Worthy women 2015 by Suburban Newspapers

WORTHY WOMEN

WW om or enthy

Honoring fighters and survivors of breast cancer

October 14, 2015 A supplement of Suburban Newspapers Inc.

join us

Recognizing breast cancer fighters and survivors

Suburban Newspapers Inc. will honor seven women throughout Sarpy County who have shown tremendous courage and grace while battling breast cancer. The 2015 Worthy Women of Distinction event will be held on Oct. 22 at Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch.

Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be served beginning at 4:30 p.m., with the presentation and honoree recognition starting at 5:30 p.m. Honorees will receive an Ashley Arthur pink crystal ribbon pendant. Sherry Wachtler will again be the emcee for the evening.

save the date • Oct. 22 — Social gathering begins at 4:30 p.m.; program from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. • Bellevue Berry & Pumpkin Ranch at 11001 S. 48th St. • Tickets are $30, of which $10 is donated to Susan G. Komen Nebraska. • Admission includes hors d’oeuvres, dinner and two free drink tickets. • Order tickets by Oct. 16. Email echo@bellevueleader. com or call 402-505-3624. • Presented by Suburban Newspapers Inc. and Red Ribbon Sponsor: Shadow Lake Towne Center. Floral sponsor is Town & Country Floral from Gretna.

Worthy women of distinction — THE 2015 HONOREES Kristi Cornish: She hopes her story will inspire others who might be in a cancer battle of their own. Find her story on Page 3

Leola Eisner: After the loss of her daughter and husband, Eisner battled her disease, and today is cancer free. Find her story on Page 4

Becky Pribil: Pribil went through bouts with breast cancer at the age of 42 and again at 55. But her attitude is positive. Find her story on Page 5

Debby Shortino: Shortino, whose mother died of breast cancer, had been vigilant about mammograms Find her story on Page 8

Kathy Smith: Faith, family and friends got Smith through one of the biggest struggles of her life. Find her story on Page 8

2014 Worthy Women Honorees

Diane Sullivan: Every year on her son’s birthday, Sullivan gets a mammogram. In 2013, the results of her screening set her on a challenging fight. Find her story on Page 10

In honor of a tireless promoter By Tom Knox SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS INC.

s u b u rban newspapers inc .

The 2014 Worthy Women of Distinction were, from left, Eileen Boslaugh, Tami Gast-Kohrell, Martha Todd, Gina Simon, Shannon Falkinburg, Kristi Miskimins and Kay Burggraff.

worthy women of distinction Special Sections Editor: Shelley Larsen • Section Designer: Tom Knox • Retail Advertising Manager: Dan Matuella • Special Projects Manager: Paul Swanson This special section is published by Suburban Newspapers Inc. To advertise in future sections, contact Marie Douglas at 402-444-1202.

Shirley Williams: Stomach problems sent Williams to her doctor. But the trouble went away after a mammogram revealed a lump. Find her story on Page 11

After Kim Jones-Sudbeck passed away at the end of August, a scholarship fund was created in her honor. She had battled breast cancer for seven years. With a sunny disposition and a passion for life, Jones-Sudbeck had organized events and promotions as marketing director for Village Pointe. She was also an enthusiastic artist, photographer and runner who loved to travel. Kim’s Passion Fund was created to honor Jones-Sudbeck’s passion for marketing work. Scholarships will be granted to college students who are majoring in marketing and are pursuing a passion that is similar to hers. Sarah Herting, marketing coordinator at Shadow Lake Towne Center, had worked closely with Kim and is trying to spread the

KIM’S PASSION FUND To make a donation or learn more about the scholarship, visit kimspassionfund. mydagsite.com. word about the fund. “The more we can raise, the more we are honoring Kim,” Herting said. Herting is also striving to get the merchants and restaurant tenants of both centers and the greater Omaha and Sarpy community involved in the cause. Herting isn’t working just to create awareness for Kim’s Passion Fund, but for breast cancer as well. With events such as Big Pink Breakfast, sponsored by Nebraska Medicine-Bellevue, Shadow Lake Towne Center is encouraging women to get checked and to schedule mammograms. As with so many cancers, early detection is crucial in the fight against breast cancer.

All you need is love

k ristan g ray s u b u rban newspapers I N C .

Kristi Cornish relied on her positive attitude and the strength of her loved ones to pull her through the experience of cancer treatments.

Hoping to inspire others with her survival story By Kristan Gray suburban newspapers INC.

