#Heart Failure Clinic Boynton Beach | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dmozal-cancer-walk-in-50states · 6 years ago

Text

Sharing Relay for Life in the Beautiful Carolina’s

As I start the final of my 50-state relay goal in 2018 I want to say how exciting this year is going to be. With only 8 states left it will be a busy year. I apologize for the huge delay in writing this blog as the first of my relays didn’t start off as expected. I fell less than 3 weeks before the first of my relays. I fractured my tibia and it slowed me down quite a bit. It made it more difficult to talk to other people because I was on crutches and was a bit uncomfortable. It was a great reminder, however, of the gifts I enjoy everyday. Health, the ability to walk without pain, the friends I have made over the year, etc.

Shallotte, North Carolina - May 4th, 2018

I must apologize for not being able to spend as much time as I would have liked with the wonderful survivors who attended the Brunswick County relay. As I mentioned, I fractured my tibia a few weeks prior to the event and walking on crutches slowed my “walking” down quite a bit! Because of that I am using photos from the Brunswick RFL Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/Relay-For-Life-of-Brunswick-County-NC-200772466654653/ (Besides they are great)

Opening ceremony

There were many survivors at this relay compared to some I’ve attended. Each person sitting here is a survivor. They are a group of people who are strong, funny, caring, tenacious and welcoming. Thank you for letting me be a part of your relay. I was able to chat with a couple of the survivors from this group. Their stories are shared below.

Photo copied from https://www.facebook.com/Relay-For-Life-of-Brunswick-County-NC-200772466654653/

The chaplain that shared the opening prayer is also a survivor. Bill Boynton is a man of many occupations. Husband, father, grandfather, chaplain for the Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, Lead Pastor at Church Builders of Brunswick County, and survivor (I’m sure I’m missing several more). I was so blessed to be able to sit and speak with Bill. He is a man with a very special message. But first, I want to share his story.

Me and Bill Boynton – Brunswick RFL, Shallotte, NC

Bill was diagnosed with prostate cancer a little over a year ago (June 13th). Bill had retired from his job for almost 6 months and had a physical set up that he really didn’t feel like he needed to attend. He had this feeling that he should go though. He mentioned to his doctor that he was having some issues with frequency in urination. He had no pain, no other issues, and figured it was part of getting older but his doctor is what Bill calls “thorough”. The doctor wanted him to have a PSA blood test and a digital exam. After a bit of headshaking and saying he really didn’t think it was necessary, Bill gave in even though the doctor felt there were probably no issues.

Bills PSA results were 10.2 instead of being around the normal range of 4. Because of the elevation the doctor wanted the test to be repeated. The results were a little lower but not much. Bill’s primary sent him to a urologist.

The urologist repeated the PSA bloodwork and it was elevated again so a biopsy was the next step. Bill is the type of person who researches whatever he is questioning so he is well informed. He found that this urologist only biopsied about ½ of the cores that most doctors do. After much thought he changed doctors and his new urologist was more thorough. She and Bill’s personalities matched better as they are both people who speak “matter of fact”. She took more biopsies including some that were painful to extract. She told him that these were probably the ones that were cancerous.

The results of the biopsy came back that he had a more aggressive type of cancer. Bill said he just shut down. He is a man of faith so he not only believes in God, he also knows where he is going when his time on earth is done. He was ready to give up and let whatever was going to happen just happen. He was tired and didn’t feel the fight was necessary.

Bill continues to be thankful for his gift from God, his wife! Her strength and support as his advocate and caregiver, along with the support of the rest of his family (including those who are “non-blood related”) is what pushed him to do something. Bill said these wonderful people flooded him with phone calls and messages (locally and from several states), letting him know that he needed to fight this disease. They would NOT let him shut down and give up!

After about 3 or 4 weeks of people reminding him of his importance, he contacted the doctor. His urologist sent him to his radiologist-oncologist to see if radioactive seeds would work. After discussion Bill, his wife, and the doctor decided on a prostatectomy. Bill is doing great and has had terrific bloodwork over the past few months.

“Men need to take care of themselves and not depend on doctors to bug them to be checked.” Bill said that men, especially men of color, do exactly what Bill did…..they shut down, they try to ignore what is happening, they don’t take care of themselves as they should. This is such an important message that Bill wants to share with everyone. He said “remember that your family needs you, friends need you, God has a plan but we need to take the step of taking care of ourselves”. Bill said it is important to get checked. It isn’t fun, but it is highly necessary. He also said by getting this type of check up, especially the blood test, you are choosing to take care of yourself and care for others. Bill also said if you don’t feel you have the money find a clinic that will do the PSA test for free or a minimal charge.

