Roseburg women share cancer survival stories

For Joyce Morgan, her garden was her refuge.

When Morgan was suffering from the side effects of an intense chemotherapy regimen, she would crawl through her garden and tend to the array of flowers bursting with bright oranges, yellows and pinks, and care for the evergreens and red maples scattered around the property.

For Kim Gandy, 26, working was her retreat.

Gandy trekked to her job as a dental assistant at the Umpqua Community Health Clinic every day throughout her eight-week treatment. She surrounded herself with friends, family members and other people that provided the then 25-year-old with comfort and support during her second battle with illness.

Both women coped in different ways, were affected by different forms of the disease and are in different stages of recovery, but they both fought cancer, and will share their stories this weekend when they serve as grand marshals for Relay for Life, an annual fundraising event that supports cancer research and is celebrated in communities across the nation.

BEATING THE BEAST

In December of 2005, three days before Christmas, Morgan discovered a small lump in her left breast while conducting a self-exam. She visited her doctor days later and discovered that the lump was not only cancerous, but that the disease had spread from her breast to her liver and chest wall.

Morgan underwent a lumpectomy to have the tumor removed. Some of the lymph nodes surrounding the tumor were tested to make sure the cancer had not spread in her breast. The tests came back clear of cancer, so doctors focused on treating the cancer in her chest wall and liver. Doctors told her that if she chose to do nothing, she would only have a few months to live.

“We decided we would aggressively attack the aggressive cancer,” Morgan said.

The chemotherapy treatment was so intense it put her in the hospital for two weeks in May 2006.

“After a lot of thinking, I decided quality of life was real important,” she said.

Even though the chemotherapy destroyed 80 percent of the cancer, Morgan told her doctor that she would not continue chemotherapy — if her days were limited, she wanted to spend them with friends and family, not lying in a hospital bed.

“You’re trying to beat the beast, but in doing that, you’ve lost everything else,” Morgan said.

After much protest from her doctor, Morgan was presented with a list of treatment options that would not affect her quality of life. She researched her options, changed her diet to one more rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and shifted her outlook on life.

Every 21 days, Morgan travels to Eugene for cancer treatment. She has a port in her chest that transfers two liquid drugs into a major artery. One drug, Zometa, blocks the holes formed in Morgan’s bones from the chemotherapy. The other drug, Herceptin, blocks the cancer cells from growing and replicating.

Three weeks ago, Morgan had a CT scan that revealed that the large lesion in her liver had shrunk and is now only 1 centimeter. The spot means Morgan still has cancer and is still in remission, but her chest wall, bones and breast are all free of cancer. Morgan will continue the regimen until doctors are sure the cancer is completely eliminated from her body, Morgan said.

Now, the 79-year-old said she tries to reach out to others who have cancer and provide the same support and encouragement she received. She also wants people to research treatment options and make educated decisions about what course could work best for them.

“It’s your life,” she said. “You make those decisions about what you want to do.”

TWICE A SURVIVOR

Eight years ago, when Gandy was a high school senior, she discovered that she had ovarian cancer.

At first, doctors said the then 18-year-old only had ovarian cysts, but Gandy’s mother knew better. When Gandy’s mom was 14 years old, she and her cousin were diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She contacted the doctor who had diagnosed her 35 years earlier. The doctor reviewed Gandy’s case and diagnosed her with ovarian cancer.

Gandy’s rare type of ovarian cancer was not treatable by chemotherapy or radiation, but luckily for Gandy, her doctor caught the cancer before it spread. Surgery removed all of the ovarian cancer, she said.

Then, in May 2007, Gandy’s doctors found a lump on her thyroid. Again, doctors didn’t think she had cancer. Gandy had surgery to remove half of her thyroid and began treatment to replace the thyroid hormone. A biopsy of the removed portion of her thyroid revealed that she had cancer. Days later, Gandy had a second surgery to remove the rest of her thyroid.

Gandy was then taken off of the hormone replacement program and started an eight-week iodine radiation treatment. The iodine radiation destroyed any remaining thyroid cells that were not removed during surgery.

“The thyroid itself didn’t scare me,” Gandy said. “But this was two different freak cancers that aren’t related, and it got me thinking, ‘Where is it gonna pop up next?’”

Gandy’s doctors assured the 26-year-old that developing the two cancers was a coincidence, and she does not need additional tests to detect cancer.

As for her advice to those who find themselves battling cancer, it’s quite simple.

“Just don’t give up,” Gandy said.

• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.

So you know... WHAT: Relay for Life of Douglas County. WHEN: 3 p.m. Friday until noon Saturday. Opening ceremony is at 6 p.m. Friday, closing ceremony is at noon Saturday. WHERE: Umpqua Community College track, 1140 College Road, Winchester. WHY: Relay for Life benefits the American Cancer Society. EVENTS/INFORMATION: The relay will include a silent auction. Item preview is open 3-5:30 p.m. and bidding is open 7-9 p.m. Friday. Bidding is also open from 8-10 a.m. Saturday. The survivor lap immediately follows the opening ceremony at 6 p.m. Friday. The luminaria ceremony, which honors and remembers those who have or had cancer, takes place at 9:30 p.m. Friday, when the grand marshals arrive with the relay torch. Games and activities to raise money for the American Cancer Society will be offered throughout the event. For additional information, visit www.events.cancer.org/rflroseburgor.