The more you share your cancer story, the less power you give the cancer. As a breast cancer survivor, Kristi Cornish said she feels strongly about that philosophy, so as one of the 2015 Worthy Women award winners, she hopes her story will inspire others who are in a cancer battle of their own. Cornish also feels strongly that early detection is the key to overcoming cancer. Although she conducted self exams often, she wasn’t diligent about it, she said. “I found a lump one evening at home,” Cornish said. It was time for my regular mammogram, so I called and went in right away.” That was Sept. 17, 2013. Soon afterward, she got a phone call from the doctor’s office wanting to schedule an appointment. She soon heard the doctor say there was a 30 percent chance that she had cancer. But because Cornish was under age 50 and had no family history of breast cancer, more testing was needed. By Oct. 25, she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. “It’s the most common type of breast cancer,” she said. “It is hormone receptor positive, which means it grows in the presence of the estrogen.”

Less than three months later, on Jan. 2, 2014, she had a single mastectomy. A microscopic cancer cell was found in a lymph node that had been removed, so she had four rounds of chemotherapy, then a final reconstruction surgery that August. “After you receive word you have cancer, your mind swims and you’re in a fog. I heard recently that with cancer, you have a year of hell and then things get better. It’s really true. We lost all of 2014. It’s just a blur of dealing with appointments and tests and surgeries,” Cornish said. But Dr. James Reilly and his nurse, Kathryn Simone, calmed the nerves of Cornish and her husband, Dave. “They explained things in a way that a non-medical person could understand and made me feel like I was their only patient,” she said. She and her husband created fun during her treatments, she said, by dubbing the time as thier “chemo dates.” “Going through cancer is the most stressful thing we’ve ever gone through as a couple, but it brought us closer and made us appreciate the little things more. And some things that were a big deal to me before aren’t anymore,” Cornish said. Feeling that she had a lot of living left, Cornish wanted to be around for her family and fought to do whatever it took to get better. “My positive attitude got me through. That’s the key. Granted, I had bad days. I don’t want anyone to think it was roses and sunshine, but staying positive gives you strength to get through it. Surround-

NEBRASKA CANCER SPECIALISTS is proud to honor all breast cancer fighters and survivors. You have our support and admiration.

Congratulations to the 2015 Worthy Women award winners.

“After you receive word you have cancer, your mind swims and you’re in a fog. I heard recently that with cancer, you have a year of hell and then things get better. It’s really true. We lost all of 2014. It’s just a blur of dealing with appointments and tests and surgeries.” Kristi Cornish ing yourself with positive people is very important,” Cornish said. Full disclosure was given to her sons, Christopher, 17, and Kyle, 13, she said. She’s proud of how well her boys handled the journey. “We told the boys everything. I think that’s what helped, but even though I was scared on the inside, I didn’t show that to them, because I didn’t want them to worry,” Cornish said. “Kyle is my pink warrior — he wears pink all the time. I think that’s important for him. His baseball team wore pink jerseys in my honor, which made him See Cornish: Page 6

Margaret Block, M.D.

John M. Longo, M.D.

M. Salman Haroon, M.D.

Geetha Palaniappan, M.D.

Ralph J. Hauke, M.D.

David A. Silverberg, M.D.

Timothy K. Huyck, M.D.

Gamini S. Soori, M.D.

Robert M. Langdon, Jr., M.D.

Yungpo Bernard Su, M.D.

Kirsten M. Leu, M.D.

Stefano R. Tarantolo, M.D.

CHI Health Cancer Center - Bergan (402) 393-3110 Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center (402) 354-8124 Midwest Cancer Center Papillion (402) 593-3141 Midwest Cancer Center Legacy (402) 334-4773 Health Park Plaza - Fremont Health (402) 941-7030

THANK YOU! Thanks to the generosity and support of sponsors, participants and volunteers for the 2015 Race for the Cure® held on October 4, Susan G. Komen Nebraska® continues to advance the fight against breast cancer.

• •

Seventy-five percent of Race for the Cure® net funds support local programs in Nebraska. In 2014, Komen Nebraska awarded more than $577,000 to Nebraska organizations for education, screening and treatment programs for women and men in need. Over the past five years, programs have touched more than 76,000 Nebraskans.

GLOBAL IMPACT •

• •

Twenty-five percent of Race for the Cure® net funds support groundbreaking national research. Susan G. Komen is the largest private funder of breast cancer research –$889 million to date. Since its founding, five-year breast cancer survival rates have risen from 74 percent to nearly 99 percent in the U.S.

Thanks to your support, we are one step closer to our mission to end breast cancer forever. Premier Local Sponsors ($40,000)

Platinum Sponsors ($20,000) Methodist Health System Select Van & Storage Silver Sponsors ($10,000) Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center Hancock & Dana, PC Marathon Ventures Nebraska Cancer Specialists Omaha World-Herald Waitt Outdoor Bronze Sponsors ($5,000) Abe’s Trash Service, Inc. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Centris Federal Credit Union CHI Health CQuence Health Group First Data Oriental Trading Merck Animal Health Metro Magazine Mutual of Omaha Oak View Mall The Scoular Company Sunbelt Bakery The Reader University of Nebraska at Omaha Veterinary Eye Specialists of Nebraska Westroads Mall

By Eugene Curtin suburban newspapers INC.

