Heather Johnson / The North Platte Telegraph
Sue Condon of North Platte watches in a mirror as Shannon Roggow, cosmetologist, cuts her hair on Sept. 27. The hair will be donated to the Locks of Love program, to make wigs for cancer patients.
‘Every little bit helps’ North Platte cancer survivor donates hair to help others By HEATHER JOHNSON hjohnson@nptelegraph.com
Half of it is gone. And, Sue Condon feels better because of it. On Sept. 27, the North Platte woman sat in a chair at the Trends Hair Studio, cutting her long blonde strands so they could be used to make wigs for cancer patients. “Chop it off,” she said to Shannon Roggow, cosmetologist. Roggow lopped off a chunk just below Condon’s ears and handed it to Condon to hold. It wasn’t the first time Roggow had styled Condon’s hair because of cancer — the two
women go way back. Condon was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2002 — two years after her older sister, Vera Horn, received the same diagnosis. “She ended up being my mentor through everything,” Condon said. “I have four sisters and three of us have had breast cancer. My paternal grandmother had it. Vera started out with it, but ended up passing away from pancreatic cancer. She had seven different kinds of cancer by the time she died in 2007.” Condon found her lump. She and her husband, Bill, had been celebrating their anniver-
sary with a trip at the time. Because their children were planning to have a party for them when they got home, Sue waited to go to the doctor until the day after the party so the fun wouldn’t be ruined. She went to a nurse practitioner first, who advised her to have a biopsy. “After that, it was a whirlwind,” Sue said. “It happened so fast. I was in surgery four times. Dr. Timothy O’Holleran was my physician, and initially, he thought the spot was small enough to do a lumpectomy.” During the process, he found another tumor. Altogether, Sue had five. “I’m grateful that he ran into another one, or the others would have Please see the next page
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continued to grow without me knowing,” Sue said. Her lymph nodes were analyzed next, to see if the cancer had spread. It had. Two out of the nine lymph nodes tested positive. “It was a shock, but it wasn’t a non-manageable shock,” she said. “Cancer was something that as a woman, I always knew could happen. I said to my doctor, ‘Take care of me like you would your mom, your sister, your wife.’” Sue underwent a mastectomy followed by a series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Because the cancer was up against her chest wall, the concern was that the disease could move to her bones. She did four rounds of chemo — one every three weeks. After that, she went through 35 rounds of radiation. “Sometimes, Vera would call and ask if I had a treatment scheduled. She said she knew when I did because she could taste it,” Sue said. “She could taste the flush solution for the IV, which is horrible. I could taste it the minute it went into my arm. It was like rubbing alcohol in my mouth.” Another time, Horn called to see how Sue’s hair was doing. Sue told her it was fine. Horn took a detour through North Platte on her way home from
Heather Johnson / The North Platte Telegraph
Sue Condon of North Platte holds up chunks of hair she had cut off on Sept. 27. The hair will be donated to the Locks of Love program to make wigs for cancer patients. Arizona, anyway. “Then, my hair started falling out,” Sue said. “Vera would tell me later she planned it that way. She wanted to be here for me the day I would lose my hair.” Sue said Horn was an inspiration. The day Horn died, at age 67, she served eight people Thanksgiving dinner. “She lived her life to the very last minute she could,” Sue said. “I believe it doesn’t matter what you’re going
through in life — we all need a mentor. My sister was my mentor, and I know how motivational she was to me.” Sue relied on the rest of her family for support as well. Her friends could always be counted on to lend a helping hand. “They were never offended if they came over, and I asked if they could dust or run the dishwasher,” Sue said. Because of her experiences, she also met a
new group of friends. “There’s a lot of things in my life I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t a cancer a survivor,” Sue said. “The Painting Princesses is one.” The group, made up entirely of cancer survivors who enjoy painting, is what really brought out Sue’s artistic side. “I was a crafter before, and I sold art through my home interior business, but it was someone else’s work,” Sue said. “I’ve gained a new appreciation for all arts, whether that be paintings, music or writing.” Creating watercolors was just what Sue needed to help take her mind off her health. “I’m not one to lay in bed if I can’t sleep,” she said. “At that point, I could take naps, but I couldn’t sleep for long. So, my kids would see me start a piece before they went to bed, and when they got up in the morning, they would see it finished. That was fun.” Sue has since filled her family’s walls with her creations. Her pieces have won local competitions and made it to state shows. She has also done commissioned pieces and is involved with the Art and Gift Gallery in North Platte. But, those aren’t the best parts. “I’ve gained a new family by joining the
