SURVIVORS

1.Gary Johnson

A continuing adventure

Gary Johnson

When Gary Johnson went in for surgery to remove a cancerous prostate, doctors discovered that the cancer had already spread to his lymph nodes. Now he's on a treatment that is designed to hold the cancer cells in check for as long as possible. "Since there's no cure for my cancer, my challenge is to live as long and as well as I can," says Gary.

Unwilling to sit back and worry, he and his wife Marlys focus on being proactive in facing down the disease. They have gathered a team of medical professionals, family, friends, and other cancer survivors as a support system. Gary has also changed his lifestyle—he's getting more exercise, getting better nutrition, and finding ways to manage his stress.

My challenge
is to live as long
and as well as I can.

Gary's cancer diagnosis completely changed the priorities in his life. He's now focused on family, faith, and the outdoors. He and Marlys established the 501(c)(3) non-profit Cancer Adventures , and travel across the United States, telling their story to cancer survivors, students, and health professionals.

"Not knowing what the future holds is the hardest part," Gary said recently. "The three things getting me through every day are my faith, my wife, and having this purpose to help others. Having a purpose has turned a negative into a positive."

2.Kelly Turner

Helping others get help

Kelly Turner

Kelly Turner, a New Haven, Connecticut, police officer, found a golf ball-sized lump in her breast when she was 36 years old. It turned out to be stage 3 breast cancer.

In July of 2001, Kelly began 4 months of aggressive chemotherapy. She had a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery the following January, then radiation therapy 6 months later.

The entire time, Kelly's close friends gave her a tremendous amount of emotional support and helped her through medical appointments and treatments. Her coworkers and church family collected money, and also organized a motorcycle ride and a hockey game to raise funds that could help with her expenses. Kelly coped with the uncertainty of it all with the help of her loved ones, with prayer, and with spiritual music and talks.

I went through cancer
so I could do what
I’m doing now.

On January 1, 2003, after missing 18 months of work, Kelly returned to the police force. Encouraged by the outpouring of emotional and financial support she had received from her friends and coworkers, Kelly decided to help other people the way she had been helped: she formed The Chain Fund , an organization that provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families. Even though she's helping others through the project, the project is helping her, too, by giving her hope and strength. As she puts it, "I love to be a blessing to others! I enjoy making someone else's life better—even if it's just for a moment in time."

Today, Kelly is cancer free. The Chain Fund has grown to address various emotional and physical needs for cancer patients and families, while continuing its financial focus. Kelly describes herself as shy, but she tirelessly solicits donations and grants for The Chain Fund, holds events and fundraisers, and always thinks of ways she can help others.

Kelly believes cancer changed her as a person. Although she would never want to go through the traumatic and difficult time again, she sees the positive result from it. "I don't think I went through that whole cancer experience to not do anything," she says. "I believe I went through it so I could do what I'm doing now."

3.Mark Ciccarelli

Connecting people to people

Mark Ciccarelli

Mark Ciccarelli was diagnosed with Hodgkin disease when he was 9 years old and just about to enter the fourth grade. He did his best to pretend it wasn't that bad, forcing a smile and imagining a time when he'd be cancer free.

Mark missed a lot of school that year, because of the chemotherapy and then the radiation. But he took part in as many activities as he could. There were times when he'd go outside and play kickball hooked up to a catheter in his chest—partly to feel like a normal kid again and partly to reassure his family and friends that he was alright.

Now Mark is 26 years old and cancer free, and he works as a financial advisor. He recalls that when he was going through cancer treatment as a kid, although he couldn't know all the specifics of his cancer, he did know that he had to endure and find strength in every way possible.

Today he credits his support system in helping him do that.

There’s nothing better
than being able
to help others.

"I looked at cancer as a team sport; on my own I would never win, but if I opened up to the positivity of others around me, I knew I would have a fighting chance," he says. "While every day brought on new challenges, both mentally and physically, I always felt love and support from my family, friends, and classmates. Those were the key factors that helped me get through my cancer diagnosis."

