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This testimonial includes a description of this patient's actual medical results. Those results may not be typical or expected for the particular disease type described in this testimonial. For a compilation of outcomes for various disease types, including the type in this testimonial, please
click here.
Rosemary CalhounColumbia, SC
Ovarian and Breast Cancer Survivor
Let me say at the beginning that having cancer is like being in the third act of a play. It’s where everything seems to come together. If you haven’t already, this is when you begin to define what you believe in; you connect with the world … with all the things you never had time for before. It’s a time for a mixture of emotions, and, with the right help, you come out stronger. My husband and I have worked with animal rescue for years. In fact, at our house in the country, I currently have several dogs and cats, and we’re fostering five other cats for a local animal welfare group. One day in January 2005, as I finished caring for some of our resident animals, I suddenly became very nauseous and sick. Because I also had fever and chills, I went to see the doctor that night. He thought I might have diverticulitis and starting treating me for that, and he ordered an ultrasound for later that week. The ultrasound showed something suspicious in my lower left abdomen, and a subsequent CT scan confirmed it was ovarian cancer. My physician sent me to a gynecological oncologist who told me it was Stage 1 cancer. I had surgery, and while the surgeon found some highly aggressive cancer cells in the abdominal fluid, there was no cancer in the 64 tissue samples he took. Surgery was followed by six chemo treatments. In August, when I saw my doctor for a check up, I asked him about the connection between breast and ovarian cancers, telling him I’d been doing some reading on the Internet. He asked what I’d like to do, and I said I thought I should have a mammogram. Sure enough, in October, the mammogram showed two different cancers in my right breast. The surgeon I then saw recommended a mastectomy on the right breast, but I told him I didn’t want to sit around worrying about it coming back and to take both breasts off. A sentinel lymph node test was done prior to surgery which indicated that the cancer was not in the lymph nodes. Following surgery, I went to a new oncologist, since my other one was specific to gynecological oncology. This oncologist started me on six more chemo treatments. I was a little concerned about the treatment plan but was always hesitant to question a doctor. The first treatment made me sick. By the third one, I couldn’t walk and could hardly breathe. I was so sick that I made up my mind I wasn’t having any more chemo. My daughter, Nikki, came to see me, and I told her what I’d decided and that I really thought I’d like to go somewhere else. She asked if I wanted to go to a well-known university program, but I told her I’d turned on the television earlier, something I never do during the day, and the first thing I saw was an ad for some cancer treatment center somewhere that really impressed me. That’s where I wanted to go. She got on the Internet and found Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). She called the next morning and gave me the phone number. I called and Sharon Langham, an oncology information specialist, answered. I was just so emotionally beaten down, all I could do was cry and gasp for breath. She was so reassuring and comforting that I felt like I had a friend for life. She took all my information and told me she’d take care of everything and would get back to me. Within a couple days, before I was due for my next chemo treatment, which I was determined not to take, Sharon had scheduled me for an appointment at CTCA in Philadelphia. That’s when my whole life changed. Before I talked to Sharon, I’d given up hope. I thought I’d die from the treatment, let alone the cancer. I was scared. I didn’t understand everything that was happening to me. And information I found on the Internet about cancer had no compassion, no heart. It was frightening. The most impactful information I received, in a positive way, was from Sharon. The next week, Nikki and I drove to CTCA in Philly while my husband, Robert, stayed behind to care for the pets. He and I had already shipped all my medical records from my prior physicians to CTCA in Philly. Following some testing, I met with a CTCA oncologist. He spent lots of time with me going over every combination of chemo there is for breast cancer, the side effects, their success rates after five years, the pros and cons of each. Then he asked my opinion on the treatment I should have. No one had ever asked me that before. It was empowering. He wanted me to have a part in my own treatment plan. Because I’d been having some issues with seriously low white blood counts during chemo and had actually undergone a blood transfusion prior to my CTCA appointment, the doctor put me in the hospital for my first chemo treatment. Before I traveled up to CTCA for each additional treatment, my oncologist at CTCA would send medication to my local physician to give me if my white blood cell count was low, so my body would be better able to receive the treatment I was going to receive. Additionally, I had a nutritionist and a naturopathic practitioner at CTCA whose advice, help and supplements aided in warding off or lessening side effects from the chemo. The whole body approach CTCA employed in my care completely changed the way I perceived the disease. The staff treated me mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically and nutritionally. For the first time, I felt I had cancer beat. And I felt like I was being rocked in a cradle at CTCA. Everyone cared for me with great compassion and hope. Even the chauffeurs who picked me up at the airport and drove me to the facility, and anywhere else I needed to go, were so sensitive, sweet and gentle. Following chemo, I discussed radiation with the radiation oncologist as well as the medications I’d be taking for the next five years with my oncologist. I learned more about my cancer in a few sessions than I had from all the doctors I’d seen at home. Since no cancer was showing up on any of my tests, I decided to forego radiation for the time being. Throughout my cancer journey, there have been times when I was too sick to even pray. But, even then, God was able to speak to me, direct me and guide me. I believe He led me to CTCA by having me turn on the television at just that moment when the ad came on and then impressing me that it was the right place. And He used cancer to help me learn to stand up for myself with doctors and the medical system. Shortly after I was diagnosed with breast cancer, in one of my darkest hours, I was sitting in my living room meditating. It was in a quiet moment that God gave me the words to this poem. I would never have thought of this by myself, and I quickly wrote it down. I’ve learned one’s mind and thoughts are important to recovery, and I think God wanted me to think on the truth that we’re only given one day at a time to live -- today. Each day is a gift, and I need to use it well. I’ve since made the poem into a bookmark: Today is a Gift Through God’s Love, I can see Thank you, God, for this perfect day. |