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Painting Princesses,” Sue said. “The cancer isn’t what we talk about. We talk about life. It’s an uplifting environment, and it shows people they can do something they didn’t think they could do. And, that’s what living with cancer is all about.” Sue has been cancerfree for 10 years. The anniversary came and went this year without Condon realizing it. “I didn’t even know until someone brought it to my attention,” she said. “When I thought about it, it was a great feeling.” A couple of months ago, Sue was able to give back to the facility that helped her survive. Lyle and Byron Barksdale, pathologists at Great Plains Regional Medical Center, commissioned her to do a painting of the front of the hospital. The piece was given to a retiring medical transcriptionist. This week, Sue gave back again by cutting her hair for the Locks of Love program. Her own hair had fallen out two
3
months after her diagnosis. “I bought some sun hats, but they were too big because I didn’t have any hair to hold them in place,” she said. “So, I wore a wig on special occasions, but otherwise, I was a baseball cap girl. I had a cap to match every outfit.” When her hair did grow back, it was brown instead of her natural blonde. Roggow taught her how to manage it. “The chemo makes hair come back differently,” she said. “Mine was so kinky, I couldn’t get my fingers through it. I loved it when it was two inches long though, because it was so fun to have it coming back.” That’s part of why Sue made the decision to donate the strands to charity. “When you don’t have hair, you realize it’s not that important,” she said. “But, it’s still part of your character. I want to give confidence to someone else. Every little bit helps when you’re going through something like cancer.”
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NP woman beats cancer with humor, faith Gaye Fudge: ‘You’ve got to keep the laughter and sun in things’ By HEATHER JOHNSON hjohnson@nptelegraph.com
Some can laugh about it and some can’t. That’s how Gaye Fudge sums up the various attitudes women have toward breast cancer. She credits humor for helping her to both cope and bounce back from her own struggles with the disease. “You’ve got to keep the humor going, because when it’s gone, there’s nothing left,” Fudge said. “I’ve lost my humor in other ways, but not to cancer.” Fudge was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of 2002, just after her 61st birthday. She was diligent about doing self-checks at home, and because fiber cysts had been found in both of her breasts several years before, she also did yearly mammograms. It was during one of those mammograms that doctors noticed a spot. “Back then, they just said ‘Let’s watch it.’ It was the common thing to do,” Fudge said. “So, for all these years we had been watching it, and one year it had grown enough that the doctors became concerned.” A biopsy was conducted, followed by another mammogram. Her son, David Fudge, went to the doctor’s office with her to hear the results.
“David just felt he needed to be there, and I’m glad he was,” Gaye said. “When the doctor came in, he had a little book with him about how to handle breast cancer, and I knew right away what was wrong with me.” Gaye’s cancer was at Stage Two, which is considered medium level. It was also fast-moving. “I think the reason I didn’t fall apart when I found out was because I knew what was ahead of me,” Gaye said. “My grandfather had colon cancer, and I watched my husband, Carl, die from cancer over two and a half years.” Gaye said Carl’s cancer was found in his lungs in February 1981. She was by his side as he went through surgery to remove the lower left lobe of his lung, bounced back and forth between hospitals in Denver and Grant, was diagnosed with brain cancer and went through grueling radiation treatments that sent him into comas. “Based on that, I just felt like my diagnosis was what it was and I had to move forward,” Gaye said. “I knew someone was going to be there to help me and give me advice, and I did a lot of praying. I couldn’t have gotten through it without my faith in God.” Another surgery was done
Heather Johnson / The North Platte Telegraph
Gaye Fudge knits a scarf on Sept. 27 at her home in North Platte. Fudge was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Now cancerfree, she’s able to continue the hobbies she loves. to check Gaye’s lymph nodes and determine whether the cancer had spread. It had not. She was given a choice between radiation and chemotherapy to treat the areas in her breast. “After seeing how the radiation had practically immobilized Carl, I decided against that,” Gaye said. “My doctor asked if I was sure, and I said I was. He left the room, then came back, smiled and said I made the right decision.” Gaye did chemo treatments on Friday nights. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, she was put on IVs to keep her from vomiting from the drugs. Every Monday morning, she was back in the classroom teaching at Lincoln Elementary.