He also said fear puts handcuffs on you and you actually lose the ability to make a choice. Death from prostate cancer is not pleasant.

Bill has passed on the lesson he learned from his father to his children and now his grandchildren which is “nothing beats failure but a try”. What an amazing man, he cares for others, has amazing faith and shows love to everyone he meets. Again, he says don’t let fear prevent you from taking care of yourself. You remove the gift of time with others because of fear…..so instead take care of yourself.

The other survivor I talked to was Heather Kinlaw. Sadly I only talked to her for a few minutes. I was hoping we’d be able to talk again so she could share her story with me.

Heather is an event planner and has been involved with RFL for many years. She was event chair during part of her time with Relay but over the past few years she has been traveling so she hasn’t been able to be as involved with her local event as a member of the event staff. However she has been attempting to attend whatever relays she can in the states she’s traveling to.

Heather Kinlaw and me

Heather shared a few of her fundraising ideas that she has been involved in such as committee members raising money so that one of their co-committee members would receive a pie in the face. Or a T-Shirt contest where each team designed a t-shirt and people bought tickets as a way to “vote” for the design they like the most. Then that team that received the most tickets received the money from all the ticket sales as part of their fundraising money.

She had a lot of idea’s for fundraising and from the few minutes I talked to her it was obvious that family, friends, health, and community were very important to her.

Heather is not only a survivor, she is a mother, grandmother, businesswoman and volunteer. Cancer didn’t slow her down!

Two of the many people who made the Brunswick Relay such a great success were Teresa Houser and Kecia Taylor. They both took the time out of their busy day to sign my shirt and make me feel welcome.

Kecia Taylor, me and Teresa Houser

Kecia signing the T-Shirt

Teresa Houser signing the t-shirt

There was lots of fun at this event. People participated and enjoyed the day while raising money and honoring those who have been affected by cancer. The community not only raised a lot of money to fight cancer, they also shared in showing love and support for one another (such as dressing up).

Relay supporter, raising money to help others fight and cure cancer

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - May 5, 2018

Dr. Christopher Bach shared his story during a speech at the Grand Strand Relay for Life.

He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia that had spread to his nervous system when he was 18 months old. For the next 3-4 years he spent his time receiving chemotherapy and radiation at the National Institute of Health in Washington DC, trying to get his cancer under control. Chris said he was lucky. His cancer responded quickly to the chemo and he has been leukemia free for 33 years.

Dr. Christopher Bach and me

Chris developed a lot of respect for the medical community because of his experiences, so he started the path to becoming a medical doctor. He is now a gastroenterologist, helping prevent cancer in as many people as he can! As wonderful as that sounds his life has also had some additional dramatic events.

As with all treatments there are side effects that can linger for month, years, or even a life time. During his training to become a doctor a co-resident was practicing an ultrasound of the heart on Chris and found a tumor. Luckily, he was at John Hopkins and one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons took him to the operating room just a few days after the tumor was discovered. They found an myxoma of the left ventricle. He was told after the surgery that he was only days away from a piece of the tumor breaking off and causing a stroke or possibly death. Chris said that this “near brush with death” caused him to want to know more about the treatments he received and the type of cancer he had. He requested his records from NIH so that he could find out more information. He also reached out to his pediatric oncologist.

The chemotherapy Chris received was experimental, a treatment regimen that was new at the time of his cancer diagnosis. This regimen was so successful that it became the standard for treating his type of cancer and many lives were saved because of this new chemotherapy. The doctor told Chris that he didn’t know of a correlation between the type of chemo he received and the tumor he had but there was a great deal that the doctors didn’t know about the adverse effects that patients would incur years later.

Chris mentioned that although he is considered cancer free of the childhood leukemia he had, he is reminded of the fact that there are still residual effects that can occur. The reminder comes whenever he applies for life or disability insurance and is turned down. He also said that you take the good with the bad when you currently have, or previously had, cancer. If he hadn’t had cancer he wouldn’t be in the medical field preventing cancer and curing early colon cancer. He also says that cancer influences him but it doesn’t define him. I love the way he said “I use my past experiences to better appreciate my present, my family, my health”. He reminded us that the Relay was to celebrate life, our family and friends, and to remember who we love who did not survive. I was inspired when I listened to this man’s speech. Dr. Christopher Bach is many things….husband, father, doctor, survivor, and a man striving to destroy cancer as early as possible!