LOCAL IMPACT •

After losing a daughter and her husband, and battling her own illness, today she is cancer free

Crystal Sponsors ($2,500) Borsheims Celgene Midwest Ford Travel and Transport, Inc. Pink Sponsors ($1,000) Big Frog Custom T-Shirt Courtyard by Marriott Aksarben Village Dr. Janet Grange J&S Audio Visual Rochester Armored Car Co., Inc. Simply Well LLC Valley Boys Roofing

Leola Eisner’s upbeat disposition makes it hard to tell that she endured a triple punch in recent years, a barrage that would have knocked most people out cold. In January 2009 her 25-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was found dead at a friend’s apartment. She had choked and was found before the open door of a refrigerator. Life’s blows do not come much harder than that, but for Eisner the fires of misfortune would soon fan into a major conflagration. In June 2011 she was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer, early enough that today she is considered cancerfree, though not before enduring a double mastectomy, rounds of debilitating chemotherapy and developing a major case of depression. And even then the gathering storm had not fully broken. That cataclysm occurred in August 2011 when her husband, Fred, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the esophagus, a terminal diagnosis that estimated he would live between nine months and three years more. His diagnosis came just three months after hers, and, the cards continuing to fall badly for Eisner. He would live only to the low end of his doctor’s projection. “I asked the doctors not to lie to me,” she said. “You know what we’ve got, you know what we’re going through. Prepare me. Tell me where my bus is going.” That journey began in Wahpeton, North Dakota, where Fred and Leola both worked part time at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, she a checker and he a carryout. Fred was studying at the North Dakota State School of Science, and he showed a scientist’s patience in asking her out. She eventually, said yes, “just because.” “Just because” soon became “I do.” They married in 1974. She was 18 and he was 22. They were married for 38 years. Leola’s road to Omaha ran through Breckenridge, Minnesota, where she

E u g ene C u rtin s u b u rban newspapers I N C .

Leola Eisner’s daughter died two years before her breast cancer diagnosis. Her husband, Fred, was diagnosed with cancer three months after her diagnosis, and he died the following spring.

See Eisner: Page 7

Special Thanks Bravadas Mailing Sponsor Great Southern Bank Start Line Sponsor Intertech Water Station Sponsor Kiewit Finish Line Sponsor Omaha Performing Arts Team Sponsor Raisin’ Canes Water Station Sponsor Rotella Competitive Runner Sponsor SkyZone Kids for the Cure® Sponsor Westfield Plastic Surgery Survivor Area Sponsor Werner Enterprises Smile for the Cure Sponsor

Still standing despite triple punch

“I asked the doctors not to lie to me. You know what we’ve got, you know what we’re going through. Prepare me. Tell me where my bus is going.” Leola Eisner

Fortunate, healthy and happy

E ric T ay l or S u b u rban N ewspapers I N C .

Becky Pribil has gone through two battles with breast cancer.

“I had a woman seek me out because she knew I was a 20-year survivor, and she was in her first six months. My role is more to listen to them because I can understand what they’re going through.” Becky Pribil

This two-time cancer survivor enjoys giving back to others By Eric Taylor suburban newspapers INC.

Having gone through two battles with breast cancer, it would be understandable if Becky Pribil were bitter or angry with her situation. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Pribil went through bouts with breast cancer at the age of 42 and again at 55. Now 64, Pribil counts her blessings as a two-time survivor. “I’m very fortunate,” Pribil said. “I’m still here, and I’m healthy and happy. I’ve got to watch my children grow up, and I’m getting to watch my grandchildren grow up. Not everybody has that opportunity.” Cancer was something Pribil was always very aware of. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42, and it eventually claimed her life at 53. “I was very religious about getting checked,” Pribil said. “When I was 42, I went in for my mammogram, and they found a tiny spot. “They didn’t think much of it and told me to come back in six months, but I insisted we do more testing now. I needed to be sure and after they ran more tests, they found it was cancerous. “I was shocked, but I wasn’t because I guess I always feared I would end up with cancer at some point.” Following a lumpectomy, Pribil went through an aggressive four-month chemotherapy session, followed by more than 30 radiation treatments. “About a year out, I started feeling better, and my hair started to grow back, which was a big thing for me,” she said. “The chemo made me sick, and chemo brain had an impact on me, but that’s the way it goes. I was able to get through the treatment. “It was my first occurrence with cancer, and I had beat it. Now I was done.” But at 55, Pribil’s fight was far from over. “I felt a lump, and my first thought was, I don’t want to do this again,” she said. “But I had beat cancer once and I could do it again. I was scared, but I was positive, which was hard.” The second cancer was found in her other breast and had progressed further than her first diagnosis. She went through another lumpectomy,

