MID-COLUMBIA MEDICAL CENTER
Living Well With Cancer Healing the Mind and Spirit The Art of A Disease
Spring 2008 www.mcmc.net
Focusing on Cancer Dear Neighbor,
he word hero gets tossed around a lot, too much, in my opinion. There are only a few people who truly deserve the title, and they aren’t people who can throw a fastball 95 miles per hour or sing a song, no matter how inspirational. True heroes are people like the ones you will read about in this issue of Well Aware. We have devoted our entire community magazine to the topic of cancer — individuals living with cancer, the people who care for them and some of the programs offered at Celilo Cancer Center designed to enhance their lives. It is a difficult topic but, as you will read, it also is an inspirational one. As this issue was being planned, Dick Baltus, the author of several of the stories you will read, confided with me that he expected them to be among the hardest articles he had ever written. He was concerned he wouldn’t be able to do justice to the individuals who had so graciously agreed to share their stories. As it turned out, Dick said it had just the opposite experience. He says the people he interviewed were so open with him, so honest in expressing their challenges and triumphs living with cancer, and so interested in helping others in similar situations, that when he sat down to write the words flowed almost effortlessly. Chances are you know someone who has, or has had cancer. Most of us have somehow been touched by this all-too-common disease. I, myself lost my mother to cancer while still in my youth. The subject of one of our articles, Beth Ashley, is Dick’s mother in law. Randy Skov and Marlene McManigal are members of the Mid-Columbia Medical Center family. Many of you will know Carole Anderson, a longtime resident of The Dalles. These are our friends and loved ones, and you probably know people whose stories are similar to theirs. What I find truly inspiring is the spirit that I see as strong as ever in these individuals, and so many others I have met who have had cancer invade their lives. This, to me, is what it means to be a hero.
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Duane Francis President/CEO
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Spring 2008
Inside Scoop A Designated Planetree Patient-Centered Hospital
It is Our Mission …
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To communicate a vision of health, art, education, technology and create a center for healing which will continually upgrade the quality of life in the community environment in which we live. To empower people to become partners in their health care. Mid-Columbia Medical Center is a not-for-profit healthcare organization offering comprehensive services to the Mid-Columbia Region, and is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees: Robert L.R. Bailey Jorge Barragan Daniel Boldt Paul Cardosi, M.D. Duane Francis Gretchen Kimsey Robert A. Staver, M.D. Wallace Wolf, Jr., D.V.M. WellAware is published by Mid-Columbia Medical Center 1700 East 19th Street The Dalles, OR 97058
(541) 296-7545
A Long and Winding Road A cancer diagnosis has moved Randy Skov in ways he never could have imagined.
To lead and act as a catalyst in promoting health for all people. To recognize the individual as a whole human being with different needs that must be enthusiastically met.
(ON THE COVER)
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Open Door Policy
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Cancer Expertise
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Mind Body Calendar
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The Write Stuff
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Solving Lymphedema
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Spiritual Visits
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Beauty Remains
Cancer hasn’t closed off Beth Ashley, or slowed the traffic through her home. Celilo medical staff offers patients expertise not often found in similar communities. Upcoming education programs from the Center for Mind & Body Medicine. Celilo’s Integrative Therapy Program helps Carole Anderson come to terms with her cancer.
MCMC program helps the many women who experience swelling problems after breast cancer treatment.
Volunteers comfort and support Celilo Cancer Center patients.
Art exhibit shows beauty and strength of cancer survivors.
All rights reserved. No information may be reprinted without the written consent of MCMC. Photo Credits: Page 18, Lori Russell; Page 19, Cynthia Kortge; Susan Garrett Crowley; Page 22; All other photos — Jim Semlor, Semlor Images Printed with Agri based inks on recycled paper, 10% post consumer.
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A Long and
A cancer diagnosis has moved Randy Skov in ways he never could have imagined.
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he slender man with the speckled beard stands next to his bicycle, staring up at his next challenge — a deceptively picturesque amalgam of heaven and the underworld called Mont Ventoux. One of the legendary legs of the Tour de France, it is a 16-mile muscle-burning, heartexpanding ascent, with a punishing grade that is 5 percent at its flattest, 12 percent at its ugliest. At no point along the way could a rider set a level on his or her handlebars and be on bubble. Continued on page 6
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Winding Road Story by Dick Baltus Photos by Jim Semlor
“You focus a lot more on things that previously might not have seemed as important, and that has been an incredibly positive change in my life.”
In 1967 a British cyclist was within a half-mile of the top of Mont Ventoux when he collapsed and subsequently died. There is no joy in this ride, except in the being finished with it. Lance Armstrong conquered this leg fairly routinely when it was included on the route of the race he won seven times. He would reach the top in around 50 minutes (a serious amateur would need another hour or more). But Lance Armstrong, of course, is Lance Armstrong, and a hospital executive slash avid cyclist slash tourist is not. As the amateur cyclist gazes up the mountain, measuring the distance between the depth of his intestinal fortitude and the top of the mountain, a few “triumphant” cyclists stagger past, in the opposite direction, faces flush, bikes in hand beside them. “How was it?” the hospital executive asks one, rhetorically, but no less curiously.
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“Unrelenting,” the man answers. In another time that might have been enough to turn the man and his bike around, maybe toward the nearest auberge, and the coldest, wettest, beverage he could find. This was, after all, a vacation. THESE ARE SOME OF THE MILESTONES
that Randy Skov passed on his way to Mont Ventoux: ◗ Born in 1955. ◗ Moves to The Dalles in 1957. ◗ Grows up under the watchful eye of loving parents Shirley and Milt, the latter a civic-minded veterinarian who instills in his son the strong values of family, work and community. ◗ Leaves for Oregon State University in 1973, and takes up cycling as a mode of transport between his various off-campus homes and campus. ◗ Earns his bachelor’s degree, then an MBA in 1979.