I was also privileged to meet Joe and Lee Magnani. Joe is a soft tissue sarcoma survivor of almost 8 years. He is a retired custodian that thought that the lump in his left thigh was just the result of bumping into something on his job. He was incorrect.

Joe and Lee Magnani

Lee noticed that Joe was very quiet the whole weekend which was uncharacteristic for Joe. Then Joe felt numbness in his leg so he went to Immediate Care. When he saw the doctor, she was concerned with what she was seeing so she sent him to see an orthopedic doctor to receive an MRI. While Joe was heading to receive his results Lee was fighting pneumonia and was receiving an x-ray. Lee said Joe had to receive the devastating news of his cancer alone. The MRI showed a tumor that measured 22 x 17 cm. (The size of a small football)

The doctor told Joe that he would need surgery to remove the sarcoma that was almost wrapped around the artery (there was just 1.35 mm or the thickness of a dime, between his artery and the sarcoma). If it had been wrapped around the artery there would be no way to save his leg. There was still great concern due to the size and location of the sarcoma.

On July 1, 2010 Joe had surgery. The surgery was supposed to take 4 hours but actually ended up taking 9. Lee said she prayed every prayer she knows to every Saint she could think of as she waited with her brother and sister for news on Joe’s condition. When the doctor finally appeared, he told Lee he had good news and bad. Lee asked for the good news first. The doctor said he was able to save Joe’s leg. The bad news was that they had to remove a lot of his quadriceps muscle and nerves so he would most likely need to wear a brace for the rest of his life because his leg was numb in the area of the surgery. (a brace much like people with polio wear)

Joe had some issues during his healing including gangrene that developed because he was on the operating table for so long. That same leg had previously had a hernia and now also developed a clot. During the 23 days Joe was in the hospital, he had 4 different surgeries. The Magnani’s said they had the best surgeon, Dr. John Healey, orthopedic chief surgeon at Sloan Kettering. The doctor is an expert at what he does and is world renowned, having patients from all over the world.

Joe and Lee also had to drive into New York for 23 days to receive radiation treatments. This is a feat during normal circumstances especially with traffic and riding in the car for hours, etc. but they did it!

Lee has had her own health issues, some because of the stress of watching her spouse go through so much. So Joe had additional great caregivers besides his wife Lee. Lee’s sister and brother took turns visiting Joe at the hospital because Lee couldn’t due to her lung issues. (it also happened to be the hottest summer in years in New York which contributed to Lee’s lung problems)

On one of the many visits to New York to see the doctor Joe saw a girl around 15 years old that no longer had one of her legs. Joe said he was so very thankful he was able to keep his leg.

Joe has a really good attitude. He and Lee made a pact for Joe to walk every morning when he got home from the hospital. The first few days he’d walk with Lee for about a half block. Lee was still working and Joe told her that she needed to go to work and he would walk by himself. Lee was worried about Joe falling but he promised to “fall on the grass”. See, good attitude! He did walk and continue to add steps every day to build up his strength. It worked! To also keep his leg working properly he goes to water aerobics 5 days a week. In the winter they walk in the mall and stores.

Joe now wears a compression sock that he puts on every day. He also uses a compression boot a couple of times a day to keep the circulation working correctly so he doesn’t get swelling in his leg. Having lymphedema seems to be a small price to pay to keep his leg.

Because of Joe’s condition with his leg bugs seem to love him. These bites cause cellulitis and it can be dangerous. Lee can tell exactly what is going on so she watches Joe closely. Joe is also great about saying when he doesn’t feel good. He also wants to make sure that people (especially men) say something when they aren’t feeling right. If something is wrong, don’t ignore it. Get it checked before it becomes too far advanced.

Joe and Lee were great fun, they really like each other and have grown so much stronger with having to deal with cancer. They continue to live life to the fullest and remind people of the importance of taking care of their health and paying attention to their bodies.

Keri Wells was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in February 2007. While she was visiting her family in Iowa at Christmas time, December of 2006, she had flu-like symptoms and decided to go to urgent care. When they were checking her glands the doctor said she thought Keri might have a goiter and wanted her to see her own doctor to follow up.