followed by more chemo and radiation. After going through further testing, she chose to have a double mastectomy. “There were lots of surgeries and lots of visits with doctors,” she said. “I wondered why I was going through this again and is this time going to do me in? Getting over that was one of the first things I had to do.” Pribil said the support of her family has been a medicine she couldn’t do without. “My husband (Ken) has been a godsend and the greatest caregiver I could ask for,” she said. “My kids (Jennifer and Greg) have been there when I’ve needed them, and my grandkids have provided a great distraction. “I remember being with my grandson one day while I was going through treatments. I usually wore a wig, but this time I just had a knit cap on. I took off the cap, and my grandson saw that I was bald. He started getting mad at the doctor because he thought he’d made me bald.” Pribil admits she didn’t seek out the support of other cancer patients during her initial battle, but found that avenue to be very beneficial in her second fight. “After I got through it the first time, things were going well so I didn’t want to focus on cancer and be around people who were feeling sad,” she said. “But the second time I wanted to see what I could get from these meetings and support groups, and I found them to be very beneficial. I met so many great people, many of whom are still my friends.” She now spends one day each week at the Midwest Cancer Center, helping out with office work and lending a hand, or an ear, whenever she can. “You are around people who are going through the same thing you are,” Pribil said. “I had a woman seek me out because she knew I was a 20-year survivor, and she was in her first six months. My role is more to listen to them because I can understand what they’re going through.” Pribil is grateful she is around for her family and getting the chance to see her seven grandkids grow up. “There are people I met along the way who didn’t have the same outcome as me,” she said. “I’ve had my bad days, but staying positive has helped. If you wake up and say it’s going to be a great day, that’s a lot better than not wanting to get up.”

“I’ve had my bad days, but staying positive has helped. If you wake up and say it’s going to be a great day, that’s a lot better than not wanting to get up.” Becky Pribil

Together, we will fight to find the cure! Since 1958, Erwin’s Jewelry has taken pride in giving you rare quality service. All our work is done in our store.

Watchmakers - Goldsmiths Diamond and Stone Setting Engraving

Erwin’s Jewelers Co. Serving Bellevue since 1958 223 West Mission • Bellevue

402-291-2454

As an eye donor, you can give someone the gift of sight. sight

We are happy to honor & recognize the 2013 W Worthy Women recipients! Keep up the Fight! t!

Cuts, Cut C t Colors, C l Pe Perms, Manicu Manicures nicures & Spaa Pedicures Ped ptt tth “It hass he helped help h us e except the loss... knowingg th ourr lloss gave someone t that ve so sight. We W know w that he lives livve ves on in a way th that hat will w be cherished cherish risshed he and remembered.” rememb mbered.” mbe mb bered.” – Donor Family be F

For more information contact: Lions Eye Bank of Nebraska 800.225.7244 • 402.559.4039

Ha r stylin Hair styling for or men, women & childre wome children! We carry: Bio Biolage • American Crew • Matrix

7315 S. 36th Street 402-73 402-734-1990 Tue.-Fri. 9am – 6pm | Sat. 9 am – 4 pm Evenings by appointment

Congratulates ITS GRADUATES:

Kristi Cornish Kathy Smith Leola Eisner Diane Sullivan Becky Pribil Shirley Williams Debbie Shortino A Time to Heal provides wellness rehabilitation, support, and chemobrain classes for survivors and their caregivers.

www.mytimetoheal.org 402-401-6083

FIND CURE

the

Cornish: “My positive attitude got me through. That’s the key. Granted, I had bad days. I don’t want anyone to think it was roses and sunshine, but staying positive gives you strength to get through it. Surrounding yourself with positive people is very important.” Kristi Cornish

DON & RON’S

Continued from Page 3 feel less alone and that there were people who cared about him too.” She said her faith in God has strengthened — and so has her relationship with her husband. They celebrated their 23rd wedding anniversary on Oct. 10. “From the beginning, he said, ‘All you need is love.’ If I was having a bad day, he’d send me that in a text. It’s our mantra,” Cornish said. “Everybody picked up on it. I sent weekly emails to update family and friends and signed them with that mantra.” Friends, family and medical staff were of great support to her as well, she said. “Friends organized meals to be delivered for two weeks after my surgery — that took a huge load off me. And Kay Burggraff, my co-worker at Omaha Steaks (and one of last year’s Worthy Women) guided me along my journey,” Cornish said. “Kay also volunteers with A Time to Heal Foundation. That was the first step in my healing process after completing treatment. It’s a 12-week program, with a goal to teach you how to live your best life.” Project Pink’d was another source for her recovery. She participated in its programs and will be featured as “Miss July 2016” in the Project Pink’d calendar, she said. Calendars are $20 at projectpinkd.org and feature breast cancer survivors in Nebraska. This month, the Omaha Fire Department will donate $1 for every picture taken at the Project Pink’d fire hydrants located at the Firefighter’s Memorial in Omaha’s Riverfront and shared on social media with “#getpinkd.”