◗ Marries Kay, the Coos Bay girl he met at college, in 1980. ◗ Spends a couple years in Nebraska and California then moves back to The Dalles in 1981 and goes to work for Mid-Columbia Medical Center. ◗ Raises with Kay daughters Mollie and Julie and son Riley. ◗ Makes an appointment for his first serious physical exam in 1999. SKOV ALWAYS WAS AND STILL IS ACTIVE
in sports and other healthy pursuits. But in the mid-80s cycling emerged as the one activity he enjoyed more than anything else he had ever played, lifted or swung at. The seminal event came when he and a former MCMC administrator set, and successfully met, a goal of completing a 100-mile loop from The Dalles to Dufur to Hood River then back to The Dalles. Conquering that inspired him to take
on more challenges — a one-day, 200-mile ride from Seattle to Portland; another 170-mile day trip to Portland and back; an excursion from the Grand Canyon to the border of Mexico; Cycle Oregon, which he rode four times. “When I trained for, then completed that first long trip, it really came home to me that this was the sport that fit me best,” Skov says. “I loved the fluidity and motion of riding.” Skov hooked up with three other cyclists, Dan Boldt, Tom Nichol, M.D., and Chuck Toole, to form a riding group that covered the back roads around the area almost daily, passing along the way all manner of wildlife. “The scenery around here is unbelievable,” he says. “When you ride you are pretty quiet, so you see things you could never see in a car.” Though he was fit as ever at 43, Skov knew he was getting to the age when he needed to start monitoring his health more formally. He scheduled an appointment with his riding partner, Dr. Tom Nichol, and after the questions, taps and probes were completed, the doctor asked if Skov wanted to have some blood work done, for example, a PSA test. Skov was seven years away from the recommended age when men should start monitoring their PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels to watch for the elevated numbers that indicate a higher cancer risk. And with no family history of cancer he wasn’t feeling terribly inspired. “I hate to say it, but if it hadn’t been covered by insurance, I probably wouldn’t have done it,” he says. Continued on page 8
Cancer hasn’t closed off Beth Ashley, or slowed the traffic through her home.
Open Door Policy by Dick Baltus pend a little time in Beth Ashley’s Maupin living room and you soon begin to wonder why her husband, Mike, didn’t install a revolving door at the entrance to the home he built above the Deschutes River. Over the course of a weekend there’s a good bet a visitor could meet two-thirds of the residents of south Wasco County — and much of Sherman County for that matter — without ever leaving the rocking chair. That’s not even counting the royal residents, permanent and transient, of the animal kingdom, which at this moment number six,
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including Tick, the beloved German short hair attached to Beth’s hip, and Ringo, the ridiculously fluffy bag of hair disguised as a cat and currently seeking refuge between Beth’s chin and clavicle. The Ashley home is a personal residence in every sense, but if someone were to hang a shingle out front that read Bed and Breakfast or Visitors Information or Animal Shelter or even The Doctor Is In, few who knew Beth would think twice before entering. Certainly, no one appears to think twice about it now. Continued on page 10
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A Long and Winding Road (Continued from page 7)
IN NOVEMBER 1999 THE SKOV FAMILY
was at a Les Schwab in Wilsonville, en route to Coos Bay and Thanksgiving with Kay’s parents, when Randy received the call from Gary Gingrich, M.D. Skov’s first PSA scores had come back suspiciously high. A second test three months later, with similar results, led to a referral to Gingrich, a biopsy and, a few days later, the call from the
That was the scene Skov invariably would call up during the Guided Relaxation classes he would take at Celilo Cancer Center. Facilitator Steve McLennon, M.D., would ask participants to visualize a relaxing scene, and Skov would always head back down that hill through the snow. The surgery had been successful, initially. Skov’s PSA level dropped
optimistically realistic. “About a year and a half ago my doctor said to me, ‘If I can get you another eight years that would be a great result.’ And that would also buy time in case another effective form of treatment comes along.” Skov rarely speaks negatively about the cancer, or anything else for that matter. For all it takes away, he says, cancer also has been a gift. It
“I remember toward the end of the ride, coming down this long hill into that beautiful snow. It was an amazing feeling, a magical moment.” — Randy Skov urologist with news Skov didn’t want to hear. Soon after, he was in an MCMC hospital bed, recuperating from the surgery he had chosen as his course of treatment, and wondering when he would be able to get a bike underneath him again. “When you are laid up from surgery, you think about the first thing you want to do when you get back on your feet, and for me that was cycling,” he says. “I couldn’t wait to get back on a bike again.” In January 2000, a few weeks after his surgery, Skov went out for a test ride, a short 10-mile trip around Cherry Festival Loop. As he headed out, it started to snow, tiny white flecks, more like frozen frost, really. “I remember toward the end of the ride, coming down this long hill into that beautiful snow. It was an amazing feeling, a magical moment.”
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from 6.8 to 0.0, though there were concerns the cancer hadn’t been completely contained. Those fears were realized when the numbers started to rise again; a new course of treatment would be required. Radiation therapy in 2002 gave Skov another five years of good PSA numbers, then it was time for yet another mode of attack against a persistent disease. He is now deep into a treatment regimen called androgen blockade, which is designed to deprive cancer cells of the testosterone they need to survive. Skov knows the time will come when this treatment also will fail. “The average time to failure with the treatment I am on is 18 months,” he says. “I’m now in my fifteenth month.” There will be other treatment options, but Skov is being
has changed him in ways he never could have imagined. “It certainly brings to the front of your awareness the fact you are mortal, and that has had some profoundly positive effects on my life,” Skov says. “Everybody knows they are going to die, but I think few people live their lives thinking about it. When you think you have lots of time, you build these roadblocks. You are always saying things like, ‘Well, yeah, we do need to do that, but let’s wait until after the kids are out of college.’ Having cancer sort of rewires your brain. You focus a lot more on things that previously might not have seemed as important, and that has been an incredibly positive change in my life.” Skov says he has learned to focus more on the things in his life he can control, and to let go of those he cannot. Reading Viktor Frankl’s
“Man’s Search for Meaning,” convinced him of the powers of positive thinking. “In that book he writes that if you take everything else away, the one thing you can control is how you react to situations,” Skov says. “You can choose to react negatively, or you can choose whatever other emotion you want. So you can choose to be happy too. Whenever I am dealing with a difficult situation now I go back to that notion. I just don’t get
angry about things anymore, and from that perspective cancer has been extremely positive.” After living with cancer for nearly a decade, Skov has come to see it as a chronic disease, and when viewed from that perspective, he says, “There are a lot of people living with other chronic diseases who have it a lot harder than I do.” Not a day goes by when Skov doesn’t think about having cancer, but his thoughts remain positive.
“I’m not dwelling on it or thinking, what do I expect out of life? Instead, I'm thinking, what should I be doing with my life today, what does life expect out of me?” He’s grateful for the support of his wife Kay and his family, his circle of friends, his doctors and the staff of Celilo, who have cared for him so exceptionally. In many ways he is grateful, too, for the cancer. “At the end of our bike rides I’m always telling the guys, ‘I can guarantee you I enjoyed that more than you’,” he says. “I’m really pretty darn happy.” Skov is doing everything he can to manage the effects of the disease. He’s still exercising, eating right, managing his stress and living his life — trying new things, enjoying the successes of his children; Mollie, now a medical student in New York, Julie a junior at University of Oregon, and Riley, a frosh at OSU. And he’s traveling. He had a few things in common with a certain cyclist, and had always wanted to travel some of the same roads Lance Armstrong had. THE EXHAUSTED CYCLIST PASSES, LEAVING THE fresh one alone with his
thoughts about things relentless. But only for a moment. Then he straddles his bike, secures his helmet and launches himself forward, each turn of the peddle dispatching another few feet of his challenge to his past, and propelling him closer to the top of the mountain.
