BY LISA COWNIE
Supporting others has always been a part of DeeDra’s life, but it has taken on even more meaning in the last couple of years. The wife and mother of three was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in June of 2020. “I hadn’t been feeling well for a while,” she reflects. “I just had a weird pain in my abdomen area, but I was busy shuttling kids, working and I just didn’t think it was anything.” After a couple of months of “dealing with it”, DeeDra was in so much pain one night, she drove herself to the hospital. After a CT Scan and an MRI she was referred right to Mayo Clinic Rochester. “How lucky am I that we have access to the best healthcare system in the world, right here in our region. At first, we were thinking it was an abscessed cyst or large mass that needed removed. But I knew when I woke up from the surgery that something was wrong because what was supposed to be a laparoscopic procedure, was full-blown invasive surgery.” She was told she had stage 4 appendix cancer: mucinous adenocarcinoma. The cancer starts in the appendix, but creates a jelly-like substance that spreads cancerous cells to other parts of the body. “While we waited for the pathology, they really couldn’t tell me much,” she reflects. “So, it was a scary first week. I had thoughts of not being able to see my kids get married, or meet my grandchildren. But I quickly changed my mindset into thinking about a plan of action. I knew it wouldn’t do any good to worry or think about worse case. So, I just asked myself, ‘what can I do’ and went from there.” Compounding the issue is that this was just at the start of the pandemic, so she couldn’t have visitors, it was isolating, even though she knew back home her family had the support they needed.
22
DeeDra focuses on what she CAN do and always shines with positivity.
“The community really rallied and I found when you really need help, people step up without you even having to ask. The night of my diagnosis, my friends were at my house helping my husband Steve and my children. People signed up to bring us meals for five weeks, I received notes in the mail. Everything just got taken
I think of the people that don’t have support, that don’t have a network of help. I was lucky that my community of people rallied around me. But I know not everyone has that. NORTH KATO MAGAZINE FALL 2022