“The hardest thing was losing my hair,” she said. “I had beautiful hair. I covered the mirror and wouldn’t look at it for a long time.” Because she turned down the radiation, Gaye had to have a radical mastectomy. Doctors told her that if she had the affected breast, the left one, removed she would have to have a reduction on the other side to avoid being lopsided. Gaye decided to take them both off and not have either replaced with a prosthesis. She said keeping a light outlook on life made the ordeal easier for her to bear, and also helped her family, friends, physicians and caretakers. “Humor will get you
through a lot,” she said. “You’ve got to keep the laughter and sun in things.” It’s part of the reason why Gaye enjoys the Painting Princesses, a watercolor group for cancer survivors. “A real camaraderie is born when you’re surrounded by women who have all had cancer in one form or another,” Gaye said. “Members can talk about their health issues, and no one else in the group thinks they are weeping and wailing.” There are times when she thinks maybe if she had acted earlier she wouldn’t have had to go through what she did. “Now my stand when doctors say, ‘Let’s watch it,’ is to not watch it,” Gaye said. “If it’s watchable, then it will probably turn into something. If they want to watch it, then fine. They can watch it come out.” Her advice to those trying to cope with cancer is to look for ways to stay upbeat. “It’s scary, but you just have to keep going and thank God for every little good thing that happens,” Gaye said. “Don’t automatically think of it as a death warrant. It’s not the end. It’s the beginning of a new life, and a lot of positives will come out of it. They did for me.” Gaye said she’s now able to encourage others because of her own experiences. Her faith has also been strengthened. “If people don’t believe in God, that’s ok,” she said. “But, my God was with me the whole way.”
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Cancer not a ‘death sentence’ Speck survives sudden breast cancer diagnosis with family’s support By ANDREW BOTTRELL abottrell@nptelegraph.com
Diane Speck likes birthdays. After surviving breast cancer two years ago, she likes celebrating another year of life and growing old. “I want to sit on the porch in a rocking chair with my husband,” she said. In April 2010, Speck went to see her doctor about something completely unrelated to cancer. But during the procedure her doctor found a lump on her breast and ordered a biopsy immediately. Speck previously had Andrew Bottrell / The North Platte Telegraph been diagnosed fibrocystic, so she had already had several Diane Speck was diagnosed with cancer in April lumpectomies in the past. 2010. Two years later, she is cancer free, and looking “They were concerned, so they forward to growing old with her husband. did surgery,” she said. “I was sur-
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prised because of all the lumps I had prior.” Five days later, after testing, her doctor called her back. “You’re never ready to hear that you have cancer,” Speck said. The cancerous lump was smaller than a centimeter and low grade, stage one cancer, so she didn’t need chemotherapy, but her doctor did set her up on radiation treatment. It was a quick process, she said, going in for her checkup in April, an immediate biopsy and surgery and radiation treatments were finished by September. Two years later, she still takes a medication that she will have to take for five years after the diagnosis, but she is cancer free. Speck’s support group, she said, was her husband, Rick, and her son, Cody, who helped her through tough times. “If I was having a bad day, [my husband] would say, ‘We’ll get
through this together,’” she said. “I just kept going forward.” And that is her advise for other breast cancer patients, as well – keep going, day by day, and to stay positive. “People are diagnosed with cancer every day, and because of that, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence,” Speck said. Speck also joined the Painting Princesses, a support group for cancer survivors in North Platte. She said it’s another avenue for people coping with cancer to network, and to help each other through the process. “They are a great support system,” she said. “And, I love to paint, so we have a good time.” Speck said that the group helped her get through a diagnosis of lymphedema after lymph nodes were removed from her arm, because others in the group had experienced the same complication. “We visit about all sorts of things in that group,” she said.