72nd & Q 402-331-5020 402 331 5020 donandronscollision.com

A Every Melanoma61aseconds, week an American dies isfrom diagnosed here. Melanoma. More than a thousand cured. Rustad Dermatology a melanoma Nodiscovers known local recurrence. every week. Schedule a general skin Schedule your specialized examinations Now! skin examination today!

402-484-6222

402-484-6222 Omaha 4242 Farnam St, Ste 142

Join Us to help put the brakes on breast cancer!

2204 PRATT AVENUE BELLEVUE, NE 402.291.3329 WWW.TUFFYBELLEVUE.COM

Honoring the strength, courage and confidence of breast cancer survivors...

it’s the American Way.

Lincoln

Bellevue 1919 South 40th2510 Street, Ste. 330 Bellevue Medical Center Dr.,

Ste 145 RustadDermatology.com

RustadDermatology.com

anbank.com • 32 locations in Nebraska and Iowa

Eisner: “We had faith, we had family — that’s the only way to get through it. You put one foot in front of another, a day at a time, sometimes 10 minutes at a time, you just do it.” Leola Eisner

Continued from Page 4 was raised and where she worked for 21 years as a long-distance telephone operator for AT&T, then continuing that job in Fargo, N.D., and then to Omaha where she finally switched tracks and began working at a drug store. Fred worked at St. Joseph Hospital, now Creighton University Medical Center, where he managed medical supplies. Like all storms, both Leola’s and Fred’s cancers began with troubling winds. A routine annual mammogram discovered a small lump where Leola had not had one the year before. Fred experienced difficulty swallowing and almost choked on a piece of steak while visiting his sister in Montana. Fred, with Leola’s assistance, lived at home as long as possible, and entered hospice care on May 27 at 10:30 a.m. No longer able to speak because his tumor was pressing against his vocal chords, Fred died the next day, at the age of 59. Today, Eisner sits in the sunny kitchen of her suburban Papillion home, butterfly decorations coloring her well-kept and cozy backyard, and thinks about how she emerged whole from so dark a storm. “We had good doctors,” she said. “We had faith, we had family — that’s the only way to get through it. You put one foot in front of another, a day at a time, sometimes 10 minutes at a time, you just do it.”

TOGETHER WE WILL FIGHT TO FIND A CURE!

www thi www.thinkbeardmore.com thinkbeardmore kb d com

That’s why families call us first.

Bellevue Memorial Chapel HEAFEY HEAFEY HOFFMANN DWORAK & CUTLER FUNERAL CHAPEL

402-291-5000

A multidisciplinary team approach, state-of-the-art technology and access to the latest clinical trials have made our breast care center a national leader in education, prevention and early detection. More important is the impact it’s had on our patients. bestcare.org/cancer

A family history

k atherine l es z c z yns k i s u b u rban newsapers I nc .

Because of a family history of breast cancer, her mother died of the cancer, Debby Shortino got regular screenings and caught her breast cancer early.

Not a worrier by nature

Ke l sey S tewart s u b u rban newspapers I nc .

Kathy Smith of Papillion was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2013. Faith, family and friends helped Smith throughout her battle with the disease.

A retired registered nurse, she didn’t know everything about her treatment options By Katherine Leszczynski SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS Inc.

Debby Shortino has always known the importance of getting regular screenings for breast cancer. “My mother died of breast cancer, so I had been vigilant about mammograms,” Shortino said. Shortino went to get a mammogram every six months so when something unusual was detected in November 2012, she and the doctors knew it could be serious. “It was picked up during a routine mammogram,” Shortino said. “We had picked it up early.” Doctors discovered a malignant tumor, stage 1A. Shortino was nervous, but just wanted to get all her procedures done and get everything over with as quickly as possible. And even though she was a retired registered nurse, she didn’t know everything about what her treatment options should be. “You get lost in the medical community,” she said. But Shortino did her homework. She

Even after the radiologist found a lump, she wasn’t overly concerned By Kelsey Stewart SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS Inc.

