Cancer survivors 2015

Supplement to the Tulsa World, Thursday, September 10, 2015

CANCER

SURVIVORS tulsaworld.com/cancersurvivors

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Early cancer screening made all the difference

andi Gibbs was not a heavy smoker. By her own account, she smoked about two packs of cigarettes a week or less.

“I had been an ultra-light smoker for 30 years,” says Gibbs, “but my boss, Terry Barker, had been hounding me to quit smoking, and my granddaughter Kayleigh had, too.

Gibbs and her husband live in Owasso, and she has worked as a legal secretary for the oil and gas law firm of Pezold Barker & Woltz in Tulsa for 21 years.

“On April 1, 2014, I started taking Chantix, and it helped me stop smoking,” Gibbs adds.

However, in September, she started experiencing some pain in the middle of her chest. Having acid reflux, she brushed the pain off as just part of that.

“In December, I received an email from Utica Park Clinic that saved my life!” Gibbs says. It recommended a lung cancer screening if the recipient fell into the high-risk group, which means the person is: • a current or former smoker, and • in the age group of 55 to 80 years old, and • has a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years (one pack a day for 30 years, two packs a day for 15 years, etc.)

Utica Park Clinic is in the Hillcrest HealthCare System, which had opened its new Lung Center earlier that year.

“Oklahoma has such a high occurrence of lung cancer because we have so many smokers. We sent out the email to every patient who fell within the guidelines,” says Angela Peterson, media and public relations manager for Hillcrest HealthCare System.

“The $99 radiology scan is painless.”

Gibbs realized that the first two criterion listed in the email applied to her. She saw herself in the high-risk group so she called to have the CT scan for lung cancer.

“So many people had called in due to that email that it was three weeks before I could get in for the scan,” Gibbs says. “I got the scan on Jan. 5, and the next day they called to say they had found a nodule. It was tiny.

“I started to cry and then said to myself, ‘Sandi, you did this to yourself. Nobody put a gun to your head and made you smoke.’”

The next step was to do a test with a bronchoscope during which Dr. Hassan Abouhouli took several small tissue samples

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Taking advantage of a $99 lung cancer screening test, Sandi Gibbs learned she had early stage lung cancer last year and got the help she needed. from her lungs. Every sample was negative, but the doctor wanted her to have a needle biopsy, which goes to the nucleus of the nodule,just to be sure.

Two days later, Gibbs received the results on the phone while she was at work. Her needle biopsy was positive for lung cancer.

“The whole world stopped,” Gibbs says. “I was a basket case. My boss was in the next room, and he knew something was going on so he came running into my room.”

Gibbs’ doctor referred her to Dr. Jennifer O’Stasik, Utica Park Clinic’s medical oncologist, who scheduled a PT scan to get more information about the cancer. It was only in the right lung and could be removed by lobectomy by surgeon Dr. Paul Kempe.

No chemotherapy or radiation would be needed.

Gibbs had the surgery on March 16. They removed all the lymph nodes in her chest in addition to the upper lobe of her right lung.

“The hardest part was getting the surgery done. Once it was over, it was time to improve and go on,” Gibbs says. “I’m a Christian. I’m a member of Victory Christian Center. I believe in God very much. I lay in that hospital bed looking out the window after surgery, and I immediately started crying. I don’t know how many times I said, ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ I was thankful to be alive, and that warning signal in my chest was one thing that prompted me to get checked out.”

Feeling blessed beyond imagination, Gibbs did have one request for God. “Whenever a person gets sick, who do they want the most? Their mommy and daddy. That’s who I always wanted,” Biggs says. “My dad has been gone 26 years, and my mother has been gone three years so I didn’t have my momma and my daddy. I did have my kids and my husband.”

Gibbs asked God to let her feel her par-

ents’ presence with her while she was in the hospital.

Soon after that, she was awakened from sleep as she felt someone patting one of her legs, and then she felt a hand on her face.

“It startled me awake,” Gibbs says. “I stayed awake then, and I actually saw my leg move as I felt a hand on it. That was my momma. She always patted me on my knee.

The hand on my face was my daddy. He always patted my face. That continued every day until I went home.”