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Open Door Policy
from page 7
It is always like this, and it has always been this way. When one grows up in Wamic and Tygh Valley, then splits the next 50 years or so between a ranch on Bakeoven Road and Maupin proper (population 460, Salute!), by age 65 if you aren’t familiar with most everyone in the vicinity, you just haven’t been paying attention. That, of course, is not the case with Beth, as ubiquitous a personality as there is in town. She has always been active in community affairs. A former Maupin city councilor, planning commissioner and budget committee member, she even helped to start the local theater group several years ago. If you ever stopped at the Oasis cafe on the way through to Central Oregon, Beth may have cooked your Denver omelet. If you ever braved the Deschutes on a rubber raft, Beth may have shuttled you to Harpin Flats to put in, informing you along the way how the Class III Box Car got its name and reminding you to point your feet down the river if it got the better of you. Then you probably saw her again at the park, halfway through, making lunch for the wet masses. So, yeah, Beth Ashley’s face is a familiar one around here, and a lot of people who never met her would even recognize her. Over a span of several months recently, every traveler who passed through Hermiston on I-84 was introduced to Beth via a roadside billboard the approximate size of Mt. Rushmore. There Beth was, smiling down upon the rushing traffic, announcing to all who passed that she had cancer. If you didn’t see that billboard with the Celilo Cancer Center logo, and knew Beth before, or were introduced today, for that matter, you would have a hard time believing there was anything out of sorts. You have an image in your mind of what people with incurable stage IV breast cancer look like, and it is not this.
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You do not imagine people, 20 months removed from this daunting a diagnosis, still cooking for the hungry masses, teaching teenage girls how to knit, organizing Easter crafts for grown daughters, weighing in on presidential
“It may seem odd to see something this horrible as a blessing, but it is if you accept and embrace it.” candidates and saying things like, “I think the longer I live the more people think I exaggerated my condition.” When she sat down across the desk from Celilo oncologist Samuel Taylor, M.D., in August 2006, Beth thought she was going to learn her condition was anemia. A few months earlier she had noticed some bruising on her upper arm, but brushed that off. But when she developed severe back pain, Beth started seeking medical help. The annual mammogram she had in April was negative, leaving her so unconcerned about the results of the bone marrow test that had been prescribed she hadn’t bothered to take anyone with her to the appointment with Dr. Taylor. So it was that, moments after learning she had breast cancer that already had spread to her bones, Beth found herself being supported by a Celilo nurse, observing cancer patients, trying to come to grips with the reality that now she was one of them. “Kurt Rohrbacher (the Celilo nurse) was standing with me, and he was so kind and considerate,” she remembers. “I was in the chemo room, still crying, and I started looking around at all the other patients there. There was a young mother, and other people who I realized
had it worse than me. I thought, I really don’t have much to complain about.” As Beth began treatment (which now includes infusions to strengthen her bones and tamoxifen to inhibit estrogen activity) she also began to take advantage of some of the integrated therapies offered at Celilo. She swears by the powers of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. She has tried to keep a daily journal. Always a voracious reader — she figures she finishes an average of 12 books a month — Beth has long managed a tall stack of books with titles that run the gamut from a history of the Barlow Trail to Eric Clapton’s autobiography. She has added some cancerrelated books to her list, but they don’t dominate. “I’m not one of those people who thinks they have to know everything about their disease and how to cope with it,” she says. “I have found that if I read too much I just wind up dwelling on my condition.” Still Beth has found books that have helped her adjust her perspective and better deal with an uncertain future. “I was standing in line at the grocery store and I picked up a little book written by a woman who had the same kind of breast cancer I did,” she says. “She was told she had a year to live. When a year passed and she was still alive, she said she decided, she’d better start living again. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to live my life like I was living, not like I was dying.” There is a list of things Beth wants to accomplish in the days to come: See the Grand Canyon. Spend more time at the beach. Organize affairs. Spend quality time with grandchildren so they’ll remember their grandmother. Finish stack of books.
A box on a coffee table contains family photographs that already have been earmarked for Mike, daughters Debi and Sarah and son Steve. Christmas ornaments already have names on them. Some end-of-life instructions have been written along with a few “words of wisdom” for her children. There is a special folder to help Mike manage the house. The Grand Canyon trip has been scheduled; beyond that Beth isn’t planning to go anywhere any time soon. She just wants to be ready. “Last year I thought I had finally filed my last tax return, but then I had to do it again this year,” she says, laughing. “My perfect ending is to have everything tidied up, designated where to go, and have a couple of changes of clothes in the closet. But I doubt it will happen that way.” The last time Beth visited Dr. Steve Fu at Celilo she asked if it was time to be thinking about making final plans. No, he said. Now she seems perfectly comfortable being her, and being here. She doesn’t have to look very far to find a bright side to her diagnosis. “I wish I didn’t have cancer, but since I do I have come to terms with it,” she says. “I used to worry occasionally about something like a heart attack or something else going wrong with my health. But I’ve been told what’s wrong, and there’s something almost comforting about knowing. I really don’t dwell on having cancer any more. “It may seem odd to see something this horrible as a blessing, but it is if you accept and embrace it.” A blessing? “For example,” Beth says, “If I hadn’t been diagnosed I never would have known those people at Celilo and experienced their compassion.” On the first anniversary of her diagnosis, Beth, whose daughters call her the Martha Stewart of Maupin, sent the Celilo staff a food basket to celebrate. At Christmas she made them a little pink tree, decorated with pink breast cancer awareness ribbons. She appreciates that everyone is still treating her normally, as if there is nothing wrong. There are still family issues to contend with, the dogs aren’t any better at self-management, the river guides still drop in unannounced and starving. “It’s still a zoo around here,” Beth says, as she detaches the cat from her neck and heads up the stairs. The bells on the front door have signaled the arrival of more guests, and it’s about time to start dinner.
The Art of Cancer
Two upcoming art exhibits at Celilo showcase the artistic expressions of cancer patients. When words fail, expressing a thought or feeling through art can liberate, lend support and offer strength. Those were the motivations that led to the development, by Eli Lilly and Company, of an art competition and exhibition called Lilly Oncology On Canvas: Expressions of a Cancer Journey. The 2006 competition saw more than 2,000 pieces of art entered from 43 countries, culminating in two finale events held at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City and the Royal College of Art in London. Now residents of the Mid-Columbia have the opportunity to view 50 selections from this dramatic exhibition during a special showing at Celilo Cancer Center May 26 to June 6. The show culminates with Celilo’s commemoration of National Cancer Survivors Day Friday, June 6. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) is a partner in Lilly Oncology on Canvas. “We look at the project as an expression of survivorship,” said Ellen Stovall, president and CEO of NCCS. The public is invited to see the exhibit at a special viewing event Friday, June 6, from 5 to 7 p.m., during which Celilo will be open to the community. That exhibition will occur after a special event earlier in the day honoring cancer survivors. Launched in 2004, Lilly Oncology on Canvas continues as a biannual competition. “Our hope was to create an international forum for those affected by cancer to express the hopes and fears that come with a cancer diagnosis,” said Richard Gaynor, M.D., vice president of cancer research for Lilly. “We are proud of the legacy this competition has created, especially in highlighting the importance of treating the whole patient.” Celilo, of course, is focused on the same endeavor, which makes this art show a most appropriate temporary addition to the cancer center’s offerings. This is one of two art shows that will be on display at Celilo to help commemorate National Cancer Survivors Day. The second, called Beauty Remains, will be shown from June 2 to June 6. For more information on this exhibit, please see the story on page 22.
