THE JOPLIN GLOBE

By Kevin McClintock kmcclintock@joplinglobe.com

Hacking and coughing and feeling more than a bit under the weather, Peggy Stanton dragged herself to convenient care to help stave off a nasty bout of pneumonia. That day, April 23, 2017, is a memorable one for her: it was her birthday. Sadly, it was memorable for another reason, as well. “I went to (Mercy Convenient Care) because it was a Sunday and they took chest X-rays and yes, I had pneumonia,” Stanton said, “but by the time I got home they were on the phone, calling.” The radiologist had found a suspicious-looking spot in her lung after scrutinizing her chest X-rays. “So they set up for me to have a 3-D mammogram and a couple of other tests because (of that spot on her lung) and it turned out, through the mammogram, that they’d found something else,” she said. That something else, of course, was cancer. “I had been aware of the lumps on my right breast (but) I was ignoring them because they always turned out to be cysts,” Stanton said. In this case, “the pneumonia probably saved my life.” She had Stage II cancer, though thankfully it had not yet spread to other areas in her body. More

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS SERIES

’THE PNEUMONIA PROBABLY

SAVED MY LIFE’ Flu bug helps doctors discover cancer

importantly, her lymph nodes were clear. “I was pretty devastated at first,” she said of her diagnosis. “You know, you think of everything, your morality suddenly becomes very up in your face. I will tell you that the first two weeks were difficult. For me; for my whole family, emotionally and mentally.” On top of the emotional swirl of coming to grips with the diagnosis is having to decide, rather quickly, how the cancer will be treated. “You have to have this test done and you have to have that test done, and I had a problem making a decision on what type of surgery I was going to have; what path I was going to take,” Stanton said. On one hand, she could go the route of the lumpectomy. But that involves radiation. Or she could go the mastectomy route with no radiation. The decision was a rather easy one for her. Besides, her husband had survived throat cancer; he was treated with both chemotherapy and radiation. The latter, she said, “was so tiring it just took every bit of energy he’s ever had. “My family has a history with cancer, so I’m familiar with radiation,” Stanton continued, “and I did not want radiation. That was just absolutely not (in the works). I tried to get my doctor(s) (general practitioner Dr. J. Wayne

Dailey and surgeon Dr. Kenneth Watts, both with Mercy Joplin) to tell me what my best path would be, but (they) wouldn’t. (They) told me that was something that I had to choose. And that was the hardest part.” Why? “I come from a generation that, when I was younger, the doctor said you do A, B, C or D. And so that’s still there.” Patient input is much more prevalent in the decision-making process in medicine these days. “Making a choice was the hardest part for me.” She finally chose to have a double mastectomy, despite the fact that cancer was found only in one of her breasts. It would ensure, later in life, the cancer wouldn’t creep back into the remaining breast. “I knew the mastectomy would circumvent the radiation, but with a lumpectomy and no radiation, the recurrence percentage is 50 percent,” Stanton said, “so you have to have the radiation in that. And that played a large factor (with my decision).

A bout of pneumonia helped lead to Peggy Stanton’s diagnosis, which saved her life.

have a good support system. My husband was like, ‘Whatever you want to do, it’s what you need to do.’”

“Once I made the choice,” the 69-year-old continued, “it was easy. I’m glad I did what I did, and if I had to do it again I’d do it.”

Because her cancer was hormone driven, and because she chose a double mastectomy, she was spared both chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She is now undergoing reconstruction surgery on her chest and her final surgery occurred this past week.

Body image never entered the equation, she added. “I had and know a lot of women who have issues with their image, (but) that was never an issue for me. I

She cautions others to never put off their self-examinations or mammograms, no matter how frustrating the process can be at times.

“It had gotten to the point to where … when I had the mammogram, and we’d have … to do an ultrasound, and then I’d get the phone call, ‘we’re not quite sure,’ so I’d have to go back (where it was proven to be benign and nothing more than a cyst), and after three or four different times, the ups and downs, it became an issue with me. “(So) I tell everyone, ‘Don’t do what I did.’ Pay attention and just do them. If it weren’t for pneumonia, I’d probably still be running around completely unaware (today).”