As hard as the tests and surgery were on Gibbs, she says that this experience has renewed her. Today she walks three miles each day and is eating healthier.

A month after surgery, Gibbs went in for a follow-up X-ray with Dr. Michael S. Ward, her primary care physician at Utica Park Clinic.

He was excited to tell her that her X-ray showed that she now has two perfect lungs.

In fact, he said it looked like she never had surgery.

Gibbs wants to get the word out to others about the screening so they can get help like she did.

“I want people to know that if they smoke or are around second-hand smoke, they should get tested. I was raised around smokers. Early detection saved my life,” Gibbs says.

Gibbs is so committed to letting people know their options that she is doing a video with the Lung Center at Hillcrest to help get the word out.

In addition, an event to honor all those impacted by lung cancer will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at Oklahoma Heart Institute Lecture Hall, 1200 S. Trenton Ave. Shine a Light on Lung Cancer is sponsored

by Lung Cancer Alliance, The Lung Center at Hillcrest and Oklahoma CyberKnife. It’s a nationwide event with inspirational speakers.

Patients and people from the community are invited to come and learn more about how to stop smoking.

By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor

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CANCER SURVIVORS

Saint Francis oncology nurse becomes patient

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elinda Culp remembers what a big step it was seven years ago for her to put her nursing skills to work with cancer patients at Saint Francis Hospital. She never imagined then that it would prepare her to become a cancer patient herself on the same oncology unit she oversees.

Culp, a registered nurse, is clinical manager of inpatient oncology on the Saint Francis Hospital floor known as “7 West.”

Cancer is a serious issue for any patient, but it’s even worse for those assigned there.

“If you have to come see me, you’re not doing very well,” Culp says. “We give high-dose chemotherapy on this unit, more chemotherapy than most cancer patients typically receive. We often get people ready for transplants.”

Oncology was certainly not a specialty the Tahlequah native imagined she would pursue when she graduated from nursing school in 2001. Culp was even surer of that after filling in one holiday weekend for a work shift in oncology. Culp, now 36, recalls telling her supervisor at the time that she didn’t want to go back to that floor.

That all changed in 2008 when Culp, the wife of a pastor in Big Cabin and mother of two young sons, felt a calling to come to the oncology ward. She even became certified as a cancer nurse.

She quickly realized that treating cancer patients meant becoming a part of their families and helping them through their struggles.

“They’re fighting to live,” Culp says. “You’re walking alongside them to help them. You’re not just treating the patient.

You’re treating the whole family – the children, the spouse.”

She would come to learn just how true that is when she was diagnosed last November with cervical cancer.

It was a shock that came after years of knowing something inside her wasn’t right. Doctors couldn’t explain her weight gain and thinning hair. They ran test after test, but nothing pointed to what was happening.

“It was a puzzle,” the medical professional says. “I was doing everything right.”

That included more exercise beyond her running and taekwando routines. She even worked with a dietician to control her weight. The problems, however, persisted.

It wasn’t until October 2014 that some lab results from an OB-GYN visit came back abnormal.

“Don’t worry,” she was told.

Six biopsies later, the news finally came.

She actually spotted it in the results on her MyChart while waiting to see the doctor: “adenocarcinoma.”

“I was wigging out,” Culp recalls.

The doctor initially thought it wasn’t that serious. “You’re too young,” Culp remembers him telling her.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age for cervical cancer is 48.

She remembers sitting in the doctor’s office with her husband just before Thanksgiving. The doctor wanted to remove part of her cervix.

“You’ll be back to work in no time,” Culp was told.

The surgery occurred in December, shortly before Christmas. Further tests afterward, however, revealed that more cancerous cells remained. They had not removed enough of her cervix.

Two days before Valentine’s Day, she had a second, fivehour surgery to remove her uterus and almost every inch of her cervix. It’s known as a “radical hysterectomy.”

Photo by SHANE BEVEL

Melinda Culp of Vinita works every day with cancer patients as clinical manager of the Saint Francis Inpatient Oncology unit and in February this year became a cancer patient there herself. Culp, a registered nurse certified in oncology, overcame cervical cancer and just recently was declared cancer free.