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Celilo Quality and Expertise Recognized Again With Award ast June, when the retired physician who surveyed Celilo for the Commission on Cancer (CoC) met with hospital personnel to summarize her findings after a day putting the cancer center staff and records through the whiteglove treatment, she wasn’t stingy with her praise. “I simply can’t find anything wrong with your program,” Ann Carter, M.D., said at the time. “I must have missed something.” In mid-April, the Celilo staff received formal indication that Dr. Carter clearly didn’t miss anything. In addition to the maximum three-year accreditation with
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“We are pleased to acknowledge your commitment to providing high-quality cancer care.” Ann Carter, M.D. commendation that Celilo received immediately after the intensive survey, the center and its staff now have been honored with the CoC’s elite New Program Outstanding Achievement Award (OAA). The award was designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients by exceeding CoC standards in 36 different quality measurements. Only 15 percent (12) of the programs surveyed in 2007 were New Program OAA recipients. “Congratulations on this remarkable achievement at initial survey,” Dr. Carter wrote in her letter notifying the Celilo team of the award. “We are pleased to
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acknowledge your commitment to providing high-quality cancer care.” The OAA is only the latest demonstration of the level of quality care provided at Celilo, a commitment that began before the cancer center’s doors were even opened. Determined to offer the most advanced care available from the most skilled medical professionals that could be attracted, MCMC developed a partnership with a respected Portland radiation oncology group to help design Celilo and staff its state-of-the-art radiation program. That led to the hiring of a medical director whose qualifications exceeded the team’s most optimistic expectations. Then only in his 30s, Keith Stelzer. M.D., Ph.D., already had become one of the world’s preeminent experts in using the most advanced radiation treatment available, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). No one expected he would be interested in leaving Seattle and his position on the faculty of the University of Washington Medical School for the opportunity that Celilo presented, no matter how unique. “When we found out Keith was interested, we thought it was too good to be true remembers Norm Willis, M.D., who then ran the Portland oncology group and was the point person for the development of the Celilo program. “He is a highly qualified individual who is greatly respected among his peers. If Keith had stayed at the University of Washington, he quite probably would now be the chief of radiation oncology.”
Quality attracts quality, and soon Celilo was welcoming oncology nurse practitioner Nina van Es, who was hired to help manage cancer patient treatments. She brought with her 15 years of experience as a nurse, caring most often for cancer and hospice patients. In 2003, Stelzer and van Es were joined by medical oncologist Samuel Taylor, M.D., a Chicagoan who was one of the country’s leading head and neck cancer researchers and practitioners. At the time, Stelzer announced, “I only see things getting better as time goes on.” The 2007 arrival of hematologist/medical oncologist Steve Fu, M.D., Ph.D, helped prove Stelzer right. Fu brought to Celilo patients extensive experience in cancer research and patient care, allowing for an expansion of the center’s medical oncology services. The impressive team that has assembled at Celilo has brought to patients a level of expertise not often found in a community the size of The Dalles. It has helped Celilo become accredited as a center for clinical research, enabling patients to participate in and benefit from studies of new treatments that contribute to the knowledge of, and progress against, cancer. Staff expertise was one of many factors that recently helped Celilo earn the CoC’s highest possible rating last June and the additional honor it just received from the same organization. It is only the latest chapter in a success story that cancer patients throughout the Mid-Columbia should never get tired of hearing.
Mind, Body Healing UPCOMING EDUCATION PROGRAMS FROM THE CENTER FOR MIND & BODY MEDICINE AT MID-COLUMBIA MEDICAL CENTER
Spring 2008
Pre-registration required; please call 296-7202 to register unless otherwise indicated.
&
Exercise Movement
Yoga
T’ai Chi T’ai Chi is an ancient mind/body discipline of relaxed movement. It involves gentle, meditative exercise for individuals of all ages and fitness levels. Participants will enjoy increased balance, flexibility and coordination and improved well being, while reducing stress and associated pain and fatigue.
both classes begin April 29 T’ai Chi – Evening Class All Levels TUESDAYS 8-week session 5:30 p.m., Celilo Cancer Center $45 per 8-week session
T’ai Chi for Balance TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS If you are interested in improving your balance and reducing your risk of falls, you may qualify for our free T’ai Chi classes. Participants must be 60 years of age or older, have a disability or are living with a chronic disease. This program is open to all Columbia River Gorge residents. For more information, please contact Barb Robison at the Center for Mind & Body Medicine, 541/296-7414.
A Designated Planetree Patient-Centered Hospital
Flow Yoga WEDNESDAYS 5 to 6:30 p.m., Celilo Cancer Center $40 for 5 sessions, $60 for 10 sessions or $10 drop-in Flowing from pose to pose, this yoga class is a moving meditation that helps rest the anxious, stressed mind while bringing strength, flexibility and balance to the body. No previous experience necessary.
Yoga All Levels MONDAYS & THURSDAYS 5:30 to 7 p.m., Celilo Cancer Center $40 for 5 sessions, $60 for 10 sessions or $10 drop-in Unwind and rejuvenate your mind and body with yoga stretching, breathing exercises and relaxation. This class is designed for all ages and levels of fitness. Increase your flexibility, strength and balance.
Gentle Yoga WEDNESDAYS 8-9 a.m., Celilo Cancer Center $40 for 5 sessions, $60 for 10 sessions or $10 drop-in This easy-does-it class is perfect for beginners or people with limited mobility. Stretch, breathe and ease your way into greater flexibility.
Spring Yoga Workshop with Tea and Meditation Saturday, May 3 9 a.m. to noon $25 Celilo Cancer Center Enjoy a morning of yoga with plenty of time to stretch, balance, strengthen and relax your body and mind. Yoga instructor Susan Erikson will guide you to deepen your practice of asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breath work) and meditation. A beautiful cup of tea will be the focus of our meditation as we practice slowing down and enjoying a simple pleasure with mindfulness. This workshop is designed for continuing students or others with instructor approval. Registration required, space is limited.
