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Show LIFESTYLES 8 - DIXIE SUN WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, DSC cancer survivors tell stories Jan. 11, 2003, and Thomas was life flighted to Primary Childrens Hospital. said. Thomas is now cancer free and has been for six Chemotherapy was started and lasted for three months. Thomas then received a bone marrow transplant from her sister, Aubrey. It took a month for the marrow to engraft and she was allowed to leave the hospital, but she had to stay in Salt Lake City. Living in a Ronald McDonald apartment just five minutes from the hospital took Thomas away from a lot. Her mom and little brothers were living with her, but her dad and sisters would leave Hurricane every Friday and return every Sunday. Thomas said it was hard missing school, not just because it was hard to keep on track with the packets of work she was given, but years. You never expect it to be you, Thomas said. Because she was in the hospital so long, she met a lot When everything seemed to be going well, Thomass BY KC CHRISTOFFERSEN Dixie Sun Staff Wnter with AML leukemia at the age of 15. It all started with headaches. A common misconception is that cancer is for the old and weary, but walking the campus of Dixie State College are cancer survivors who do not fit that stereotype. Kara Thomas, a freshman business major from Hurricane, was diagnosed Thomas would wake up with a throb in her head, and it would slowly become dull as the day went by. Doctors first diagnosed her with hypoglycemia, but she was catching every bug around and not getting better. Slowly, Thomas started - is very important. losing weight. The next step the doctors took was to take out her tonsils, but that only increased the weight loss. Thomas then became anemic, and her mom was worried about how much weight she was losing. It was not until her mother took her to the hospital on a hunch that the doctors took a blood test and found the cancer. It was found on bone marrow rejected her body, a situation called graft vs. host. She was then given a steroid that she stayed on for a couple of years. It was not until her senior year that she got to move home. Having missed 2 Vi years of school, she was very behind and said she went back to school mostly Times are continually changing, especially when it comes to the way people communicate with one another. Communication between people has evolved in devices but has digressed in verbal communication. It seems that as generations pass, communication has become more vulgar and primitive. Phrases from generations past included oh my heart, carrying the dont beat a torch, dead horse, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, cool your jets, and dont keep all your eggs in one basket. Though uncommon among the everyday lingo of students, many parents still use phrases like these on a basis. My dad says Judas Priest all the time, said Jenessa Butterfield, a junior nursing major from Oregon, Wis. I have no idea what it means. Butterfield said her parents try to say several things that students say. My mom tries to say 'freaking' and stuff like that, and it doesnt really work, Butterfield said. Butterfield said her brother says "thats what day-to-d- she said," and her mom thought it was awful at first; but now her mom says it all the time because she thinks its funny. She said her dad is still a little appalled by it. It used to embarrass me a lot, but its to the point that I dont get embarrassed by my parents anymore, Butterfield said. And my parents are pretty OK with it. I mean, they could be a lot worse. Some phrases parents use are embraced by students. My mom says oh my heck, and I say that sometimes, Butterfield said. for the social aspect. school. Jumping into college without having a lot of edu Rick Smith, a sophomore integrated studies major from North Salt Lake, said he has used some of the phrases his parents have said. My mom always says oh my lands, and I like that because its not a substitute for anything, he said. Its completely innocent. I want to adopt that. Smith said a lot of older people try to say things like hey, whats up or thats cool, and it catches him off guard because those arent normal things for them to say. He has noticed that some say things differently, like saying the days of the week with an at the end. Smith said his dad speaks Chinese and would always say a phrase when he was ff I 8 wi I SI jb li a Jr A i a regular check-uThey thought it had come back. A He had been pronounced cancer-fre- e and thought he was going to have to go through it all again. Fortunately, the tests wer, wrong. However, Boweis was told he was having problems with his kidneys caused by chemotherapy I'm good now, Bowers said. It was scary at first, but I'm not on any medic- . individual. Because he has had cancer before, it's that much more likely that he'll get it again, making him a high-ris- k and unlikely to 1 Jays! sun si asifl h jOU aroun Wh their anoth Wee N he aband insured. If I were to go out Iwou myself, couldnt Bowers said. forever, repres and buy insurance by I attend Obam I definitely appreciate advise those people whove beaten cancer because I know what theyve experienced Bowers also said he's My news going czar gained perspective and appreciates his good health now because whenever he hears of someone sick or with cancer his heart drops czar, I the daddy-daught- dates er and not having the atten tion she now feels like children need in order thrive. However, she said she would not change what shes been through in any way. Having only one pat ent in the home forced to me to be an extremely independent and individual, North said. Throughoi11 my life I have many times felt that I am more capable in many situations because of the things that I've been through. ' if. r i & I 'r pi I ff I im Russia 7 page p whene ha m 4 f lif' on vi required to face by seeing their parents divorce Dani North, a junior business administration major from St. George, said coming from a broken family definitely its ups and downs. Among the challenge' she has faced by not having a father in her life are not experiencing 31 c Even though he has been in remission for five years, Bowers is uninsurable asai continued from 3 E ation. " $ B )0U. o r:i c What p. DIVORCE upset that means he's mad or frustrated. He said he used it one time around his friends and didnt realize that it was Chinese. Smith said he has noticed a lot of different phrases and terms that his grandparents say. His grandma asked him if he was going steady with anyone, and when telling a story she will say I he says and she says, says to describe conversations between herself and others. My grandpa always calls us monkeys, Smith said. 'What are you monkeys up to?' There is a language barrier between generations, but that's what keeps life entertaining and interesting. It at least makes for a good laugh for some students. r I 1 Bowers waited until after Christmas to start chemotherapy, and it lasted four months. He would go every two weeks and would have to sit for four hours with an IV in his arm. The chemotherapy turned my pee red, Bowers said. I had a stained toilet because of it. Chemotherapy affected everything, Bowers said. He was really tired, and certain foods sounded and tasted better. Chocolate milk and toast were his Phrases from parents, past not so ommon with students nowadays BY RACHAEL NOXON Dixie Sun Staff Wnter very rare and most common among elderly pe Bowers had the No. phoma doctor in the world working on him, and he slowly started to get better Bowers was drawing close to his fifth year free of cancer when he wentie the doctor in December fe of people struggling serve. Thomas was able to get her G.E.D the same week her class graduated, but she missed out on a lot. Now shes learning what most people learned in high A'EDl good health, Bowers was given a rather high dose The cancer he had was with the same thing. Thomas said: It takes the right attitude to learn to enjoy life. Bad things may come, but you still have to work hard. Another cancer survivor at DSC is Boyd Bowers, a sophomore business major from Taylorsville. Bowers was diagnosed with lymphoma when he went in for his physical to serve an LDS mission when he was 18. Bowers was completely unaware of any signs of cancer. The only thing he remembers is noticing a bump, and it was found to be cancer. The biggest thing on Bowers mind was what the future held for him the treatments and whether hed be able to serve a mission. For a while, he was told hed never be able to socially as well. I didnt start dating until I was 19, she said. these two people, spreading awareness on DSCs campus favorites. Radiation was next, and it lasted every day for a month. Because he was young and in otherwise cation was hard, Thomas Uc |