That’s when she ended up as a patient on 7 West where she worked.

Culp missed many weeks of work during her battle with cancer.

Sometimes she would show up for work and never make it past the front desk.

“It was nothing for me to get off the elevator and see the oncology sign and just burst into tears,” Culp recalls. Her staff was so supportive.

“I couldn’t have asked for better support,” she says.

Her family was there for her, too, but it took a toll on them — especially her sons, ages 7 and 10.

“My children know what I do for a living, so it was a struggle for them,” Culp says. “I would tell them, ‘Mommy’s not dying today.’ They had a hard time grasping this.

“It affected their school and their relationships with others.

They were angry at times. We had lots of prayer together.”

Culp and her husband had helped many families in the church during their 16 years of marriage, but this was something new.

“My husband was afraid to touch me,” Culp says. “He was afraid he was going to break me if he hugged me.”

On the other hand, it gave them precious time together to talk about things.

And it gave Culp a new perspective on her job and life itself.

She even finished writing a Bible study for female teens and young women and had it published by Westbow Press.

Titled “Preparing for Your Crown,” it deals with how you can make Godly decisions in your life, Culp explains.

“We’re all here for a greater good,” she says. “We’re here

to serve other people.

“Having cancer is part of my story, but it doesn’t define me. I have a calling from God to tell others about Him.” Culp can now call herself a “cancer survivor.” It’s a title she calls “surreal.”

She had complications months after her surgery earlier this year, but she recently got her first “all clear” test results back. No more cancer.

Culp also got an education that no years of medical or nursing school could ever teach her.

“I truly feel like I have more compassion toward my patients,” she says. “I have empathy with them in the struggles. There are struggles outside the hospital that we weren’t addressing.”

Culp experienced that in her own family.

“This opens the doors for me to understand that we need to try to take care of the patient completely,” she says. “We need to be sensitive to our patients.”

Cancer affects patients and their loved ones physically, emotionally and financially.

Her own experience has helped Culp also understand how important it is for people to pay attention to what their bodies are telling them.

“If you think something’s not right, get it checked out,” Culp says. “You never know what’s going on inside.

“If I had not been doing preventive health myself, I could have had stage 4 cancer and been telling my children goodbye.”

By Kevin Armstrong, Special Sections Editor

CANCER SURVIVORS

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Breast cancer takes woman on wild ride

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imberly O’Barr’s journey began in 2012 when her mother was diagnosed with her second round of breast cancer One month later, O’Barr and her husband learned they were expecting their first child.

“My mother moved in with us so we could take care of her, but her aggressive cancer took her quickly, and she passed one month before our daughter Meredith was born,“ says O’Barr.

More than a year later, the couple were excited to find out that they were expecting their second child. However, six months into the pregnancy, O’Barr found a lump in her right breast.

“I thought it was nothing and decided to wait a month until my regular OB-GYN checkup,” O’Barr remembers. “When I went in, the doctor immediately showed high concern.

Within the week, I met with my breast surgeon, and had a biopsy and genetic testing done. The news came back that I had breast cancer and tes­­ted positive for the gene. Because of this, there was a medium to high percentage that the cancer would come back.”

Doctor and patient quickly developed a plan of treatment.

O’Barr was so pleased with her mother’s oncologist, Dr. Tanyanika Phillips, who is affiliated with St. John Medical Center, that she decided to rely on her for her own treatment.

On Sept. 11, 2014 — while O’Barr was eight months pregnant — she had her right breast removed. A month later, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Christian and started chemotherapy four weeks after that, finishing this May. “I had a complete hysterectomy in June and shortly thereafter started the anti-estrogen treatment Tamoxifen,” O’Barr adds.

She was scheduled to have a left mastectomy on Aug. 6, but two days before her surgery her father unexpectedly passed away due to a massive heart attack.

“I will continue my journey with a left mastectomy in October and begin reconstruction sometime next year,” she adds.

O’Barr says sometimes life seems unfair. “I have bad days, days of feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, but I am not afraid because I know God has this under his control.”

Her faith in God, her husband and two children are what keeps her going strong every day as well as memories of her parents and all that they have shared.