Summer Solstice Yoga Retreat Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21 Friday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Celilo Cancer Center $70 (includes lunch on Saturday) An invitation to celebrate summer solstice and explore the practice of yoga with the intention of finding health and balance within. Along with asanas (postures) there will be pranayama (breathing exercises), mindfulness meditation, chanting and silence. We will enjoy a delicious healthful lunch along with exotic teas, and lots of laughter. No previous yoga experience necessary. Treat a friend and yourself to this special event! Pre-registration required.
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Mind Body Healing Workshops & Clinics Guided Relaxation with Harp WEDNESDAYS & THURSDAYS 10:15 to 11 a.m. Meditation Room, Celilo Cancer Center Free! This 45 minute session can help you reduce stress and relax with the use of guided imagery and beautiful music.
Journal Writing WEDNESDAYS 11 a.m. Meditation Room, Celilo Cancer Center Free! You will be guided in journal writing techniques designed to help you process life events and open to inspiration.
Breathe Your Way To Better Health
Guided Relaxation, Music and Aromatherapy
Managing Your Cholesterol for Life
WEDNESDAYS
Monday, June 30 3 to 4:30 p.m. Medical Center Office Plaza Conf. Rm. B $10 (fee includes one support person)
May 14, June 18, July 16, August 13 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. Celilo Cancer Center Free! Experience 30 minutes of total relaxation. Relaxation expert Susan Erikson, aromatherapist Barb Robison and music thanatologist Anna Fiasca will lead you in a guided imagery and aromatherapy relaxation technique, using pure essential oils and music. Leave this session feeling calmly refreshed!
If you have been told by your doctor that you have high cholesterol or you would like to know about the relationship between nutrition and cholesterol this class may be for you. Join our registered dietitian and learn how diet changes can be a big part of managing your cholesterol. This clinic will help you to develop a plan that is safe, sane and promotes disease prevention.
begins Sept. 24
Part 1 Wednesday, May 14 Part 2 Wednesday, May 21 7 to 8 p.m., Celilo Cancer Center $20 Learn simple breathing techniques that can help lower blood pressure and pulse, decrease stress and anxiety, improve immune function, ease insomnia, improve digestion and speed healing time. Wear loose comfy clothing. Preregistration required.
Introduction to Meditation Part 1 Wednesday, June 4 Part 2 Wednesday, June 11 7 to 8 p.m., Celilo Cancer Center $20 Mounting research is showing the benefits of relaxation practices. In this basic class you will learn the history of meditation, the medical benefits and simple relaxation techniques that you can use in your personal plan of good health. Preregistration required.
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Introduction to Aromatherapy SATURDAY
Healthy Weight Solutions WEDNESDAYS 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
June 7, 9 a.m. to noon, Medical Center Office Plaza Conference Room B $30 registration fee, $5 supply charge Aromatherapy is a multifaceted healing art, using the essential oils of aromatic plants and trees to promote health and wellness. This class will provide education in the safe use of essential oils, both at home and in the workplace. Promote relaxation and uplift your body and mind. Students will create their own aromatherapeutic blend to take with them.
This outpatient program is a unique 8-week progressive weight loss and wellness clinic that will provide a safe and supportive environment for weight loss achievement, stress reduction and disease prevention. The program will focus on a holistic solution to weight management. The multi-disciplinary team includes a dietitian, registered nurse and physician. The curriculum will include research based integrative strategies that are simple, practical and lifelong.
Bring family and friends and experience the joy of recreational music making. No experience or equipment is necessary Steve McLennon, M.D. and we guarantee immediate musical success! Join us and build community, THURSDAY laughter and good health. June 26, 7 to 8 p.m. Research indicates drumming can work Medical Center Office Plaza alongside conventional medicine to Conference Room A improve moods, immune function, No fee. Donations welcome! physical movement and decrease burnout and stress. And — it’s incredibly fun!
Open Community Drumming with
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Core Health Wellness Clinics For class schedules and registration information, please contact 541-296-7202.
Planetree Health Resource Center in partnership with MCMC Spiritual Care Dept. present a special Health Lecture When: Time: Cost: Place:
Thursday, May 8 7 to 8:30 p.m. Free Medical Office Building Conference Room MCMCcampus Presenter: Judy McKellar, President, Alzheimer’s Association, Oregon Chapter For information & to reserve your seat: Call 541-296-8444; Note: Dessert and beverages will be served
Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinic Medical Symptom Reduction Clinic Living Healthy with Diabetes Pulmonary Health Services Better Breathers Support Group Many insurance companies and Medicare will cover all or a portion of the clinic fee. We will assist you to determine your insurance benefits. Physician referral may be required.
OUTPATIENT THERAPY SERVICES Physical Therapy Occupational Therapy Speech Therapy Two Locations: Westside: 115 W. 4th St. 298-8985 MCMC Campus: 1810 E. 19th St. 296-7202
PERSONALIZED HEALTH AND WELLNESS For more information or to schedule a consultation, please call 541-296-7202.
The Challenge of Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s affects people in varying ways and ripples out to impact the lives of those who care for and about them. Understanding what is happening to a person with Alzheimer’s is key to interacting effectively and providing quality care. Increasing our knowledge about causes of dementia-related behaviors can decrease our stress and expand our ability to respond effectively to challenging situations. Explore creative interventions that transform chaotic challenges into constructive outcomes. This presentation will summarize what we currently know about the disease, including the signs and symptoms that lead to diagnosis, risk factors, treatment, and important things to remember when relating to the person with Alzheimer’s.
Individual Yoga Consultation Individual Fitness Consultation Individual Nutrition Consultation
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Therapeutic Body Work Healing Therapies Massage Therapy
Infant Massage
Celilo Cancer Center
Monday, July 21 6:30 to 8 p.m. Medical Center Office Plaza Conference Room B $20
Massage therapy is one of the oldest forms of health practice. It has been used to enhance healing and general well being since ancient times. This therapy manipulates the skin, muscles and joints for muscle relaxation, improved circulation and stress relief. The therapists at Mid-Columbia Medical Center offer a variety of massage techniques tailored to your specific needs. To schedule an appointment or purchase a gift certificate for a massage, call 296-7389. Relaxation Massage: 60 min for $50/90 min for $75 Deep Body Massage: 60 min for $55/90 min for $80 Warm Stone Therapy: 60 min for $55/90 min for $80 Sports Massage: 60 min for $55/90 min for $80 Pregnancy Massage: 60 min for $50 Thai Massage: 90 min for $80
Join Judy Shinn, LMT, certified infant massage instructor and learn loving touch massage for your infant or child ages newborn to 2 years. The class will focus on relaxing massage, colic relief and bonding between parent and child.
Reiki Celilo Cancer Center 60 minutes $50
Lymphedema Treatment and Therapy Celilo Cancer Center
Reiki is a stress reduction technique and promotes the body’s natural ability to heal. It is non-invasive and feels very pleasant to receive. It has specifically been documented to relax muscles, still the mind and ease pain. It is considered an energy medicine technique that is administered by a trained practitioner to the client.