Me and Keri Wells

Keri went to the doctor and he wanted her to have a biopsy. Thyroid biopsies can be very uncomfortable and she had 16 spots they biopsied. She received the call at work giving her the diagnosis. Keri finds that tough because you need to focus on your job but “cancer” is all you can think about. She called her mom who took the diagnosis hard as well. Looking back at family pictures she and her mother realized that the goiters had been growing for years. As she was growing up it seemed she was developing an Adams Apple but because it was so gradual no one really noticed.

Keri went to a surgeon who said that she actually had 2 goiters (one in front of the other) and because of the size they needed to be removed. When Keri went to see the surgeon he didn’t have her pathology report yet. As she was on her way home from the appointment the surgeon called and said he had just received the report. He didn’t realize how large the goiters were. He told her that she needed to have them removed as quickly as possible. The problem was he was going out of town so he was going to have to pass her to another surgeon to have a full thyroidectomy.

Keri didn’t meet the new surgeon until just before the surgery. As a corrections officer Keri asked her new surgeon to make sure her scar didn’t make her look like she’d been shanked. He did a fantastic job!

It was also discovered that Keri had a lot of cancer cells wrapped around her vocal cords that they weren’t able to remove. Most “normal” people have a single dose of radioactive iodine to kill the cells but Keri has had 5 doses. She’s had one impatient and 4 outpatient treatments.

The hardest part of her treatments was the high dose of radioactive iodine she had to receive. It was so strong that she had to live in an isolation room during the treatment, throw away her clothes once it was complete, the nurses had to wear hazmat-type suits, and it took 3 days for her to get her levels low enough to leave the hospital. It is very unusual to have so many rounds of this treatment. Keri also said she has had to eat a low iodine diet 3 times and it is very hard to follow (and not appetizing at all).

Before she left Minnesota in April 2011 she had a scan and has been cancer free since then. She has yearly scans now but from 2007-2011 she had scan’s every 6 months. Keri said she also has breast cancer in her family so she is very careful to be checked.

Keri has blood work every 3 months to make sure she is doing well. Although I’ve heard often that thyroid cancer is one of the best cancers to get Keri reminded me that any cancer can kill you. Also, the thyroid regulates everything in the body so it’s function is very necessary. She said that with any type of cancer you always have to continue to be careful and pay attention to your body.

Keri has some non-thyroid issues but other than that she is feeling great. She has been participating in the Relay’s in her area since she came to South Carolina in 2011.

Keri said she isn’t someone who would go to the doctor often because she has always been fairly healthy but she realizes now the importance of having a yearly, full body checkup. Catching cancer as early as possible is vital.

I also met Susan and Scott Berman. Susan is a 24-year breast cancer survivor. (I just LOVE hearing that) She discovered her cancer during her self-exam. She found the lump in December of 1994 and when she called for an appointment her doctor’s office didn’t have any available until January. Susan was so concerned with what she felt that she called the clinic. They had an available appointment on Friday of that same week. The lump she discovered was the size of a golf ball (3 1/2 cm).

Me, Susan and Scott Berman

The doctor that examined her was also concerned so she called the head of surgery to get Susan in for a biopsy. The head of surgery did the biopsy that same day and told Susan he wanted to do a lumpectomy on Monday (yes he could tell it was cancer and even more amazing he wanted her to have surgery just a few days later).

The surgeon called a few days after the lumpectomy to say he wasn’t sure they got all the cancer. Susan told him that she wanted a mastectomy to “get all the cancer out”. The doctor wanted to make sure Susan understood what she would look like so she wouldn’t be surprised when she came out of surgery. Susan was very sure of the decision she was making. They moved very quickly through the whole process. One-week later Susan had the mastectomy. She said after the surgery she was relieved. She knew that for her this was the right decision.

After the surgery Susan had to have chemotherapy. Her treatment regimen was a three-week repeating cycle - one week she had chemo and the two weeks in between she was on an oral medication. She did this for 6 months. The doctor gave her many options when he discussed chemotherapy, including breast reconstruction, and told her they weren’t going to do anything yet. He wanted her to think about the decisions she was going to make.

Susan hated the way she was feeling from the chemotherapy so by the fourth month of treatment she talked to her oncologist and told him she didn’t want to continue the treatments. She was so tired and depressed. She had no hair, no energy and just felt really bad. The doctor understood and said they would change her dose that day and make it her last treatment. He gave her anti-nausea medication before the treatment and when she was done that day she went home feeling better than she had for any of the other treatments.

Susan was glad because she had a trip to Virginia planned with her husband and she already hated that she had no hair and had to wear a wig, she didn’t want to be feeling sick as well.

