PAGE A8, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 25, 2022
Local cancer survivor pens memoir
BY JOEY CAPPELLETI
For the Keizertimes
Tucked within Keizer’s Palma Ceia
subdivision, Pam and John Johnsons’
home doesn’t stick out. The beige col-
ored split-level home, while cute, is just
one of a dozen other similar looking
homes on the block.
But hidden behind the suburban
home is the Johnsons’ own private
beach. Grass replaced by sand, bricks by
conch shells and, while not the Pacific
Ocean, there’s even a small plastic pool
for their daughter's dog.
“My husband and I at some of our
worst times, when I had my two breasts
cut off, when I found out I had leukemia,
when I had Merkel cell carcinoma and
didn't know if I was gonna be around
next month to see my grandchildren,
where did we go? The beach. It's my
solitude. It's my sanctuary,” said Pam
Johnson, who has lived in Keizer for 68
years.
Johnson’s life with cancer, which has
spanned over two decades, is outlined
in her recent self-published memoir, My
Travels with Big C . . . and a Clinical Trial
that Changed My Life.
The book focuses on Johnson’s deci-
sion to participate in a risky six-month
clinical trial for Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukemia instead of choosing the stan-
dard treatment in hopes of increasing
her chance of survival.
“As soon as I found out I had breast
cancer or leukemia, the first person I
wanted to talk to was somebody who had
the same thing I had. So I thought if I
can get a book out there, maybe people
can learn from my experience,” Johnson
said. “Maybe they can find some hope,
not be quite so scared because some-
body else went through what they did.”
Johnson had her first health scare
in 1997 when she was diagnosed with
breast cancer and as a result, had a dou-
ble mastectomy.
After her recovery, Johnson began
teaching at South Salem High School
and was cancer-free for over a decade.
Then, on a Wednesday afternoon in
July of 2009, Johnson went in for a reg-
ular blood test. The test revealed that
her white blood cell value was over two
times the maximum standard number.
A doctor’s visit a few days later revealed
that Johnson had Chronic Lymphocytic
Leukemia.
“I kind of thought I’d paid my cancer
dues when my beautiful breasts were
cut off, then when my white blood cells
turned on me, and then especially when
a very rare and very aggressive skin can-
cer almost killed me. But there’s often-
times no ending payment when it comes
to cancer,” said Johnson.
Johnson was able to avoid treatment
until April of 2014, when her white blood
cell count was 15 times higher than
normal, her spleen was double its nor-
mal size and tennis, her favorite activ-
ity she’d once played daily, became too
dangerous.
Treatment had to start and an oncolo-
gist introduced her to the idea of partic-
ipating in a clinical trial being done at
Oregon Science and Health University.
“When I first started the trial I did it for
selfish reasons. I wanted to live longer,
and I didn’t want to leave my husband
without a wife, my daughter without a
mother, and my grandchildren without
a grandma. Over time though, the trial
took on even greater meaning. I realized
traveling through an unproven treat-
ment had the chance to help hundreds,
thousands, and maybe even millions
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Pointe
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of people and
writing about it
might help to
ease the fears of
the unknown,”
said Johnson.
It’s
been
close to 13
years
since
Johnson
was
first diagnosed
with leukemia
and eight since
she first began
the
clinical
trial. The trial
was a success,
and
Johnson
is now in her
seventh year of
remission.
With check-
ups
every
six
months,
Johnson said
she knows all
too well that
every time her
blood is drawn
she knows the
results
could
show the cancer
coming back.
“When
a
health
crisis
hits, you really
start learning
what’s
most
important in life and how you want to
spend the time you’re given. I feel more
alive after thinking I was going to die,”
Johnson said.
Additional
information
about
Johnson’s book can be found on her
website pcpillette-johnson.com. The
book can be ordered directly on her web-
site or at the following local book shops:
Reader’s Guide in West Salem, Escape
Fiction in South Salem, Second Chance
Books in Independence, and Books N
Time in Silverton.
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