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Women ‘Look Good, Feel Good’ despite chemo Program helps patients cope with physical changes due to treatment By ANDREW BOTTRELL abottrell@nptelegraph.com
Chemotherapy can change a woman’s body. Hair falls out, skin dries up and sometimes women lose their eyelashes and eyebrows. The Look Good, Feel Better program at Great Plains Regional Medical Center helps women cope with these changes as they battle breast cancer. Marlayna Blanchard, a hair stylist at Studio 54 and owner of Wigging Out in North Platte, teaches the class on
second Mondays of every other month. She’ll hold a new class on Oct. 8. For a couple hours, she teaches cancer patients how to apply makeup to their changing face, and puts wigs on them to help them feel better after losing their hair in chemotherapy. She said the makeover improves women’s self-confidence. “Everything is OK then, because they look so darn good,” Blanchard said. “Right away they start smiling, and they give me hugs.” Women can also experience other changes to their body, as well. “Their nails get quite thin, and they have to be careful to not cut the cuticle because the skin is
more fragile,” she said. “There tends to also be a loss of color in the skin.” The class, Blanchard said, gets women’s minds off of the cancer for a few hours. “I’ve got such nice cards that they’ve sent me,” she said. “For a woman the fear is shaving their hair. But, when I try a wig on them and look at them, most of the wigs look better than our hair. I wear one a lot of the time too. [The patients] are so happy then.” Blanchard, who got involved five years ago when the hospital approached her about starting a program, called teaching the class a rewarding experience. She recounted a story about a woman who at-
tended the class, but was unable to afford one of the wigs. “One time there was a girl there and I brought a demo wig to show them. This girl didn’t have any money. That wig was just meant for her,” she said. “I put it on her and said, ‘Here, it’s yours.’ It brought tears to her eyes, and to mine.”
Blanchard sells the wigs of various brands through her business, Wigging Out, but she said she tries to help every woman battling cancer, regardless of finances, get a wig. To sign up for the class, or for more information, call Blanchard at 520-3803. Blanchard can also help women in between the classes.
“I will have them come to my house, if they can’t make the class or if they need it sooner,” she said. “I’m just kind of there for them.” Blanchard said she also provides private consultations at either her home or the patient’s home for women who don’t want to attend the class.
Andrew Bottrell / The North Platte Telegraph
The Look Good, Feel Better program, administered by Marlayna Blanchard helps breast cancer patients through their chemotherapy by helping them do their makeup and put on a wig.
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There’s more help for cancer patients than ever Thanks to early detection, increased awareness, cancer survival rates rising By DIANE WETZEL dwetzel@nptelegraph.com
A quarter of a million new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States. During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the American Cancer Society is reminding women about the importance in breast health. Close to three million breast cancer survivors will celebrate another birthday this year, thanks to the progress being made in prevention awareness and treatment. After increasing for more than two decades, the rate of female breast cancer cases began to decreasing in 2000, dropping by 7 percent
from 2002 to 2003. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since 1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. According to the American Cancer Society, the decreases are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening and increased awareness. One out of every two women newly diagnosed with breast cancer reaches out to the American Cancer Society for help and support, according to an email from Brian Ortner, regional director of communications for
the High Plains Division of the American Cancer Society. The society recommends that women age 40 and older get a mammogram and clinical breast exam every year and report any breast changes to their doctor. For more than 40 years, women and men facing a diagnosis of breast cancer have been helped by Society’s Reach to Recovery Program. At the same time they are feeling overwhelmed by the diagnosis, breast cancer patients are trying to understand complex medical treatments. Reach for Recovery volunteers are trained to help, to provide some comfort and to assist in making informed decisions. Volunteers are breast cancer survivors who provide patients and family members the opportunity to
talk about their fears and worries. According to the American Cancer Society’s website www.cancer.org, volunteers are trained in the latest information and are fully adjusted to their breast cancer treatment. They can offer support, understanding and hope because they have survived breast cancer and go on to have normal, productive lives. Newly-diagnosed patients and their loved ones can call 800-227-2345 or go to the website for free information about Reach to Recovery. Available 24 hours a day, callers will receive information, answers and emotional support. Through face to face visits or by phone, Reach to Recovery volunteers provide support for people recently diagnosed with breast cancer or
those facing a possible breast cancer diagnosis, those who want to know more about lumpectomy’s and/or mastectomy’s and patients who are having or completed treatment such as chemotherapy and radiation. Volunteers will be there for people considering breast reconstruction, who have been diagnosed with lympedema or those facing breast cancer reoccurrence or metastasis, (the spread of cancer to another part of the body. To find out about local support programs, where Society volunteers will drive breast cancer patients to treatment, and survivors will support newly diagnosed patients through their breast cancer journey, contact the Kearney American Cancer Society office at (308) 2371631.