Faith. Family. Friends. Those three “Fs” got Kathy Smith through one of the biggest struggles of her life — beating breast cancer. “I think, in all of us being human, we’ll have struggles in our lifetime or disappointments, and with those three things, you can get through anything,” Smith said. “I don’t wish breast cancer on anyone, but I’m here to tell you it’s doable. And it’s doable because of those three things.” Smith, 60, went in for a routine mammogram in June 2013. She wasn’t alarmed when they told her she would need to come back for another one. They said they weren’t sure the machine was working properly. She still didn’t worry when, after the second mammogram, they wanted to do an ultrasound. Even when the radiologist said he found a lump, just shy of 8 centimeters long, she didn’t worry. “It might be something that’s in your mind, but I’m not a worrier,” Smith said. “I

formed a medical team with her surgeon, doctors, nurses navigators and cancer specialists. “It truly was a team working together on my behalf,” Shortino said. Shortino had surgery at Midlands Hospital and was told the cancer had not spread. She did not have to get chemotherapy treatments, but did need radiation treatments. “I don’t think I would ever get used to that,” she said. Shortino had all her treatments done and was faced with the biggest question. “OK now what?” Shortino said. “Cardiac patients have rehab. Diabetics get a treatment plan. The thing is that everyone’s cancer is so different. So everyone’s treatment and road to recovery is individual.” Shortino was at a doctor’s office after her surgery for a checkup when she saw a pamphlet for the program A Time to Heal, a 12-week program that takes a holistic approach to cancer recovery. “We had a chance to explore diet, medical and spiritual support,” Shortino said. “It was a big part of my recovery.” Shortino said that people just need to look under their nose for these treatment options. “I do know where my resources are now. I know where to go now,” she said. “Look at the stuff on the wall. You have to ask and look at the literature.”

“My mother died of breast cancer, so I had been vigilant about mammograms.” Debby Shortino

See Shortino: Page 9

worry when I have the facts. I won’t waste time worrying.” Biopsy results came back showing breast cancer and a month later, Smith had a double mastectomy. During the procedure, they also found cancer in Smith’s lymph nodes. She underwent eight chemotherapy treatments before completing 33 radiation treatments. “That’s your little flashing light,” Smith said. “You get to do chemo. The chemo and the radiation are kind of like your insurance policy of it not coming back.” Smith’s family has a history of cancer, and her husband, “Smitty,” always felt like it might show up. He and their two daughters, Sara and Abby, were scared by the diagnosis, Smith said. “No one wants your family to have cancer and that big “c” word is a scary word,” Smith said. “They were supportive. Everyone I know was supportive.” Chemo was hard for Smith. She felt fatigued. She lost her hair. Drugs made her mouth dry and her lips crack. And then she lost her eyelashes. “The eyelashes just made me cry,” Smith said. “It was like I was naked. It was like I had really lost myself. That was a low point which I never expected.” During her treatments, Smith had many people praying for her. But after completing them, she went through the Livestrong See Smith: Page 9

“It might be something that’s in your mind, but I’m not a worrier. I worry when I have the facts. I won’t waste time worrying.” Kathy Smith

Shortino: “There’s a lot out there and don’t be afraid to ask. It’s going to be different for everybody, but ask and find and build your team. It’s your show. You should do it the way you want. Give people the opportunity to do their job.” Debbie Shortino

Smith: “There’s that woman-towoman, sister-to-sister thing of just being open and honest. “I think we have a responsibility to help each other.” Kathy Smith

Continued from Page 8 That is also how she found Personal Threads, a knitting program that has helped her discover a love for needlework and has found friends in the group that meets twice a month. Shortino also said that women who discover they have breast cancer should know how much help is out there. “There’s a lot out there and don’t be afraid to ask. It’s going to be different for everybody, but ask and find and build your team. It’s your show. You should do it the way you want. Give people the opportunity to do their job,” Shortino said. Three years later, Shortino wouldn’t say she’s 100 percent cancer free since she still takes medications, but it has never spread or returned. Shortino doesn’t want any woman to go without a routine mammogram screening. “I know it’s not fun to go,” she said. “It’s uncomfortable. But look what you could be doing for yourself.”

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! ASHLEY ARTHUR PINK CRYSTAL RIBBON PENDANT ONLY $79.00

Continued from Page 8 program at the Sarpy County YMCA. She and her husband also joined the support group, A Time to Heal. It was important for her to see her husband, who acted as her caregiver, heal, too. “The caregivers aren’t heard from,” Smith said. “You’re always focusing on the patient and how they’re affected and where they are in their journey. This person closest to you, they’re deeply affected by what they’ve seen, the stress, the lack of control in your life and they need to heal.” Since her battle with breast cancer, Smith has gone on to educate other women about mammograms, early detection, reconstruction and dealing with loss. “There’s that woman-to-woman, sister-to-sister thing of just being open and honest,” Smith said. “I think we have a responsibility to help each other.”

Southeast corner of 15th & Cornhusker, Bellevue / 402-733-8800

Mon, Tue, Wed & Fri: 10 – 6 Thu: 10 – 7, Sat: 10 – 5

Staying positive is important “I always thought this was just a big bump in the road. I never thought of it as fatal.” Diane Sullivan

She has been cancer-free since May of last year By Rachel George SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS Inc.

