By the time I finished reading “Cured: The John Cleland Story”
in the Winter 2004 Survivors’ Issue, I was celebrating and
crying at the same time. My moment of truth literally crashed into
me on July 1, 1997, when, at the age of 33, I was told that I had
advanced breast cancer. For days my husband and I drifted around
in a hopeless, desperate stupor until we walked into Dr. Ben Kundaria’s
oncology office in Santa Maria, California. His office blessed us
with the gifts of understanding, hope and living again. There are
no words that can explain how grateful I am to him and his staff.
They gave my family our lives back.
Susan Parkinson
O ’Fallon, Ill.
In 2001, while trying to raise two teenagers and battle lymphoma,
I met an incredible man through an online dating service.
On our first date, I revealed to him my health issues, but he seemed
unconcerned,
which I thought was very brave, considering he had lost his
first wife in 1995 to lymphoma. As our relationship grew more serious,
and I faced yet another round of chemo, I gave him the chance
to end our relationship. After all, he didn’t need to share
the burden. As I tearfully prepared to say my goodbyes, he enfolded
me in the safety of his arms and said, “Baby, this isn’t
my first rodeo. I can see you through this.” And so he did.
I am now in remission, and we celebrated our first wedding anniversary
December 26! My life has truly been blessed with a life partner
who was only looking for “happily ever after.” [See
the Winter 2004 issue for an article about dating and cancer.]
Joellen Zegarac
Hobart, Ind.
I enjoy your magazine and give it out to patients. I just
need to comment on Kathy LaTour’s choice of words in the opening paragraph of “Cured:
The John Cleland Story.” I think the language used by healthcare professionals
is so important, and the phrase “he had failed three grueling chemo regimens...” needs
rewording. The implication is that he did not try hard enough, and thus failed.
The chemotherapy can fail patients—patients cannot fail chemo. It’s
just a major pet peeve of mine, and I hope to write up an article soon
on our poor choice of language used with patients. Thanks for listening.
Wendy
Walters, LCSW
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Birmingham, Ala.
[Kathy responds: I agree and will watch for that language
in the future.]
I was thrilled to see the article in the Winter 2004
issue about exercise. (My issue actually arrived on my
cancer anniversary date.) I had cancer
21 years
ago, and to this day, exercise plays an incredibly important role in
my health, well being and life. I wanted to mention an incredible organization
that I became
involved with a couple years ago. Team Survivor (www.teamsurvivor.org)
is a nonprofit organization that provides free fitness and supportive
services to women of all
ages who have dealt with the challenges of cancer in their lifetime.
These programs allow women who have or had cancer the opportunity to
take a proactive approach
to their own health and to be in a supportive environment with other
women with similar experiences.
Angie Bagnas
San Diego, Calif.
Words cannot express what a wonderful service you provide
for cancer patients by empowering them with the knowledge
to cope, understand and
learn about their
disease by reading the pages of CURE magazine. A recent CT scan of my
thorax revealed no change, meaning my tumor had not grown larger since
the last scan,
but it had not shrunk either, so my symptoms persisted. I was discouraged
and believed the chemotherapy treatments I had been on since August weren’t
working. Then I remembered reading in the Fall 2004 issue that CT scans
have limitations. Namely, they often cannot distinguish the difference
between residual
live tumor and dead tumor or scar tissue, especially after treatment.
When I mentioned this to my doctor, he agreed and suggested I get another
PET scan.
The results of my latest PET scan still show activity in my thorax, but
the activity has decreased by more than 50 percent, meaning my chemo
treatments are effectively
killing the cancer cells. I received this great news three days before
Christmas and it’s the best Christmas gift I could have gotten. If I
had not read about CT scans in CURE, I would not have questioned the
limitations of
the CT scan and most likely would not have had another PET scan revealing
this wonderful
news. Thanks to your outstanding publication, I feel like an empowered
Sandra J. Socha
Chicago, Ill.
Thank you for bringing CURE to my mailbox. I suppose
this is a little strange, but it is one way that
I mark my survivorship. As I read through
each issue I
think, yeah, I’ve done that, or yeah I’ve been there. This is the
sort of stuff that makes me feel most alive after having been diagnosed
with multiple myeloma in 1998.
Live strong, stay strong. Some of these
are the words Lance Armstrong has marketed quite successfully. That is
the way I have approached my
treatments all along.
After VAD treatment during the summer of 1998, I was started on a regimen
of maintenance chemo to last for another year. During that time I trained
to take
part in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training bicycle
century ride around Lake Tahoe. I did the Tahoe ride, 104 miles, and
many others since. For the summer of 2005, my goal is to ride the Erie
Canal from Buffalo,
New York, to Albany. So, keep up the good work. Your magazine is my only
source for getting trusted and up-to-date treatment information and options.
Thank you.
Steven Thomsen
Hampden, Mass.
I just wanted to write a short note to tell you all how
overjoyed I am to receive such valuable cancer information.
I have taken the magazine
to work and they
are in awe and plan to sign up as well. They too could not believe such
valuable information is free. The magazine gives hope, especially with
the survival stories
as well as the latest technology. Again, words cannot thank you enough.
B. Burwell
Irving, Texas
Once again I find myself experiencing such gratitude for
the excellent quality of your periodical. I don’t know that I am a “survivor” yet
since I am not quite a year away from treatment. Nevertheless, I appreciate
reading what others have to say. It gives me great hope! Mary Ellen Neeves
St. Louis, Mo.
[Editor’s note:
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship identifies you as
a survivor from the day of diagnosis and for the rest of your life.]
My mother was diagnosed on Jan. 1, 2002 with AML (acute
myelogenous leukemia). I stumbled over one of your magazines
in the waiting room at the hospital.
I looked at it and said just another magazine to fool people that there
is a magic
pill for cancer. I put it in my workbag, and it stayed there until I
was cleaning out my bag and a small article about AML was staring up
at me. From that day
on I read every word in every issue! My mother lost her battle on April
7, 2003, and I was there with her every step of the way.
Delissa Wolfe
Pulaski, Va.
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