Jeannette Fitzwater, a 1983 Ohio University graduate who studied business administration and a current resident of Oakland, Md., first felt the lump when she brushed against herself in the middle of the night.
It wasn’t until she woke up the next morning and checked that she found the lump on her breast and decided to schedule an appointment with her doctor.
In a span of four days, Fitzwater had tests to determine if the lump was cancerous, was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer, saw a surgeon, scheduled the removal of the lump and went in for the operation. This was followed by three months of chemotherapy, once every four weeks, and 30-40 days of radiation.
Eight years later, she’s still in remission.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Fitzwater is not alone in her story. According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women, or 12 percent, will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. And though the numbers are significantly lower for men — 1 in 1,000, or 0.1 percent — they are not immune from the disease.
Dealing with breast cancer
When Diana Hale, accounts payable clerk at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, was first diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in February 2009, she said her mind went blank.
“When you first hear the word cancer, you don’t hear anything else,” Hale said. “My daughter-in-law and husband were asking questions and taking notes, and I’m glad, because when I heard cancer, my mind just emptied.”
From the first diagnosis to the surgery and treatments, Hale said everything moved quickly and survival was her only thought.
“One of the most important things you need is a support group, and I had my husband, family, friends—they were there for everything,” Hale said. “You also need to have a good attitude because you have to be willing to fight. A lot of days when you are sick and in pain, you want to just give up, and it’s hard, but you have to keep fighting.”
Hale went into remission in June 2009, but the cancer came back in November 2011. After undergoing another surgery and more treatments, she has been cancer free since June 2012, and her tests in August 2013 still looked good.
Although the treatments wear a patient down, both Hale and Fitzwater continued to work.
Fitzwater said she found her work to be therapeutic.
“One of the most difficult things was allowing people to help me,” she said. “I just wanted to keep going and minimize what was going on so I could have some sense of control over my life. I consider it a blip in my life. … It’s not what defines me.”
Medical insight
Depending on patient needs, O’Bleness has the ability to care for breast cancer patients, said Deb Riley, a registered nurse and oncology manager at O’Bleness.
“We have the ability to do the surgery and mammograms, as well as chemotherapy and radiation, and to take care of them from start to finish,” she said. “However, we do not offer reconstructive services.”
Dr. Shakir Sarwar, hematologist/oncologist, travels to O’Bleness from Grant Medical Center in Columbus twice a week to see patients in Athens where they can receive their follow-up care and treatments.
“The O’Bleness Oncology Infusion Services Clinic is open five days per week and patients can receive treatment throughout the week,” Sarwar said.
The ability to find care close to home can be an issue for folks from a small town.
Fitzwater said one of the biggest challenges wasn’t that the process was painful, but rather living an hour away from the nearest hospital that offered chemotherapy and radiation.
“I would drive an hour there to be there for five minutes and have to drive an hour back,” she said. “It was just the way it was.”
Other programs at O’Blen
ess focus on the comfort care for patients, said Susan Kozak, assistant in medical education and facilitator of the Look Good Feel Better program at O’Bleness.
The Look Good Feel Better campaign is an American Cancer Society program that uses volunteer licensed cosmetologists and donations from the cosmetic industry to provide services and free cosmetic kits to those who are managing appearance-related side effects of cancer treatments.
“It’s more so about getting ladies together who are experiencing the same type of things,” Kozak said. “A lot of it is talking with one another and supporting each other.”
Other programs offered are the Sharing Hope Boutique, which provides free hats and wigs to cancer patients even if they are not O’Bleness patients, as well as comfort bags to help patients through the process.
Holzer Health System also offers cancer care at its Holzer Center for Cancer Care in Gallipolis, Ohio.
Local initiatives
Local organizations, such as Brenen’s Coffee Café & Deli, 38 S. Court St., have also joined breast cancer awareness efforts.
Brenen’s started selling pink cups for Breast Cancer Awareness Month last year when it stumbled across the cups on JavaStock, said Josh Thomas, co-owner of Brenen’s.
“We literally just came across them a year or so ago,” he said. “We weren’t necessarily looking for them, but saw them as we were browsing around looking for other stuff, and we thought it was a great idea, so we ordered them.”
According to the JavaStock website, 20 percent of all profits made from the sale of the Pink Ribbon cups will be donated to breast cancer research and awareness.
For three years, Chi Omega sorority has paired with the Athens Fire Department to raise money for the Southeastern Ohio Breast Cancer Survivor Network through special T-shirt sales, as well as participating in various events to raise money for the network.
Raising money for a local organization provides a tangible opportunity to see the effects that the efforts make, said Margo Roddy, vice president of Chi Omega and a junior studying management and business pre-law.
“I’ve met the women and have seen how excited they are that we are working with them and trying to help them,” Roddy said. “With other large national organizations, you are raising money and helping, but you don’t see the results first hand.”
Student Perspective
Sporting a pink streak in her hair and a pink bracelet around her wrist, Molly Kauffman, an undecided freshman, incorporates as much pink into her life as possible during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Kauffman’s mother was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in May 2010. Although she didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation, Kauffman’s mother chose to receive a double mastectomy to prevent the cancer from spreading and has been in remission for three years.
Fitzwater’s daughter Paige, a junior studying accounting, was in seventh grade when her mother was diagnosed.
“The original thought is, ‘My mom’s going to die,’ because that’s what you associate with cancer,” Paige said. “After she explained everything to us, we understood she’d be OK, and my mom is so strong that we forgot she was going through chemo and radiation; it just became a part of the routine.”
Both Paige and Kauffman have a doubled risk of getting breast cancer, as it could run in the family, according to the American Cancer Society. But although the risk exists, Kauffman said it’s hard to worry about it at a young age.
“The risks are higher for me, so yeah, I have to worry about it, but it’s hard to worry about it now,” she said. “I’m 18 — I’m not going to worry about it right now, but it’s scary.”
ao007510@ohiou.edu
@thisjelli
