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Show 8 Cmuiuml 9 Caleft)aA' B1 Wednesday, January 23, 2008 FAMILY PROVIDED SUPPORT SYSTEM .Living after cancer By Kristin Baldwin Express Writer There is never a good time to get cancer. In 2006, life for Shanon Johnson and his family was already a balancing act when he received the ."We need to talk" call from his doctor. With three children's academic and extra-curricular schedules, Shanon's career as a high school teacher and a coach, and the entire family working to build the house they now live in, it was not a good time to have cancer. "I was in the middle of teaching my class when the doctor called," explained Johnson. "I went down to the doctor's office and he took me back to his office, not the examining ex-amining room, and I thought, 'Man this is pretty serious.' The test results were melanoma. mela-noma. I didn't know anything about it other than it was skin cancer. Then the doctor said there are a couple of cancers that make the hair rise on the back of my neck and melanoma is one of them." A few months ear lier, Shanon and his wife Tara were working on their home when a wall fell, hitting the back of Shanon's head. A few weeks later he noticed that the cut was not healing and so he asked the doctor to take a look during an unrelated unrelat-ed medical visit. The test results forced an uninvited into the t 1 Shanon Johnson was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2006. He had surgery to remove the cancerous can-cerous cells on the back of his head in October of that year. A skin graft from his thigh was used to replace the skin cut out. Johnson's life: Dad had cancer. Melanoma is considered the most serious type of skin cancer. can-cer. According to the National Cancer Institute (http:www. cancer.gov), melanoma can occur anywhere on the body. Early detection is crucial in beating melanoma. Doctors recommend checking the skin for changes or anything that looks abnormal. Skin examination examina-tion done by a doctor or nurse is a recommended way to know if you are at risk. Risk factors include unusual moles, exposure to natural or artificial light, family history, red or blond hair, light-colored skin and freckles, blue eyes, " - . ' - .. I : A A " " "" " j. .,. . . ' ; , S . ' '--s ' ' . .."..'Ik. k ' - " ' 'a . 1 : r - ( ''4A--A ' . ft . . .n..,,... .-. -t., j Shanon Johnson with his wife Tara; daughter, Jade, 1 5; and son, 18, attends College of Eastern Utah in Price. Each office is independently owned and operated. X ' V A portion of every sale Is A donated to the 1820West 1 Children's Miracle t Vernal, Utah j Hwy. 40, Ste F Network. 435-781-2500 j Outstanding Agents. Outstanding Results ! lire exposure to natural or artificial light, or being white and over 20 years old. At the time of his diagnosis, Shanon felt great. It was hard to believe he had such a deadly disease because aside from being told he was sick, Shanon considered himself an exceptionally excep-tionally healthy person. If he had not been hit on the head, it is possible he may have never learned he had melanoma until it was seriously advanced throughout his body. So in the fall of 2006 . Shanon went in for surgery to remove the area on the back of his head where the cancer was discovered. Along with the surgery, the doctors would check his lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread into his bloodstream. Fortunately, everything went well and it was determined that it had not spread into his lymph nodes. The Johnsons, grateful for this news, hoped all the cancer cells had been removed and that they were at the end of their ordeal. Shanon even enjoyed a few of the surgery's side affects. "They told me that the hair around the area of the surgery would probably prob-ably not grow back, which I said wasn't a big deal. It was actually pretty cool because afterwards af-terwards I was able to wear a hat at school," said Shanon. Sha-non. Another An-other bonus was being permitted to wear sweatpants because a skin graft had been taken from v t his thigh. Unfortunately, the melanoma mela-noma was not through with Shanon. After analyzing the growth removed during surgery, sur-gery, the doctors suspected the melanoma may have spread and recommended he start a serious cancer-fighting regimen. regi-men. He was offered a drug called interferon. If he decided to participate, Shanon would take high doses of interferon every day for one month at the Huntsmen Cancer Institute in Salt Lake. After the first month he would take low doses three times a week for the rest of i V, A Jan Sharp 823 400!) One of Shanon Johnson's greatest passions is coaching. Johnson said, "it just turned out that coaching for me was therapy. It was 2 hours a day that I didn't think about the cancer. They are helping me more than I am helping them. They just don't know it." the year. During this time he would be excessively tired and sick among other side affects. It was difficult, however, for the Johnsons to embrace the concept of Shanon becoming so sick and miserable through the treatment in order to fight something he couldn't see, feel or know was a present threat. Though the doctors had recommended the treatment, there was no way to know if -the cancer had really spread. After serious and sincere consideration, con-sideration, the Johnson family as a whole decided it would be best for Shanon to forego the treatment. - "So life went on and was getting back to normal a bit," Shanon explained. "We saw life differently though. Tara and I started having conversations that we probably wouldn't have had till we were 80 years old. I know our experience has been good for our marriage even though we already had a good marriage." Then in the spring of 2007 Shanon noticed a tiny black dot on his shoulder. The nightmare had returned. After enduring the same testing and waiting process, the doctors explained that the melanoma had advanced from a