“My children are my hope,” O’Barr says. During the hardest part of this journey, “I kept telling myself they’re only this little

Courtesy photo

Cancer survivor Kimberly O’Barr says her breast cancer treatment has never been about a fight. It’s always been about the journey for her — what she can learn from the experience, how she can change to meet the challenge and how she can help others. She says her faith in God, as well as her husband and two children keep her going strong every day. once, so I can’t let this disease get me down. I want to be able to cherish every moment with them.”

O’Barr is looking forward to begin participating in St. John’s STAR Program for cancer patient/survivor rehabilitation, which includes physical, speech and occupational recovery.

“St. John Health System implemented the first STAR Program in Oklahoma because we recognized a critical need for comprehensive, post-acute cancer services throughout the state,” said David Pynn, St. John Health System president and chief executive officer. “Our certified team works together to address many of the functional limitations that might occur from cancer treatment. Often, these limitations are initially overlooked or perceived by survivors as their ‘new normal.’

Through STAR Program cancer survivor rehabilitation, we can address many of these limitations with a multidisciplinary, evidence-based and patient-centered approach.”

O’Barr is quick to say that this unexpected chain of events has never been about a fight; it’s always been about the journey. Her goal has been to figure out what she can learn from the experience, how she can change to meet the challenge and how she can help others.

“There is a purpose for everything, and God wastes nothing. This is all for his glory,” says O’Barr. “My daily words to live by are Philippians 4:13: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’“ O’Barr wants to inspire, love, support and encourage others and those who have been touched by cancer. She also wants to share the importance of genetic testing especially if you have a family history like she does “But more importantly, I want to stress the importance of breast self-exams and knowing your body,” she adds.

By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor

Foods that help Breast cancer survivor hopes her story will help others fight cancer (MS) — While no single food or ingredient can prevent people from getting cancer, research has shown a link between excess body fat and various cancers. A poor diet that’s high in fat can contribute to excess body fat, which the American Institute for Cancer Research has linked to higher risks for developing cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, and gallbladder, among others.

The AICR notes that research on foods that fight cancer is ongoing, but the following are some of the foods that can play a role in cancer prevention.

Apples are a good source of fiber, which can help men and women lower their cancer risk. Dietary fiber can increase feelings of fullness, which reduces the likelihood that people will overeat. Men and women who do not overeat are less likely to accumulate the excess body fat that increases their risk for various cancers. In addition, apples’ dietary fiber contains pectin, a polysaccharide that bacteria in the stomach can use to produce compounds that protect colon cells.

Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable, and nearly all cruciferous vegetables, which get their name because their four-petal flowers resemble a cross, or crucifer, are great sources of vitamin C. Broccoli also is a great source of the B vitamin folate as well as potassium. The AICR notes that studies have shown folate helps to maintain healthy DNA and keep cancer-promoting genes inactive.

But men and women should speak with their physicians regarding how much folate to include in their diets, as animal studies have suggested that high amounts of folate may promote development of certain types of cancer, including colon cancer.

Cranberries, like apples, are high in dietary fiber and vitamin C. Diets high in foods containing vitamin C have been linked to a reduced risk for cancer of the esophagus. In addition, studies have shown that vitamin C protects cells’ DNA by trapping free radicals, which can damage the body, and inhibiting the formation of substances called carcinogens, which are capable of causing cancer in living tissue.

Legumes include kidney and black beans, yellow split peas and red lentils. Dry beans and peas are great sources of fiber and good sources of protein, and each also make excellent sources of folate. In addition to their ability to contribute to the protection of colon cells, legumes also contain various phytochemicals, which researchers feel may decrease chronic inflammation, a risk factor for many cancers.

In addition, these phytochemicals may increase the self-destruction of cancer cells.

While there are no magic foods that can guarantee men and women won’t one day develop cancer, there are many foods that research has shown are capable of reducing a person’s risk of developing this potentially deadly disease.

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honda Spinks never expected the lump she found in her breast to be cancerous. She was in her early 30s, healthy and active. She also didn’t have any family history of breast cancer.