Lymphatic Massage: $55 per hour — Freda Wasson, LMT
Acupuncture Therapy Celilo Cancer Center Acupuncture is one discipline taken from the heritage of Chinese medicine. The technique involves the insertion of very fine needles at specific points in the body which have been shown to be effective in the treatment of various conditions. Call 506-6998 for appointments or for more information
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The treatment of lymphedema, or swelling of an extremity, consists of manual lymph drainage, compression bandaging, skin care and gentle movement exercises delivered by our healing therapist’s hands. These steps are part of a therapy program that will help minimize and manage the symptoms of lymphedema. With a physician’s referral, this therapy is covered by most insurance plans. Please call 541-296-7202 to schedule an appointment.
The Write Stuff Writing, painting and virtually every offering of Celilo’s Integrative Therapy Program have helped Carole Anderson come to terms with her cancer. by Dick Baltus
he could always write. Carole Anderson focused on sociology when she was an undergraduate, but her master’s degree was in journalism, and in the years since she has made a living from her skill with words — public relations jobs at community colleges in Ontario and Portland; lots of freelance writing assignments. So when Anderson, still griefstricken and fearful several months after she was diagnosed with nonHodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2005, approached MCMC chaplain Susan Shipman for support, she was encouraged to start expressing her feelings through writing, or even painting. Naturally the writer chose painting. “As a writer I knew I would be able to manipulate the words, and that didn’t feel like an honest expression,” Anderson says. “But I couldn’t do that with painting. I’d had very little experience with expressing myself through painted images.”
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She didn’t stop writing, of course. Since her diagnosis with the very slowgrowing form of cancer, Anderson has written many personal essays and has continued to add prolifically to the journal writings she has been compiling for 30 years. “Much of my writing, as you can imagine, has not been fit for public consumption,” she says, laughing. Though the new challenge of painting has captivated Anderson, it is only one of the many decidedly nonclinical forms of therapy of which she has availed herself in the days since her diagnosis. Whether painting or gardening at home, or participating in the many components of the Integrative Therapy program of Celilo Cancer Center, Anderson has embraced the opportunity to actively engage her mind and spirit in her self-care. She has practiced wellness all her life, which made it even more shocking to hear she had cancer. But her healthy lifestyle also left her eager to explore the Integrative Therapy options she learned were available at Celilo. Continued on page 23
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uring her 27-year career at Mid-Columbia Medical Center, registered nurse Marlene McManigal has worked in a variety of settings. In all of them, her message to people with health issues has been simple. “I tell patients that medicine is like a jigsaw puzzle,” she says. “One piece is what you tell your provider about how you are feeling. Another piece is your provider, who uses the information you provide to decide on a treatment. You and your provider need to keep coming back together to discuss how it is going and to decide what to do next.” McManigal followed her own advice when she noticed swelling in her left arm nearly three months after undergoing surgery for breast cancer. “My arm felt tired,” she says. “It didn’t hurt, and I didn’t have trouble moving it, but because of the swelling, it looked like I didn’t have knuckles.” McManigal was diagnosed with lymphedema, a condition in which the normal flow of fluid from the lymphatic system is impaired or obstructed. The lymphatic system helps the body filter bacteria, viruses and other cellular debris from the body through a series of
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Marlene McManigal
Solving Lymphedema By Lori Russell
MCMC program helps the many women who experience swelling problems after breast cancer treatment. 18
lymph vessels and nodes. Removal of lymph nodes during cancer surgery, radiation therapy, infection or injury to the lymph nodes can cause damage to this essential pathway causing a backup of fluid in the body, most commonly in the arms and legs. Left untreated, it can lead to increased swelling and
hardening of the tissues limiting movement and function of the affected limb. Symptoms include a sensation of fullness in an arm or leg, the feeling that clothing is not fitting, ring or watch tightness and less flexibility in ankles, wrists or fingers. Like McManigal, who had undergone surgeries to remove a tumor and several lymph nodes under her left arm, an estimated 6 percent to 30 percent of breast cancer survivors who have lymph nodes removed develop some degree of lymphedema. The condition can develop immediately after an injury or surgery or, as in McManigal’s case, not until months or years later. “There are 6,000 to 7,000 lymph nodes in the body with the highest number in the neck, armpit, stomach and groin,” explains Leslie Reagan, the certified lymphedema therapist who treated McManigal at MCMC. “When those nodes are damaged or removed, it can create a dam that doesn’t allow adequate drainage of the fluid from the extremities.” To help reduce swelling and train the body to redirect the flow of lymph fluid, Reagan uses a technique called combined decongestive therapy (CDT), which includes a combination of manual lymph drainage, compression bandaging, skin care and exercises. Manual lymph drainage is a gentle, rhythmic stretching of the skin toward the center of the body. McManigal received treatments four days a week for two weeks. Patients with more severe swelling may require up to four weeks of intensive therapy.
“We do a little bit every day to teach the body another way to work,” Reagan says. “It is like diverting the fluid around the dam and helping to create a new channel.” After each session, McManigal’s arm was wrapped with a compression bandage to keep the swelling down. She practiced a series of daily exercises
“Lymphedema cannot be cured, but it can be managed. People can usually maintain quite well if they follow the steps consistently.” designed to help improve the flow of the lymphatic fluid. “Lymphedema cannot be cured, but it can be managed,” Reagan says. “From day one, we teach patients how to care for their skin and to massage and bandage themselves so they can do it at home if they need to. People can usually maintain quite well if they follow the steps consistently.” After two weeks of CDT, the swelling in Marlene’s left arm had decreased significantly. “Once my arm got down to that size, it didn’t change anymore,” she says. Many people with lymphedema must continue to wear a compression sleeve or hose daily to help keep the affected arm or leg the size and shape that was achieved at the end of therapy. Marlene continues to do manual lymph drainage treatments herself along with yoga stretches
and range of motion exercises for her hands. In addition to her healthcare providers at MCMC, Marlene has also relied on the help of friends and family through her surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and her bout with lymphedema. “My friends in the Beta Sigma Phi sorority delivered meals to my husband John and I for six months,” she says. “My family members have come with me to every doctor’s appointment since last April.” In December, Marlene traveled to Hawaii for some welldeserved rest with her extended family, including husband John, son Brad, daughter Cynthia Kortge and her husband Jeff, and grandchildren Hannah, 4, and Cole, 7.
Marlene and grandson, Cole. Nearly a year after her diagnosis, Marlene has had no further flare ups of her lymphedema. She sees MCMC massage therapist Freda Wasson, also a certified lymphedema therapist, for care as needed. Marlene says she is grateful for the range of services she has received at MCMC and looks forward to returning to work there when she is able. “We are very lucky to have a center that provides integrated care in our community. The providers really work together as a team.”
