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Show A10 The Emery County Review, Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Facing ADVERSITY and Finding a Reason to Smile Continued from Page A1. the devastating news brought tears to her eyes, but not for long. “I cried for about 30 seconds and said ‘OK.’ What are you going to do?” Jan said. From that moment forward her strength in the face of cancer has awed her family and friends. “We all thought she was We all know that mom deserves to relax. Get her the perfect Mother’s Day Gift BEaUtifUL fLoorinG faking her positive attitude for our benefit,” Liza said. Knowing that she needed surgery, Jan asked the doctors if it could wait, she was acting in a stage production of The Sound of Music and didn’t want to bow out of the play. She was told she could wait on the surgery until after the play. “We all thought she was nuts,” Liza said, smiling. Jan had surgery on March 4 and was back in the classroom after a week, where she was met by a classroom of sixth grade students that have been curious, sympathetic and supportive. Jan never hid the battle she was fighting from her students, instead, she used it as an educational tool. “There are things to learn at school other than reading and writing and math. Kids need to learn how to face life’s challenges. I’ve always been aware that there are eyes on me,” said the University of Utah graduate. Jan underwent her first chemotherapy treatment in early April and faced her second treatment on April 25. She will undergo her last treatment on June 7, and after her first treatment she knew the day would come when her hair would begin to fall out from the chemotherapy. She didn’t let that cold, hard fact slow her down, but after Liza told her that when the time came Quin, 4, and Braydon, 10, wanted to shave their heads to match their grandmother, dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy treatment wasn’t quite as difficult. “It made a hard thing easier,” Jan said. With the decision made that when Jan began to lose her hair they would throw a head shaving party, 4-yearold Quin could hardly wait for the day to come. The day arrived on April 20, when Jan said her hair was coming out in clumps. So that Sunday night the family gathered at the Hanson home and the shaving began, first playfully as they gave each other Mohawks and then finally shaving their heads smooth. Even Quin and Braydon’s dad, Mike, sat down and had his head shaved. The next day it was Cloyd’s Floor Store “Carpets of America” 435-637-5146 • 66 East Main Street, Price Monday–Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. HUGE LaMinatE SaLE Jan Hanson’s sixth grade class. Photos by Josie Luke Jan Hanson teaches her sixth grade class at Cottonwood Elementary in Orangeville. back to school, and Jan wore her new wig to school for the first time. She said she showed her class her shaved head once and then told them they wouldn’t see it again as she put her wig back on. “When I wore my wig for the first time one of the boys said ‘wow, you look a lot better.’ I must have looked like a real train wreck before,” Jan laughed. For Braydon, who also attends Cottonwood Elementary, the reaction from his classmates upon arriving to school without his hair, was perhaps predictable. “They all wanted to rub my head,” he said. Having battled against cancer and now struggling against the effects of chemotherapy, Jan said she has been amazed at the support of her family and friends and the faculty and students at Cottonwood. “The faculty is like my family. They’re like my brothers and sisters. We have literally raised our families together,” Jan said. Her determination and positive outlook has been both a source of fierce pride for her family, and at times a source of frustration. “All of her fears are based on how is this going to impact everyone else. I think she wants us all to be OK, so she makes it OK,” Liza said. “I teach my students that attitude is everything. It would be really easy to lie down on the couch and say I’m not moving until this is over, but I can’t do that,” Jan replied. And for the teacher who has used her battle with cancer to teach her students, children and grandchildren how to face adversity, she has also learned a thing or two along the way. “I didn’t have enough respect for cancer. I’ve been blessed, but it’s still a pain. Chemotherapy is not for sissies,” she said. If there was one thing she could convince all women to take seriously is the need for regular mammograms. She said her cancer was very deep in her chest and it would have taken a long time to discover the lump without a mammogram. And as Jan and her family await the day when her chemotherapy is behind her and life can return to normal, they still marvel at the mother, grandmother and teacher for her steely stare and soft smile in the face of adversity. “I come from strong pioneer stock,” Jan said with a shrug. “They did what had to be done.” HUNTSMAN AUTOPLE now Carrying RV Trailers & 5th Wheels All Diesel Pick-uPs PriceD $1000/ Below low N.A.D.A. Book Autoplex Service • Full Service • Spring Tune Up • Alignment • State Inspection • Full Service • Power Steering Flush • Accessories • Complete Detail • Wheels • Tires • 2008 29 ft. Zinger 2 SlideS-SleepS 8 $17,995 435-687-5500 • 505 N. Main • Huntington, UT • www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com•435-687-5500• •435-687-5500•www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com• www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com•www.huntsmanautoplex.com |