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Show Cancer: A Closer Look lrvur-': : . : ' .-A By LINDA HARRIS Cancer strikes approximately ap-proximately one in four persons in the United States. For some of us it will never come very close - close enough to affect our lives; for others of us, it has or will come unforgettably close and may disrupt the pattern of our lives permanently. Many of the latter have fought cancer i determinedly and won. ; In fact, anyone who has ; fought it has won ; something, even those ; who have not survived. There are many of our ; friends and neighbors ; who have been per- sonally affected or have ; had family members hit by the disease, but perhaps we don't fully ! appreciate what they have experienced or what they have learned , and can pass on to us. I learned some important ' things about courage I and family and about , really looking at things J when I talked with some j of these people and j heard their stories. Thelma Higginson I and her family are I fighting for a good t cause. When Mrs. ! Higginson's doctor first diagnosed her illness as BETTY MAN LEY, Lindon, sits at her table and reflects about her successful battle with cancer. "I can do everything I used to do.' says Betty Mauley. another support system -- other people around her who had also been stricken by cancer. They came to confide in one another. The only thing that buying herself at least six more years. Not bad for someone who was originally given only three weeks. Delia Davis of Pleasant Grove is the wife of Dean L. Davis and mother of eight the tumor. ' In spite of his continuing con-tinuing struggle, Darrell Newman and his family have adjusted ad-justed well and find joy in what they do have. Darrell says he has learned tn look a lot new strength to the healing muscles. A year after surgery she took up bowling. It took a lot of persistence and a lot of work, but now she not only bowls, she shovels, - ' V-H 'vV h y A. k- , i -: , f a. , .-. - f V v f . . . . ' ' s- , 4 f " ,-' -"!. ' , . ' I ' ' ; I - - - f I I v . . ' , m ' V v ? , ' ' , , ft v ' ; S -.-. . . v v . , f " cancer, he felt that she had about three weeks : to live. That was over six years ago. In September of 1976 i Thelma Higginson was very tired. She was ' working at the American Fork Hospital at the time and preparing for her son's wedding later that month, but all she really wanted to do was sleep. One morning before work she fell across her bed at home in hopes of getting a little extra rest. As she landed, she felt a sharp jab. She stood up to see what she had fallen on but there was nothing on the bed. ' She laid back down and '. again felt the sharp pain. The third time I there was no jab so she I tried to forget about it ; and go about her busy life. Occasionally over the next few weeks, she experienced the pains but didn't really take ' them seriously until her ! husband, Clyde, insisted ', she see a doctor as soon I as the wedding was ; over. j The first of October i 1976 Mrs. Higginson was j diagnosed as having j lymphoma and bone j marrow cancer. Ex-j Ex-j ploratory surgery revealed that a tumor I about 6" in diameter ; had entwined itself f around her abdominal organs. The tumor itself was inoperable so Mrs. ' Higginson began a month of radiation '. treatments in a Salt I Lake City hospital. The treatments made her ; very ill but by Halloween evening she was able to return ! home. For ap- Droximatelv one vear closer at things - the trees, the birds, the limbs. "You see them a lot closer and with more appreciation," he says. "It has brought me closer to the Lord and to my family," he adds. He says he has "perfect kids." They can tell when it's building up and they know what to do. (Some cancers often have periods of acute flare-up and then periods of remission. ) Judy says the American Cancer Society have been very supportive. They allotted them a certain amount each year for transportation, medicine, medic-ine, etc. She feels research has helped also to add years to her husband's life. Much of that research is ' being done at the University of Utah Medical Center and on their semi-annual trips to that facility they are told about any new drugs that are being tried. But Mrs. Newman states, "We can't really say, 'When you retire, we'll do this and this'." They can't really plan that way - only a day at a time. Still she feels Darrell is very lucky to be around and they are very lucky to have him. Cancer has also been an intruder in the life of Betty Manley of Lindon. Betty went to work one morning and noticed an extreme tenderness in her breast. It was diagnosed as mastitis and treated. After the swelling went down, she noticed that a lump still remained. She checked with the doctor and children. Just over a year ago she found a lump on her throat. She visited her doctor and he removed the lump. A biopsy proved the lump cancerous and Mrs. Davis received radiation treatments for . Hodgkin's disease, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. The radiation therapy lasted twelve weeks. Her disease is now in remission. Mrs. Davis feels that her fight with cancer ,was relatively easy and says she believes most cancers can be cured if detected and treated early. Darrell Newman, 40, of Pleasant Grove, says he has gained a lot through his experience with cancer. At 33 he was the healthy father of two children working as a machinist at Geneva. Then he noticed he was feeling very tired. His wife, Judy, says, "For a year or so he felt like he was getting old." The symptoms were subtle and gradual. He had had back problems and thought the tiredness was related to that. One day he tried to whistle and couldn't. The next day he tried to swallow -- and wasn't able. Medical tests revealed an enlarged and malignant thymus gland. The surgical findings? Inoperable cancer. Tnirty days was the life expectancy that was projected for him. For 56 days he received radiation therapy which did essentially nothing to reduce the size of the tumor or prevent its growth. Afterwards "VE LEARNED TO LOOK AT THINGS a lot closer now -- the trees, the birds, the limbs." says Darrell Newman, cancer victim. witnin a week she was in the hospital undergoing surgery for a radical mastectomy. This was in August of 1975. She had had no other symptoms. She did not require any radiation or chemotherapy. After the surgery, which required the cutting of muscles and nerves, she could not even pick up a bar of soap with her hand, let alone feed herself. But she decided from the beginning she would not let it get the best of her. She exercised, exer-cised, she did housework; this gave hoes, cans her own vegetables, and basically, does anything she wants to do. She says she can do everything she used to do. At first her fanily were frightened; so was she. "Who wouldn't be," she asks. One thing that really bothered her was that she had a child at home that she might not see grow up. But at the time, besides her family, Betty had Betty is required to do now is have a physical once a year. She gets a very complete and thorough exam. "In a way," she says, "I feel right now that I'm safer than a lot of people. I have good check-ups." And you can bet that she watches very carefully for any signs. Her advice ad-vice to us -- "Read the literature and go by the signs. That's what I did and it saved my life." cnemotnerapy (treatment (treat-ment by drugs) was started and has continued con-tinued to the present, seven years from the time of diagnosis. Aftei 11 months, Mr. Newman had gone back to work full time at Geneva as a machinist where he still works. He says it's hard sometimes, really hard. His career has been complicated by a disease called myasthenia gravis, a respiratory muscle disease, which reportedly repor-tedly was produced by . she made regular visits ; to the Cowan Cancer ; Clinic in Salt Lake for chemotherapy. Dr. McCaa of Salt '. Lake asked her how she ! felt about this when he ! spoke with her about her ! cancer. He encouraged I her by telling her j that her attitude, ; fight, and faith in get-; get-; ting well would do more ; than anything. "You have to want to fight," j. he said. "Well, doctor," v she replied, "let's fight it together." So they did. i For over four years Thelma's cancer was in ; remission. Then late .'; last fall some of the ; symptoms began to ! return. Surgery in early ; January of this year ; found a tumor on her ; small intestine, which ; was removed. It also revealed that the original tumor was growing again. Mrs. '. Higginson is now having ! chemotherapy again. ; The treatments are unpleasant, she says, but she is planning on |