After 3 years Susan was cleared by her doctor. She did have reconstruction for the breast that had been removed and a reduction on the other breast.

The other issue that Susan has had is lymphedema. She isn’t sure if it developed on its own but she feels that it may have been brought on by a spider bite she received when she was out hanging clothes one day. It is tough to deal with sometimes but she faces it head on.

Susan said if she could tell someone what she feels would help them it is to not be so afraid that they don’t do anything. Go to the doctor, hit it head on, get the cancer out and move on. It’s tough but important for survival.

Susan and Scott are very close. Scott is a supportive husband and partner. He also has words of advice.

He said he realizes that this disease was devastating for his wife. It is hard because he sees that it can make a woman feel awkward, uncomfortable, etc. but he says as Susan’s husband, lover, and partner he has always looked at her as beautiful and amazing (and he always will).

This couple has lost many family members and friends to this disease. They also had friends who have survived or are dealing with cancer currently. They have been involved with Relay for 20 years.

Scott and Susan, and relayer’s enjoying dancing portion

Susan and Scott continue to live fulfilling and busy lives. They enjoy each other’s company and do things together, always busy with something like dancing or being involved with their children and grandchildren. They laugh at the fact that they are busier now than when they were younger. They take care of themselves and others, and hope everyone will do the same!

Nan Hastings is a mom, grandma, coworker, runner, friend, and a 2-time breast cancer survivor.

Nan Hasting, me and Troy Matheny

She and her good friend Michele Hartman formed a cancer support group in 2013 when Nan had just finished her treatments for her 2nd fight against breast cancer. Michele's husband was still battling papillary thyroid cancer. A good friend of these two ladies was going through treatments herself and mentioned to Michele and Nan that she wished there was more support for people going through treatments. Michele and Nan said they didn’t see why they couldn’t start a support group for all cancers.

During that time someone asked about donating to their support group. At first, they didn’t know what they would do with the money, but as they talked about it more, they decided to become a 501(c)(3). All donations they receive go to residents in Horry County, helping local people with bills such as electric, gas cards, phone, and food. As Nan said, people fighting cancer worry about not only their health but also the bills. So many bills come in, work life is often affected, and it isn’t healthy for people to be struggling with these worries. They lose sleep or are affected in other physical ways but that energy needs to be used to fight their cancer.

The group is having a 5K on June 30th. You can see more information on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CopingTogetherNorthStrandSC/

For Nan, she was a single mom for her first round of cancer, and she had a son that wanted to join the golf team but she didn’t have the $30.00 because every dollar went to bills and medical costs. Then one day she received $500 from a dear friend. The friend told her to use the money for whatever she needed. Nan knew at that moment that when she was able to she wanted to do the same thing. It is amazing that her second round of cancer is where that desire became a reality.

Now Nan is healthy, helping others through some of the financial issues they are going through, and enjoying life every day!

Troy Matheny is the Senior Community Development Manager for Myrtle Beach and a very energetic, caring person. He has the most amazing drive to help others, is exceptional at fundraising, and has a big heart.

As part of promoting the Grand Strand Relay for Life event I participated in a live show called Carolina & Company with Troy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_JpvlWW0Is I was so nervous that I didn’t say the main reason I am Relaying in every state. The goal is to share peoples’ stories so that others may be impacted in some way, as I am impacted every time I hear their journey. The hope is that someday we will Relay to celebrate the end of cancer and the people who have made the cure possible.

The theme at this year’s Grand Strand event was Dr. Seuss and Troy had a pair of light up tennis shoes that he wore when the sun went down (during the rain). His enthusiasm was contagious!

Troy Matheny signing the Relay shirts

Troy signed my shirts. He also has some great contacts that seem very willing to help in other ways than just financial. He had a contact at the Crown Reef Resort at Myrtle Beach that help me tremendously with the financial burden of a hotel room. Being self-funded means the cost of travel can really add up. The Crown Reef went above and beyond to help with that financial burden. Not only did they help me but their facility was great to stay at, beautiful ocean view, and fun activities for people to enjoy. I would love to visit again someday and would highly recommend them! https://www.crownreef.com/

Both Carolina relays were enjoyable and raised a lot of money for American Cancer Society. The people were kind, friendly, and supportive....not only to others in their community, but for a couple from Michigan as well. A common goal shared by uncommonly kindhearted and caring people!

#relayforlife #relay #southcarolina #carolina #americancancersociety #cancer #survivor #northcarolina

2 notes · View notes