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Relishing life after cancer

LISA PEMBERTON; For The Olympian | • Published November 08, 2009

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HOODSPORT – About a year ago, following a routine mammogram, Barbara Gray was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Friends and family members rallied around her as she went through a lumpectomy, four rounds of chemotherapy, and 33 intense days of radiation treatment.

“It seemed like I had all of these friends come out of the woodwork to help me,” said Gray, 70, of Hoodsport.

Her final radiation treatment was July 24. At first, the retired paraeducator struggled to embrace the label “survivor.”

“I found myself taking exception to calling myself a ‘cancer survivor,’” Gray wrote in her online journal at CaringBridge.org. “I have been in two automobile accidents and I do not say, ‘Hi, I am Barbara, I am an automobile accident survivor.’ That does not identify me. … I do feel I am in recovery, but survivor seems extreme at this point.”

Still, Gray is counted among the nearly 12 million people who have survived cancer in the United States. And her story is not uncommon.

For many, one of the biggest challenges is learning how to move on with their lives after treatment, when the immediate crisis, and often the accompanying surge of support, have passed, according to Dr. Jim Lechner, medical director for Providence Regional Cancer System.

“It should be, ‘Oh goody, I’m done,’ but that’s not really what happens,” he said. “There’s a sense of uncertainty. … They don’t feel secure – and won’t for many years – that the disease is really gone, gone.”

Like many patients, Gray grew close to the nurses and other members of her health care team. She found additional strength in a network of close friends who volunteered to drive her an hour each way to medical appointments in Olympia.

“I had friends pick me up practically every day, and we went places,” she said. “It was all about me, me, me and all of this attention, and then I felt like I was going to be left high and dry.”

MAKING THE TRANSITION

But on her last day of radiation treatment, Gray met with Cobie Whitten, a psycho-oncology consultant for the Providence Regional Cancer Center Survivorship Pilot Program.

The program, a partnership with RadiantCare Radiation Oncology, was designed to help patients transition to life after treatment. The initial phase of the program earlier this year served 50 people in Lacey at a cost of $28,500; now, about 25 Lewis County patients are expected to be served through the end of the year at the Lewis County Cancer Center.

Funding came from the Providence St. Peter Hospital Foundation and the Providence Centralia Hospital Foundation, and Providence officials hope to augment and expand the program.

During a 60- to 90-minute appointment, Whitten talks with patients about what they can expect after treatment, and where they can get additional help in the community.

Cancer can affect every area of a person’s life, Whitten said. It’s not just physical, it’s also social, financial – even spiritual, she said.

“There are long-term effects of its treatment, and there are also late effects that don’t come around until years later,” she said.

Through the survivorship program, Gray learned about “Look Good … Feel Better,” a national effort to teach beauty techniques to patients whose appearance has been affected by cancer treatment.

“I usually didn’t wear that much make-up before,” Gray said. “But you know, when you don’t have any eyebrows, or eyelashes, or hair, you look very blank.”

She also was urged to continue reaching out to friends and family, sharing her story and getting involved with cancer research fundraising.

“Talking with Cobie is very energizing,” Gray said. “She gave me a stack of reading materials, she answered my questions and she listened. She gave me really good care.”

RECONNECTING

Also through the survivorship program, Gray learned about the importance of drawing on the energy of her friends to help her move forward with her own life.

During the past few months, Gray has been honored at three separate birthday parties. She went on an Alaskan cruise with her husband, and she is glad to be teaching a toddler Sunday School class at her church again.

She also began sharing her story, and connecting with other folks who have been touched by cancer. One of her goals is to help spread the word about prevention and early detection of breast cancer.

“I would just really urge people to do their annual mammograms,” she said. “If you catch it in the early stages, then your prognosis is much better.”

Gray recently signed up for the national breast cancer Sister Study, and participated in a cancer walk to raise money for research.

“This has been an exciting year for me,” she said. “It hasn’t been a year out of my life. It’s been a great adventure.”