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Volunteer visitors comfort and help lift the spirits of Celilo Cancer Center patients. eaving the Willamette National Cemetery after her husband of nearly 50 years had been laid to rest, Ruby West had one question for God: “What do you want me to do now?” A still, small voice answered: “What do you want to do now?” Having worked for the Oregon State Legislature for several years, Ruby knew there was no shortage of professional opportunities for her. But her heart was in missions.
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The Spirits By Erin Johnson
“It was God’s perfect place, and God’s perfect timing,” she recalls. “I just didn’t realize it at the time.” Ruby West
So she followed that still, small voice to Africa, where she spent several months. Ruby then returned to the state capital and joined the staff of People’s Church. A year later, she found herself wondering, once again, what the future held. She couldn’t have predicted the next phase of her life would play out in The Dalles. But her daughter, Peggy, and her family lived there, so it seemed a likely place to start. “It was God’s perfect place, and God’s perfect timing,” she recalls. “I just didn’t realize it at the time.” Now officially retired, Ruby figured it was time to get busy. When she learned Mid-Columbia Medical Center was seeking Spiritual Care volunteer visitors, she knew she’d found her calling. She completed the required volunteer education, and began visiting patients in summer of 2007. “At first, volunteers just visited patients at the main hospital,” says Ruby. “They told me
opportunities might open up at Celilo Cancer Center, eventually, maybe.” Having watched her husband’s decline from, and eventual surrender to, cancer, Ruby reserved a special place in her heart for those living with the disease. She understood, better than most, the emotional roller coaster that was daily life for these families. Ruby was bound and determined to make Celilo her ministry. “They said ‘eventually, maybe,’ and I took that to mean, ‘OK, go knock on that door,’” she says, laughing. Today Ruby is one of 10 Spiritual Care volunteers who visit patients throughout the hospital. Another 10 volunteers meet with patients and their families at home through the LifeWorks Comfort Care program, and an additional 12 serve as unpaid on-call chaplains. Though Ruby is the only volunteer devoted exclusively to Celilo, people with cancer throughout the area are
Within reaping the benefits of this unique outreach program. “When one is diagnosed with cancer, several things come to the forefront,” explains Susan Shipman, M.Div., director of MCMC’s Spiritual Care department. “Fear, pain, grief, meaning, hope and forgiveness all take center stage. Our staff and volunteers are available to help our patients and their loved ones work through these issues.” Spiritual and emotional concerns are especially present following a life-threatening diagnosis or poor prognosis, she adds. “Just having someone to talk with outside the circle of family and friends can bring some measure of calm. We provide compassionate listening, which is what’s needed most. Our desire is to surround those in crisis with God’s love and healing.” Far from promoting any particular religion, Spiritual Care staff and volunteers take their cues from the patient when it comes to beginning a dialogue. “We always start where the patient wants to start,” notes Shipman. “This visit is about them, not us! Many of them may wonder, Where is God in all this? We encourage
them to express their questions, fears and doubts.” All beings are spiritual beings, regardless of their individual belief systems, Shipman says. And her volunteers accept and honor this fact without judgment. “The question we ask is, ‘How are you within? What’s stirring within you?’ That opens the door to all kinds of discussion,” she explains. Ruby doesn’t make a big deal about identifying herself as a specially educated Spiritual Care volunteer visitor when she meets with a new patient at Celilo. “I’m not a representative of the hospital. I’m not a missions worker. I’m just Ruby,” she says. “My role is that of a friend. I try to be very respectful and mindful of the direction the conversation is taking, and I let the Spirit guide me in our interactions.” Before she leaves, she always asks the patient if she can pray with him or her. To date, she has yet to be turned down. Shipman believes this has much to do with her gentle approach, deep faith and listening ear — traits shared by all who serve in her department. “We believe spiritual care is the most important dimension of healthcare,” says Shipman. “It’s woven through all we say and do. It recognizes the sacredness of the person, and includes the very ordinary aspects of everyday life.” To sign up for the next Spiritual Care volunteer visitor educational session, please contact Susan Shipman at 541-506-6999. Workshops will be held every Monday evening this June, and will take place in Conference Room 1, in the main hospital building, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. A complimentary light dinner will be served. There is no fee, but space is limited, so call today to reserve your spot.
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Beauty Remains To help commemorate National Cancer Survivors’ Day, June 1, Celilo will be hosting a series of events, including two special art exhibits. The first is a traveling exhibit featuring the art of cancer survivors (see page 11). The second exhibit, titled Beauty Remains, was created and first shown in Hood River. It shows casts of different parts of five women’s bodies that were assaulted by cancer and survived without bitterness. It is a powerful depiction of women who have faced their diagnosis with strength and courage. The public is invited to view both exhibits. The following article describes the Beauty Remains project which will be shown at Celilo June 2-6. It is reprinted with the kind permission of author Denise McCravey.
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ive strong women gathered around a table, a refreshing stop in their journey of life. Each woman knew the others beyond any introductions made. There was a thread stronger than a seaman’s rope holding a lifeboat binding them to each other individually and collectively. For perhaps a time, these women had been lost at sea, adrift in a lifeboat, wondering if they would ever make it to land again. In their journey there was no GPS, no lighthouse, no signs saying, “This is the Way.” Relying on sheer determination and tenacity, they struggled with fear, the darkness of the unknown, the anticipation and anxiety of “going under the knife,” the rawness and vulnerability of a painful experience. Five women came to share their story with others who would know to the core of their being what it felt like when one woman shared her fear when she was told she had cancer or the feeling of total exposure under the hands of the surgeon or the love of friends and family who stood with them through the pain of surgery, on past losing all their hair, on to picking up pieces of their life again, on past fear of recurrence, on to making choices to live. An idea was born between Peny Wallace, a life sculptor, and Char Brinster, a breast cancer survivor, about sharing the stories of women who had survived different types of cancer through casting parts of their bodies with their scars. Peny, the artist, with her casting assistant Leta Sparks and Susan Crowley, a professional photographer from Hood River joined together to help the women share their story through life casting, photography, journaling and sharing their experiences with each other. Sharing as a group we noticed, and deeply understood, the reluctance of some to actually say the word cancer referring to the disease as “It”. Char noticed she used “It” in her journal until finally she wrote I have Cancer, Cancer, Cancer. Some had a need to share how they had been cut apart, maimed, humiliated and sewn back together in the flesh but not in the soul. The people who loved them deeply, their faith and their own inner strength carefully stitched those ragged pieces of their soul together. We discussed why breasts are so important in this society and how no substitution feels right no matter the size, shape or perfection of a smoothly rounded lump of lifeless gel. Kris Nuss, a young mother of two girls was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer at 26 years of age, and is the youngest cancer survivor in Oregon. Kris has been cancer free for 16 years. She emphatically shared “I don’t want to be known as Kris the cancer survivor with two breast implants. Cancer was just a short blip in my life. My life is full with a loving husband, beautiful talented children, strong friendships and a deep relationship with God.” Her casting shows how love drove away all fear as Jerry, her husband who stood with her through all of the diagnosis, surgery and treatment 25 years ago wraps his arms around her continuing to give strength.