Diane Sullivan gets a mammogram every year on Oct. 24, her son Ryan’s birthday. It’s always the same day, a memorable day, so that it’s scheduled and out of the way. Maybe it has to do with her dedication to organization. Sullivan owns her own business, The Organization Station, where she educates people on saving time and saving space. “What you’re trying to do is make people’s lives better by organizing,” Sullivan said. “A lot of people get overwhelmed by their stuff.” Whether it has to do with organization or not, Sullivan showed up for her mammogram on Oct. 24, 2013, as planned. The doctors didn’t like what they saw, passing the results on to a radiologist who scheduled Sullivan for a biopsy the very same day. “The very next day I was in

NPDodge Salutes the Women of Sarpy County Sarpy County women are making a difference. NPDodge salutes women for the leadership role they play in making the region an outstanding place to live, work and raise a family.

402-597-5008

www.npdodge.com

chemo,” Sullivan said. She went to chemo once a week, visiting the hospital three more times a week for liquids because she couldn’t stay hydrated. “I always thought this was just a big bump in the road,” Sullivan said. “I never thought of it as fatal.” Though Sullivan said she had kind of a rough time, she kept her positive attitude throughout. “The biggest thing for me was just knowing it was something I had to get through, just seeing the finish line and hoping that it’s there,” Sullivan said. Fellow chemo patients told her it was better to shave her head before she began losing clumps at a time so, Sullivan, a longtime Husker fan, shaved a Nebraska “N” into her head. Her doctor’s compassion, A Time to Heal and Livestrong at the YMCA made her feel like part of a family. A Time to Heal served as a 12week class for Sullivan and other cancer patients. “I just learned so many things I didn’t know,” Sullivan said. “You can’t absorb everything the doctor is telling you.” Now, Sullivan and those from her class meet as a support group. Livestrong at the YMCA helped Sullivan, who now works out four times a week, get back into exercise. “It’s like an internal exhaustion

mobile.npdodge.com

Congratulations to all the recipients

You are all truly Worthy Women

FIGHT FOR A

CURE

Diane Sullivan has been cancer-free since May of last year. that you can’t explain,” Sullivan said of cancer. “Exercise has really helped me get some of that oomph back.” She described her husband, Kevin, a disabled veteran, as the “best caretaker ever.” “When I had cancer it was kind of like he unfocused on him and focused on me,” Sullivan said. “It was just amazing.” In chemo, Sullivan said she met many different kinds of people, but the people who were happy and smiling just seemed to be getting better. “It’s just one of those things that you live through and pray you don’t have to do it again,” Sullivan said. “I don’t wish it on any one.” Sullivan has been completely cancer-free since her mastectomy in May last year. She was recently chosen and attended Casting for Recovery, a retreat where breast cancer survivors learn to fly fish, held in Valentine, Nebraska.

10106 South 15th Street | Bellevue, NE | 402.291.5599 www.offuttcollisionrepair.com

Honoring the accomplishments of the survivors and supporting the fighters in finding the Cure!

Gretna Gretn re a P Public ub Sc S Schools c oo ools Creating Stude Stu Student ent S Suces Sucess ess s by b Maximizing gS Student den nt Achieve Achievement. hie em

Gretna Gret G retna aE Elementary em m - (402) 332-33 332-3341 33 32-3341 Palisades Pa alis sades Elementary El - (402) 895-2194 895-219 89 895-21 895 2194 194 Thomas Th Elementary E - (402) 332-5578 2-5578 2-5 Whitetail Whitetail e Creek Cre C Elementary - (402) 895-3388 89 -3 88 Gretna Gr tna Middle M School - (402) 332 332-3048 3048 3 048 48 Gretna Gretn t High tn g School - ((402)) 332-3936 36 6 5 Administration Adm m Office - (402) 332-3265

R ache l Geor g e s u b u rban newspapers I nc .

402-916-9400 101 S. McKenna Ave. Gretna, NE

Nacho Typical Mexican Restaurant

TownandCountryFloralGretna.com

www.romeosomaha.com

Cancer changed her outlook on life

M ichae l B atche l der S u b u rban N ewspapers I nc .

Shirley Williams was diagnosed with breast cancer in May of 2013 after stomach pains caused her to go to the doctor.

Little things and material concerns aren’t a big deal anymore By Michael Batchelder SUBURBAN NEWSPAPERS Inc.

