Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 16)

V&V: Which treatments were used? V&V: How was your cancer discovered? Neville: Chemotherapy and radiation. Hastings: Surgery to remove a cancerous section of the colon, followed by chemotherapy. Wilkey: Two types of chemotherapy (the first one didn’t work), followed by a stem cell transplant using my own cells. Do ug las W ilkey Neville: I had an unbelievable earache. I kept going back to the doctors. One doctor even said maybe it was how I was using a Q-tip. My lymphoma had caused a brain abscess, and eventually I started losing coordination. Later, biopsies on lymph nodes in the area revealed it was cancer. Hastings: I started noticing I had blood in my stools. This went on for six months before I said anything. One day I happened to mention it to my husband, who insisted I have it checked. A gastro surgeon did an initial exam and said she didn’t see any obvious hemorrhoids and wanted to do a colonoscopy. I looked at her like she had three heads. I was only 31 and thought I had 19 years left to go. I agreed to do the test, and afterward my surgeon said, “We found a tumor, and we’re fairly certain you have cancer.” Wilkey: I had very severe stomach pain. It felt like someone was shoving a knife through my stomach. I went to the emergency room three times in three weeks. No one could figure out what was wrong with me. Finally, I was referred to an exploratory surgeon. He did an exploratory surgery and found a tumor in the lymph nodes in my abdomen. » ExpErt tip: “Chemotherapy and radiation are still the mainstays for cancer treatment,” Ades says. “But today we have more and more targeted therapies that actually target the cancer cells and have less effect on the healthy cells of the body.” V&V: How did you cope with the side effects? nosed, the better your chances for effective treatment and long-term survival,” says Terri Ades, R.N., director of cancer information for the American Cancer Society (ACS). “That’s certainly the advantage of regular screening with our early detection tests for breast, colorectal, cervical and prostate cancers. I’d like to emphasize it’s regular screening, not periodic or one-time screening. Some screenings actually prevent cancer, such as the Pap test, which will pick up cervical cell changes before a cancer occurs, or the colonoscopy, which can pick up polyps that are abnormal before they turn into cancer.” » ExpErt tip: “The earlier cancer is diag- Neville: After coaching high school girls volleyball, basketball and track teams and college runners, I discovered I could coach myself through one of the most grueling marathons I’d face— rounds of chemotherapy. I used to tell myself every couple of minutes, “I feel good.” I’d say it whenever I was driving to work, trying to get out of bed or doing laundry. Before long, I noticed I was stronger. That saved my life. I realized our real true obstacles originate from within. Hastings: I started to blog the weekend I was first diagnosed. As I typed the words, it was very cathartic, very emotional. It became my place to vent and to let my emotions out. I named it “Michelle Will Win,” and it was very powerful for me because it was a public declaration that I was going to beat cancer. Wilkey: I never threw up once in my cancer experience, but I felt really debilitated, exhausted and profoundly sick. One of my best coping strategies was sleep. » ExpErt tip: “We have very effective medications today so patients don’t experience the nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy that they did in the past. We can also better manage low white blood cell counts,” says Ades, who encourages cancer patients to learn more about how to cope with side effects by ordering one or more free ACS booklets, such as “Understanding Chemotherapy.” 16 Vim & Vigor • Fall 2 011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil's Feature
So Long, Suffering
The Will to Recover
Healthy Hues
The New Survivors
First (Aid) Things First
Find Your Groove
A Healthy Tune
Stay in Circulation
‘X’ Marks the Spot
Pregnancy Predictors
Play It Safe
Prime Time Health
Full Strength
Lifesaving Gift
Out of the White Coat
Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2011 - Gwinnett Medical Center

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