A Time To Heal helps survivors thrive after cancer By DIANE WETZEL dwetzel@nptelegraph.com
Welcome to the rest of your life. When Dr. Kay Ryan of Omaha was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago, her best friend went through it with her. “When my treatment was over, I was feeling pretty beat up,” Ryan said. “I am a nurse and a former cardiac rehab nurse and I kept asking, ‘Where’s the rehab for this?’” There isn’t any, her friend Dr. Stephanie Koraleski said. Koraleski, a psychologist for a cancer treatment program, told Ryan that everybody asks about cancer rehab. The two friends decided to find a rehab program for breast cancer
survivors, and when they couldn’t, they created one. “I realized the value of helping someone get back on their feet in mind, body and spirit,” Ryan said. “We combined all the research available at the time.” A Time to Heal helps breast cancer survivors not merely survive, but thrive. Ryan and Koraleski believe that like people who have cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack, cancer survivors need help in recovering from cancer and cancer treatment. “It’s much more than a support group,” Ryan said. “We studied all the evidence based interventions that could help breast cancer survivors recover their health, hope and lives and put it all together in one pro-
gram. It’s a smorgasbord, and all we ask is that people who take the program be open to tasting everything.” North Platte Nurse and breast cancer survivor Shirleen Smith
learned about the program several years ago and applied for a grant to receive facilitator training. The money provided training for Smith and two facilitators. The first class
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graduated in 2009. “I went through the surgeries and chemotherapy and radiation,” Smith said. “At that time there wasn’t anything like this program available.”
While taking the training, Smith learned she had more to learn. “I didn’t think I needed any additional help,” she said. “But I learned a lot.”
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New breast cancer clues are found in gene analysis NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists reported Sunday that they have completed a major analysis of the genetics of breast cancer, finding four major classes of the disease. They hope their work will lead to more effective treatments, perhaps with some drugs already in use. The new finding offers hints that one type of breast cancer might be vulnerable to drugs that already work against ovarian cancer. The study, published online Sunday by the journal Nature, is the latest example of research into the biological details of tumors, rather than focusing primarily on where cancer arises in the body.
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After several years, Smith transferred the program over to Great Plains Regional Medical Center’s Callahan Cancer Center. Nan Hynes is one of the facilitators at the Callahan Cancer Center that run the 12-week classes. “If I had to sum up the program, I would say it’s about learning to live life with intent, and how to have the best life from this day on,” Hynes said. Breast cancer survivors who participate in the class have the opportunity to ask questions and share experiences. “We talk about building resilience and the skills of survivors,” Hynes said. “Basically all of us go through difficult times, and in the class we talk about how we are thinking about it and about building on and adding to you own protection factors.” Some refer to going through cancer treatment as a battle, Hynes likes to think of it as journey.
The hope is that such research can reveal cancer’s genetic weaknesses for better drug targeting. “With this study, we’re one giant step closer to understanding the genetic origins of the four major subtypes of breast cancer,” Dr. Matthew Ellis of the Washington University School of Medicine said in a statement. He is a co-leader of the research. “Now we can investigate which drugs work best for patients based on the genetic profiles of their tumors,” he said. The researchers analyzed DNA of breast cancer tumors from 825 patients, looking for abnormalities.
“There are times during that journey when you have to battle, but it is a journey we have to go through, whether we wanted to or not,” she said. “People are there because they are survivors.” A Time to Heal meets once a week for 12 weeks. Each session begins with gentle stretching exercises. “It’s not real strenuous,” Hynes said. “It’s designed to get everyone moving again.” Each weekly session features a specific topic of discussion such as nutrition, relationships, relaxation, spirituality and femininity. “We do ask that people make a commitment to the class,” Hynes said. “If you are going to learn the skills and how to live life with intent, you deserve to give yourself that commitment.” For information about A Time to Heal, contact the Callahan Cancer Center at (308) 696-7386, “It is a wonderful program,” Smith said. “It has tools that anyone can use and supportive ideas that can help anybody.”
Research on cancer survivors has shown that people who have information, who make healthy choices, and feel able to make a difference in their own lives can do very well after treatment, according to the My Time to Heal website. “The program is a combination of a lot of things,” Ryan said. “It’s the best research of what helps and it gives survivors permission to choose. It helps them get their power back. Survivors heal each other. When they start talking with other people who have been through breast cancer, they learn they are not alone, that they are not odd. They receive a lot of hope and encouragement.” The program is free. “We have teams all along the Interstate 80 corridor in Nebraska and in none other states,” Ryan said. “Right now we have more than a dozen active teams.” The Susan G. Komen for Nebraska foundation has been one of the biggest cheerleaders and supporters of the program, she said.