“I knew nothing about the disease, so I thought surely I don’t have cancer because I didn’t feel bad,” says Spinks.

“I thought I’d be tired or sick, maybe coughing up blood.

I also thought it was something that happened to people over 40.”

Besides, some of her friends mentioned that you can have swollen glands or sensitivity in your breasts during “that time of the month,” so she thought surely that was all it was.

“Based on those things, I waited a while before having the lump checked out,” she says. When it didn’t go away, Spinks knew she needed to get it checked out but still didn’t think the lump was anything to be concerned about.

Spinks made an appointment with her primary care physician.

“Even when my husband and I were in the doctor’s office waiting to get the results, we were joking around because cancer was the furthest thing from our minds,” she recalls.

When her doctor told them it was a very aggressive form of cancer that was stage 3, and it had already spread to her lymph nodes, Spinks and her husband were devastated. Spinks learned that she would need to have a mastectomy right away, followed by chemotherapy and radiation.

“I was totally blindsided, and I went numb,” she says. In fact, Spinks felt like her doctor had just signed her death warrant.

In shock, the couple talked with their pastors at Harmony Worship Center, who helped change their focus for the journey ahead. They told the couple that this is just a diagnosis, not a death sentence. They emphasized that she still had a lot of life to live and a purpose that God sent her here to fulfill, and they recommended that she get a second opinion at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA).

After their encouragement, Spinks was determined to fight for recovery. She made an appointment with Dr. Sagun Shrestha, an oncologist with CTCA, and her treatment began.

As many cancer patients know, there are a lot of highs and lows during treatment. After her first round of chemo, Spinks found that it knocked the fight out of her. Spinks’ positive attitude flew out the window. Sitting in the doctor’s office, she was exhausted and felt like she was in way over her head.

Although this was only the first round of chemo, she felt like she could not continue.

“As soon as you cross that line, questions come up about whether you have left any kind of mark in the sense of having blessed other people,” Spinks says. “That was very weighty for me. I decided that I had to find strength somewhere.”

That’s when she looked up and saw the picture of a patient who was on the other side of fighting cancer. He looked healthy. He had hair, which she didn’t have at the time. That was the encouragement she needed — to see someone on the other side of the battle who was healthy again.

Spinks is quick to say that cancer is a physical battle, but a lot of it is mental. There is a huge mind-body connection.

“The hope factor is such a game changer,” she says. “My attitude changed. That day I went from ‘Forget this; I’m done!’ to ‘I’m going to fight this!’”

Spinks took on the challenge to keep fighting while living her life. She spent a year in chemotherapy and radiation, while studying for her master’s degree in natural

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A body builder, Rhonda Spinks had the fight of her life after learning she had an aggressive form of breast cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. resource ecology and management at Oklahoma State University. At the same time, she continued her National Guard service.

Today, Spinks’ story is much different. This year, Spinks celebrates her sixth anniversary of her cancer diagnosis and being cancer free. She is a body builder and lives in Oklahoma City but works in Tulsa as a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She also serves as a captain in the 45th National Guard Infantry Brigade.

Spinks is committed to sharing her story and hopes others can draw inspiration from her experiences.

“It’s not what you go through, it’s how you choose to go through it,” Spinks says. “No matter what happens in your life, you call the shots!”

She has written a book, “The Spirit of Success,” and shares tips for living an empowered life on her blog, youcalltheshots.net.

“I want people to have the information that I didn’t have when I was diagnosed,” Spinks says. “I believe if you learn something, it’s important to share it with others. It took me six years to get where I am today.”

Now a certified health and wellness coach, Spinks believes that if she puts everything she has learned on her path back to wellness into a condensed format for those who are battling cancer, it could reduce the length of their recovery time.

“Dare to fight for your dreams, and don’t be tempted to give up,” she says.

Spinks will be at the Komen Race for the Cure event at ONEOK Field on Sept. 26. While there, cancer survivors can get a free makeover and a free professional photo session.

“I want them to know they are still beautiful while going through treatment,” Spinks says.

It’s not what you go through, it’s how you choose to go through it. No matter what happens in your life, you call the shots.

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By Stefanie Forney, Special Sections Editor

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