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Some of the pieces speak softly of the richness of loving and being loved. Others sing of strong bodies, strong inner spirits. All sing of hope and life. I, Denise McCravey, remember the day 35 years ago like it was yesterday when my life changed. All of the experiences and feelings related to my diagnosis are a part of who I am today. The troupe of women gathered one Saturday at the Columbia Center for the Arts excited to see how Peny Wallace does her incredible life casting, thoughtful of the poses each of us had considered and ready to join in a project together. Each of the women casted was responsible to think of a pose that would best describe the impact of having cancer. At first we thought it would be to cast the scars of battle and then it changed to communicate who we are as women. Kristen Reese has a great bicep. When she raised her arm to place her hand behind her head the pose made the perfect metaphor of her strength in spite of “It”. Layers of alginate, gauze and gypsum plaster are lathered onto the model as they remain perfectly still for about 30 minutes. Then the mold is ever so carefully removed. There was a respectful silence as we gazed at the casting of another. There is a reverence in art truly the telling a powerful story. New discoveries were made by each of the participants as the castings were cleaned and final preparations were made for display of the pieces. The scars that everyone tried to show were like whispers compared to the voice of each piece. Some of the pieces speak softly of the richness of loving and being loved. Others sing of strong bodies, strong inner spirits. All sing of hope and life.
The Write Stuff
from page 17
Anderson has participated in virtually all of them. She has taken tai chi classes and used Reiki therapy, a spiritual practice involving the laying on of hands to channel healing energy. She is an avid proponent of Celilo’s acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine offerings, and calls the Guided Imagery sessions with facilitator Susan Erikson and harpist Anna Fiasca “unbelievably helpful.
“The worst thing I could imagine happening to me has provided me with many gifts.” “I am so amazed what they accomplish, how they work together and guide you through a deeply relaxing and healing experience,” Anderson says. “It just transports you.” Anderson’s belief in the power of these therapies is so strong that, had they not been available at Celilo, she is convinced she would have left town to find them. “Having always been into wellness in a big way, it has been wonderful living in a community where this kind of cancer care, and all these programs are accessible in one setting,” she says. As for the care she has received at Celilo, and the people who have provided it, Anderson says, “They are angels on Earth. Every one of them.” Like many others who have faced a cancer diagnosis, Anderson says she has been transformed in many positive ways. “The worst thing I could imagine happening to me has provided me with many gifts,” she says. Living with a disease she can’t control, she has stayed focused on
that which she can — healing herself mentally, spiritually and emotionally. “I stay optimistic and in the present time,” she says. “You don’t want to look forward to what might or might not happen. The more time that elapses, the more normal I feel. Right now I feel fantastic.” Anderson enjoys the “unbelievable” support of friends and loved ones, including her husband Don Guilliams, retired dean of Columbia Gorge Community College. And she continues to find strength in her healthy sense of humor. Truth be told, Anderson says, if Today Carole could swap places with Pre-December 2005 Carole, she wouldn’t make the trade. “I recently heard a comedian who had a cancer similar to mine say, ‘If I could go back to that fateful day I was diagnosed and this time have my doctor tell me I just had an infection, I wouldn’t take the deal.’ Oddly, I feel the same way. I like who I am better than before. Cancer has been a profound teacher for me.” Nearing 60, Anderson has a goal of writing a book, perhaps combining her words with some of her cancer-journey paintings. She also is trying to learn watercolor. The painting has been good for her. Then again … “I have sort of a love-hate relationship with it,” she says. “I enjoy it a lot, but will I ever be good at it? I’d never presume to try to answer that, though right now I’d say No. I mean, if I paint a rose, it looks like a rose. But is it a good rose? No, it is not.” And she laughs the deep, heartfelt laugh of someone who already has seen the worst of it, and is going to be O.K.
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Common Cancer Screenings When identified in their earliest stages, many cancers can be successfully treated. The American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institutes have developed guidelines for screenings for many different types of cancer. Some of the guidelines are provided below. Your best course of action is to maintain a close relationship with a physician or other healthcare provider who will guide and make recommendations for you based on your age, risk factors and other considerations. BREAST CANCER Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health. Clinical breast exam should be part of a periodic health exam, about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over. Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care providers. Breast self-exam is an option for women starting in their 20s.
screening, unless the surgery was done as a treatment for cervical cancer or pre-cancer. Women who have had a hysterectomy without removal of the cervix should continue to follow the guidelines above.
CERVICAL CANCER All women should begin cervical cancer screening about three years after they begin having intercourse, but no later than when they are 21 years old. Screening should be done every year with the regular Pap test or every two years using the newer liquid-based Pap test.
The American Cancer Society recommends that beginning at age 50, both men and women should have a screening test. Some recommend that African Americans begin screening at age 45. People with certain digestive diseases (such as ulcerative colitis) or a family history of colon cancer may need earlier and more frequent testing.
Beginning at age 30, women who have had three normal Pap test results in a row may get screened every two to three years. Women 70 years of age or older who have had three or more normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal Pap test results in the last 10 years may choose to stop having cervical cancer screening. Women who have had a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus and cervix) may also choose to stop having cervical cancer
COLON AND RECTAL CANCER Colon cancer screening can detect polyps and early cancers and is as effective as breast cancer screening when it comes to saving lives. There are three ways to screen for colon cancer: stool test, sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy.
Talk to your provider about which procedure is most appropriate for you. PROSTATE CANCER Both the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital rectal examination should be offered annually, beginning at age 50, to men who have at least a 10-year life expectancy. Men at high risk should
CANCER CENTER
begin testing at age 45. Men at even higher risk, due to multiple firstdegree relatives affected at an early age, could begin testing at age 40. Depending on the results of this initial test, no further testing might be needed until age 45. SKIN CANCER Everyone should learn how to do self-checks at home to identify suspicious areas on the skin. Follow the ABCDEs of melanoma, and watch for the following: A- Asymmetry: Normal moles or freckles are completely symmetrical. If you were to draw a line through a normal spot, you would have two symmetrical halves. In cases of skin cancer, spots will not look the same on both sides. B- Border: A mole or spot with blurry and/or jagged edges. C- Color: A mole that is more than one hue is suspicious and needs to be evaluated by a doctor. Normal spots are usually one color. D- Diameter: Benign moles are usually less than 6 millimeters in diameter. Melanoma lesions are often more than 6 millimeters in diameter. E- Evolving. Benign moles usually do not change size over time. Melanoma lesions often grow in size or change in height rapidly.
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