If there was any benefit to having breast cancer for Shirley Williams, it was that being faced with death changed her perspective on life. “Being a cancer survivor has made me more aware of what’s important,” Williams said. Things that would bother her in the past, like getting a dent in her car, just aren’t as big of a deal as they used to be. “It’s just material things,” Williams said. “Life is more important.” In 2013 Williams was having stomach cramps and missed two days of work at First National Bank of Omaha, where she works as a mortgage underwriter. This was a big deal for Williams because she almost never misses work. To deal with the stomach problems, Williams was treated by a doctor at Offutt Air Force Base, where she was told to get a mammogram because she hadn’t received one in a while. During the mammogram a lump was discovered, and that May she was diagnosed with breast cancer Although the stomach cramps turned out to be nothing, Williams looks back on them as God’s way of telling her to go to the doctor. Williams’ biggest worry was that the cancer would spread, as it had for her mother, who died of breast cancer

20 years ago. “When they told me I had it, the only thing I could imagine was my mother,” Williams said. Luckily the lump was caught early. In July, Williams underwent surgery to have the lump removed, and she started chemotherapy in August, followed by radiation treatment, which ended the day before Christmas. Both the chemotherapy and the radiation were painful and difficult, but she found the radiation to be worse than she expected. She received her treatments at Bellevue Medical Center and Clarkson College, and she was quite happy with the doctors and nurses who treated her, many of whom would call her at home to make sure everything was OK. “They have the best staff,” Williams said. “They were really wonderful.” Another important factor that helped her get through the grueling treatment was the support of her family, including her daughters and her seven grandchildren. Two of Williams’ twin grandchildren and one of her daughters live with her and would take care of her throughout her treatment, packing and rinsing her wounds. “They became like little nurses, along with my daughter,” Williams said. After her treatment was over, Williams would meet with other breast cancer survivors in “A Time to Heal,” a group for breast cancer survivors to share what they were going through. “We were able to talk about our fears,” Williams said. Williams also felt fortunate hearing about some of the struggles many other women went through battling

“Because of what happened, I spend as much time as I can with my grandbabies.” Shirley Williams

breast cancer, like having their breasts removed as part of the their treatments. “It really made me appreciate and thank God for looking after me,” Williams said. “It could have been a lot worse.” She has made many friends in the group, which still meets once a month. These days Williams stays busy with work at First National, as well as spending quality time with her grandchildren, taking them swimming and going to the zoo, among other activities. “Because of what happened, I spend as much time as I can with my grandbabies,” Williams said. Although she still has checkups every six months, she is officially done with breast cancer. After receiving genetic testing she learned there were no more cancerous genes to be found. “I felt really overjoyed when they told me that,” Williams said. “It took a lot of worries away.”

Diet heavy on olive oil cuts breast cancer risk by 62 percent, study shows By Karen Kaplan The Los Angeles Times

The fight against breast cancer may begin in the kitchen. A new study suggests that women can dramatically reduce their risk of the disease by following a version of the Mediterranean diet that goes heavy on extra virgin olive oil. Data from a large, randomized clinical trial show that women who did so were 62 percent less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer compared with women who were simply asked to reduce the overall amount of fat in their diets. The results were published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine last month. The clinical trial, known as PREDIMED, was designed to assess the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and olive oil. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups — Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, or a regular low-fat diet. After tracking nearly 7,500 people for

about five years, the researchers had compelling evidence that those who were on either type of Mediterranean diet had better heart health than their counterparts who weren’t. The trial was ended in 2010. Although the study’s main focus was cardiovascular disease, researchers also tracked the incidence of five types of cancer, including breast cancer. Among the 4,282 women who participated in the trial, there were 35 confirmed cases of invasive breast cancer. (Cases of ductal carcinoma in situ, or Stage 0 breast cancer, were not tracked.) The risk of being diagnosed with invasive breast cancer was highest for women who were advised to eat less fat — 2.9 cases for every 1,000 person-years. That compared to a diagnosis rate of 1.8 cases per 1,000 person-years for women who were on the Mediterranean diet with extra nuts and a rate of 1.1 cases per 1,000 person-years for women who were on the Mediterranean diet with additional extra virgin olive oil. In the raw analysis, the women in the extra virgin olive oil group were 62 percent less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer during the course of the study than

were women in the regular low-fat group. After accounting for a variety of factors such as the age, body mass index, exercise and drinking habits of the women, the breast cancer risk was 68 percent lower for the extra virgin olive oil group compared with the low-fat group.

The study is the first prospective randomized clinical trial to see whether a Mediterranean diet can offer women protection from breast cancer. But more trials are needed to get a better understanding of the link between the two, the researchers wrote.

Dr. Geetha Palaniappan is one of thirteen experienced and highly skilled collaborating cancer specialists, committed to providing you with quality care and a compassionate trained staff.

Dr. Geetha Palaniappan

Nebraska Cancer Specialists are proud to honor the Worthy Women of Distinction. Midwest Cancer Center | Papillion 611 Fenwick Drive Papillion, NE 68046 | Ph 402.593.3141 | Fax 402.593.3145

nebraskacancer.com

More than 70 stores, services and restaurants