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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2015)
14 Wednesday, March 11, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Talking to teens in Sisters about cancer By Katy Yoder Correspondent I got a call from a Sisters High School student asking if I would talk to a school assembly about my cancer experience. It was cancer- awareness week and the stu- dents were creating a presen- tation covering several of the main types of cancer, includ- ing childhood cancers. The young lady who called me said she’d read some of my columns and wondered if I’d be willing to do a 10-minute talk on my cancer story. At first I panicked. How could I dis- till my experience down to just 10 minutes; not to men- tion whether I could handle talking to hundreds of high school students? I wasn’t sure how I’d connect with them or if I could get my message across in a mean- ingful way. After all, I’m a 53-year-old mother of a col- lege student … light-years away from their frame of reference. I spent some time typ- ing up notes I could refer to during my talk and took them with me to work. Then right before I left for the high school, I scribbled down a few gems that popped into my head. About half-way there, I realized I’d left my notes on my desk. There was no time to go back and pick them up. I half-laughed, half- cried at the absurdity of it all and then had a quick chat with God. I concluded there must be a reason I wasn’t supposed to rely on my notes. I’d just have to keep it spontaneous, because there wasn’t really anything else I could do. I’d come up with an anal- ogy that I hoped would help the students understand the feelings I had when I was diagnosed and how it felt during treatment. I asked them to imagine driving on the Santiam Pass, enjoying the view as you go. Your car has been feeling a little off, but you ignore it and keep going, thinking it’s probably nothing. Once at the top of the pass you head down the other side. The car is pick- ing up speed, but when you hit the brakes they go to the floor. You’re going faster, barely making turns and sliding toward the edge. There’s an instant feeling of shock, followed by panic, and then the realization that something has to be done or you’re going to die. All of a sudden you have all kinds of motivation to do whatever you can to survive. The difference between this and really losing your brakes on the Santiam is that it will last for over a year, and even today there are times when I’m still thinking about how to keep the car on the road. I don’t remember every- thing I said — one of the downsides of speaking on the fly. In my notes I wanted to tell them that cancer treat- ments and the disease itself are a lesson in overcom- ing physical, mental, and spiritual challenges with the main antidote being faith that in the end all will be well. I briefly covered the three main treatments in Western medicine’s arsenal for cur- ing cancer: Surgery, chemo- therapy, and radiation. I told them that chemo kills your fast-growing cells in an effort to take out the cancer, and in doing so devastates your hair follicles and nails. I lifted my hat up quickly and gave them a quick flash of my head for effect. I ended with telling them to really think about what they were putting in their bodies. That what we do in high school and beyond accumulates over time. I con- fessed that I smoked pot in high school and that I won- dered if that or anything else I’d done over the years had tipped the scales for me to get cancer. Since my cancer was not genetic, something in my environment caused those cells to gain control. I may never know why I got cancer. All I can do is edu- cate myself on ways to make sure it doesn’t gain a foot- hold again. I’m seeing my oncolo- gist regularly, as well as a naturopath oncologist who keeps me up to date on the many cancer treatments that are not approved by the FDA in this country but have been through clinical trials in Europe and Canada. Through her, I am taking supplements and treatments that help keep cancer at bay. I can’t change yesterday, but today is still mine to do with as I choose. Women’s health center opening St. Charles Health System is opening a Center for Wom- en’s Health in Bend that will offer a full spectrum of obstet- ric and gynecological services. The new clinic, which opens May 1, will provide coordinated care for women based on the perinatal home concept. Patients seen at the clinic will have access to obstetric, gynecological and behavioral healthcare, as well as health education. The new clinic will be staffed by four doctors, includ- ing Dr. John Murphy, a long- time Bend OB-GYN who was previously in private practice for 15 years. Murphy and the other OB- GYNs, who are relocating to Bend and will start practicing later this summer, will also be joined by a nurse-practitioner and two nurse-midwives. The St. Charles Center for Women’s Health, which will be temporarily located at 2600 N.E. Neff Rd., will begin scheduling appointments in April. Hospice of Redmond Hospice of Redmond has been part of the Sisters healthcare community for over 33 years. Our goal has been to provide high-quality services aimed at allowing terminally ill patients to remain in the comfort of their own homes and be as active and in control of their lives as possible. At Hospice of Redmond, we affirm life and honor your wishes for your care. We focus on you, not just your illness. We work closely with your personal doctor, tailoring our medical and emo- tional support to your needs and wishes. Hospice offers bereavement counseling to the community, a non-medical Transitions program for people with chronic life-limiting illnesses, commu- nity wellness education, alternative therapies, care- giver support, veterans support and Camp Sunrise, an annual grief camp for children. Hospice of Redmond is an independent, Medicare-certified, non-profit organization. We serve all of Central Oregon, including Sisters and surrounding areas. Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics Preventative medicine is a wonderful idea we all agree on. The healthcare industry and insur- ance providers are also in support of this plan. As diabetes continues to grow in our culture, diabetic shoes and inserts are but one step in the preven- tion of lower-limb complications (pun intended!). We at Alliance Prosthetics and Orthotics have embraced that idea of prevention in all aspects of our work, including the provision of insurance-cov- ered diabetic shoes and inserts. Someone who has diabetes may be eligible, through their insurance plan, for Medicare-approved protective shoes and inserts. As the first provider in Central Oregon to offer “in-home” service to its clients, we have helped minimize the concerns of our diabetic population for over five years. Keeping the objective of preven- tion at the forefront of our services allows us to work with our customers to continue on a more safe and secure pathway to health!