stage II to a stage TV meaning the melanoma cells had spread to another area away from the original site. "We studied treatments Brant, 9. Their daughter, Jessica, it 11 t Fantastic home lin nlcil near school and shopping. Hi niilitiilly deroralrd, 5 hrd-room, hrd-room, 2 hnili, Lxtra room dowtiitairi could bp ucd for a dm or playroom. Newer wimlowi and tiding. Call an today. H2H-4OO0 w L Jade Johnson (here with her brother Brant) plays on the Uintah basketball team and is excited about the team's fundraiser Hoops For Hope. All money raised will go towards the Radiation Vacation Van; which will transport cancer patients to their treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake free of charge. and the option they gave me is called biochemo, which is a combination of chemotherapy and immune therapy drugs," said Shanon. "We didn't want to look at each other and know we hadn't tried." They decided to go through two rounds of the treatment. Shanon finished coaching summer basketball the end of June and began treatments the beginning of July 2007 with the plan to be finished in time for Shanon to teach school. Shanon explained that once at the Huntsman Cancer Institute they "put me on the drugs. They treat you great. They were awesome to work with - great nurses, doctors, and interns. The food is great. You even order off a menu!" "But soon I lost my appetite. appe-tite. I couldn't eat anything but cantaloupe, Gatorade and water. I got sick a few times and my skin got really red. The day they released me I tried to get a drink of water and I couldn't even drink it. All the sudden I couldn't eat anything. The smells killed me. The texture tex-ture tasted all messed up." When Shanon checked back into the Huntsman Cancer Institute for his second round of treatment two weeks later he had lost 25 pounds. The second treatment was even more difficult. It was not only Kristcn Davis 790 0803 V i i i. 'A i 4 X physically debilitating, it also drained Shanon emotionally; but he made it through. Shanon had received the following piece of advice: If you can, don't try and go through cancer treatments alone. Shanon relied on his dedicated wife, family, friends, doctors and coworkers as he endured the treatments and their grueling gruel-ing after affects. Through it all he believes, "going through cancer has helped me live life more fully. I have to say that a little remorsefully. re-morsefully. It's like the difference differ-ence between a black and white show and a full motion movie with surround sound. Events, relationships, moments and opportunities have much more impact and are cherished more deeply." While Shanon decided not to coach football in the fall, he did continue to teach and now coaches the girls' basketball team. There is always a chance that the melanoma could recur but the Johnsons spend less time thinking about that and more time enjoying each other. If he had only one day left to live Shanon would "do nothing noth-ing different than I do right . now. I'd just gather my family and friends around, have a big party and tell them how much I appreciate them." .1. X, n st 3 New Construction Homes Available! Homes ranging from 3600 - 4100 sq. ft. 5 Bedrooms, 3 baths, over unfinished basements, with laree lots. For additional information, call Kristcn today at 790-0803. Don't face cancer alone. Call 800-ACS-2345 or log on to www.cancer.org 247 for information or to find free services available in the Uintah Basin. January Uintah Recreation District fall and winter programs for youths, teens and adults. Call 781-0982 for more information. Golden Age Center Dances, 155 S. 100 W. Vernal. Every Friday night 8 to 10 p.m. Kays Band, all are welcome. TOPS meets Thursday at the city offices, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Winter Kundalini Yoga classes. Wednesdays 12-12:45 12-12:45 p.m. & 6-7:30 p.m. Call Maragret 781-8711 for more information. Vernal Family History Center classes every Wednesday. Call 789-3618 789-3618 for times. Uintah County Library, Toddler Story Time Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. & Tot and Mom Book Club Thursdays at 11 a.m. Call 789-0091. Ski Bus-The Canyons, Uintah Recreation District, 12-18 (high school), Jan 26, Feb. 9 & 23, March 8. Wildlife of the Uinta Basin exhibit, Utah Field House of Natural History, 496 E. Main, Vernal. Call 789-3799. Utah Arts Council Traveling Fine Art Exhibit, Western Heritage Museum, 328 E. 200 S., Jan. 5-31. Call 789-7399. January 23 Glaucoma, macular degeneration and eye diseases discussed by Dr. Shane Powell, ophthalmologist with Active Re-Enrty. 2 p.m. at the Golden Age Center, 155 S. 100 W., Vernal. Free to the public. Friends of the Utah Field House annua' meeting. Public wecome. At the Utah Field House of Natural History, 496 E. Main, Vernal. Call Nelle Heeney for more information 789-3147. January 25-26 GED Test, Uintah School District Office, 636 W. 200 S., begins at 6 p.m. Fri. to continue Sat. Contact USD by Jan. 24. Fee is $66. Call David John or Shela Swain at 781-4675 for more information. January 26 Boy Scouts of America Klondike Winter Camp competition at Bacon Park. Vision Casting Event, Uintah Basin Christian Academy at Western Park. Dessert and appetizers to kick-off capital campaign for the new school construction. Invitation event, from 6 to 8 p.m. Ice Rink Vernal Youth City Council Food Drive, Admission to the ice rink is free with two cans of food per person or ten cans of food per family. From 5 to 6:45 p.m. ContactAdrienne Francisco at 790-0876 for more information. January 29 to 30 Chamber Water Conference, all day discussions and events. Call 789-1 352 Vernal Area Chamber of Commerce for more information. February 2 National Turkey Federation Banquet, Vernal's Western Park. Call 789-5190 for more information. February 5 Western States Presidential Primary Election Day. Polls Open at 7 a.m. Close at 8 p.m. Vote in usual polling places. s x |