Mark also realized how helpful it was to connect with someone who was having a similar experience. "It gives you a lot more strength to talk to someone who understands what you're going through firsthand," he says. "As a 9 year old with hair falling out and constant nausea from medication, I had a really hard time understanding why I was sick. It caused me to be quite shy. I finally felt better when a family friend who had cancer sat me down and spoke to me about our shared experiences. Then I didn't feel like I was the only one."

Mark now helps other cancer survivors make these kinds of helpful connections through Conquer Together , an interactive Web site that he created. The site allows cancer survivors, family members, and caregivers from around the world to share their experiences, reasons for hope, and other messages of encouragement. The site has hundreds of members and gets thousands of hits a day.

"I understand that I'm very fortunate to be here doing what I'm doing," Mark says. "There's nothing better than being able to help others."

4.Byron Dudley

A calendar of hope

Byron Dudley

In 1995, Byron Dudley decided to retire early from his 30-year career in education and devote full attention to his love of photography. He was interrupted when he found a malignant tumor in his armpit, which turned out to be a recurrence of a melanoma from a few years earlier. After having the tumor removed, Byron went through a long and difficult year of taking Intron A, a drug which caused him to be very sick.
The treatments left Byron sick and depressed. "Others may care, but they don't really understand what it's like to battle cancer and how awful that battle can be, even if you end up winning it," he says.
Byron turned to his wife, Nancy, and golden retriever, McKenzie, to keep him company on his journey to recovery. With all the physical and emotional side effects taking their toll, he tried to focus on taking things moment by moment, one day at a time.
After the doctors declared him cancer free, Byron came up with the idea to produce a 2008 Calendar of Hope for a medical center in Oregon. The calendar featured his landscape photos, along with some of the thoughts he had recorded in his journal as he went through cancer treatment. Byron's intention with this gift was to renew hope and inspire others who have been touched by the disease, because, he says, "hope is essential in the will to live."

Every day
is just another
blessing.

The calendar was very well received, and it was distributed by the medical center to 2,500 people battling cancer throughout central and western Oregon.
Byron now believes that life is good, and he feels that he's very fortunate. "At my best, I am a more patient person, patient with myself and with others," he says. "Now that I'm 73 years old, every day is just another blessing. I'm learning to become a fly fisherman. I'm still planting trees. I'm looking forward to tomorrow!"

5.Minnie Hines-Chen

Living and loving every day

Minnie Hines-Chen

"Women your age don't get breast cancer," someone told Minnie Hines-Chen when she found a lump in her breast during her first year of college. But at the end of her second year, she was diagnosed with the disease. And just a few weeks later, she was accepted into nursing school.
Determined not to waste energy on anger, fear, or resentment, Minnie chose to have a bilateral mastectomy and an intense chemotherapy regimen so she could get back on track with schooling as soon as possible. "There was only room for one enemy in this battle," she says, "and I knew I needed all my strength to conquer it."
"Being only 20 years old, all the breast cancer survivors I met were older. But it was nice," she says, "because I had strong ladies to look up to, and our shared experience opened up doors and relationships that I never knew existed."
Minnie also had good friends keeping her busy, and her strong will helped her mom keep the faith that her daughter would make it through.

I’m here and able
and that’s what
matters most.

As soon as she was able, Minnie began telling her story and educating others about her experience. She began speaking at conferences and became a Reach to Recovery volunteer to encourage newly diagnosed patients.
Minnie says that she still deals with the stigma associated with cancer. "So many people are uneducated about the disease and the wonderful people who are fighting it every day," she says. "I'm glad I can bring wisdom to those around me. I still have scars from my chemo port, mastectomy, and reconstruction. But I'm here and able, and that's what matters most."
Minnie reached her goal of becoming a nurse and always keeps her positive attitude, despite the long-term effects of her cancer treatment. "I have to take tamoxifen daily, get monthly injections, and am in artificial menopause," she explains. "I can't have children, which puts a damper on my dreams. But until I learn what God has planned for me, I will keep serving others with compassion, laughing with my friends and family, and living for this moment every day."

COMMENTARY

All these stories tell me something about what the survivors went through. One thing i noticed that the survivors where happy to tell their stories to others. That showed me how strong they were doing the bad time when they were fighting cancer.I could really tell that they were strong minded people because reading the stories i saw that they didn't let cancer take over their life and didn't allow it to handicap them any longer.