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Cancer survivor thankful for support during, after surgery and recovery |
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Sunday, 23 March 2008 |
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By Jillian Duke
Courier Staff Celebrating her survival is a very special part of living for Ruthie Burgess.
The 63-year-old Benton woman has been cancer-free for almost 12 years and enjoys encouraging others to take care of their bodies. Like she’s done for the past several years, Burgess will join other survivors for the first lap at the Saline County Relay for Life.
This year’s event will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, May 16, and lasts through the night at the Benton High School practice field on Border Street. The theme of the event, which is the American Cancer Society’s largest fundraiser, is “The Greatest Walk on Earth.” Teams are encouraged to dress up their members and booths circus-style, said Rebecca Jones, community relations manager for the hospital and publicity chairwoman for the local Relay committee.
Burgess, the office coordinator for housekeeping and maintenance at Saline Memorial Hospital, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. She had usually been pretty diligent at undergoing the recommended breast exams, but had forgotten one time.
During a doctor’s examination, nothing out of the ordinary appeared, but she said she felt a lump and knew something was wrong. It was cancer. Her doctor concluded it had been there for about a year, Burgess said. “That’s why it’s so important to conduct self-breast exams and be consistent.”
Participating in Relay is a good way to remind everyone “to be aware and cognizant of what’s going on inside yourself. You should do all the things you’re advised to do,” she said, encouraging people to take advantage of the “many resources out there” for breast cancer prevention and awareness.
What made facing cancer somewhat easier was family support from the beginning. In the doctor’s office when Burgess learned of her options, she said her family was right beside her. “It’s very important when you’re facing that difficult situation to have others around, because you tend not to absorb it all.”
Burgess opted to have both breasts removed. The cancerous mass was about three centimeters, but it had “fingered out,” she said. Removal reduced her chances of recurrence to 2 percent, she said. She later had reconstructive surgery.
She didn’t remain completely chemotherapy free, however. “I chose removal because I was more afraid of being sick than surgery, but I decided to do the recommended six months of chemo just to make sure,” Burgess said.
“I didn’t get too sick, but it would drain me of any energy for the first while after receiving the chemo, but then I would feel hyped up because of the medicine. On the up side, I got a lot done I never even did when I was well.”
The chemo caused Burgess to lose her hair, but she can’t say enough about the Cancer Society’s free wig service for cancer patients.
At the time, Burgess worked at Southwest Airlines in Little Rock reserving air travel for customers. For the first five years, she had to see her cancer doctors about every three months, and she even participated in a double-blind study related to cancer medicine.
“Once I hit the five-year mark, my doctors said, ‘OK, you’re OK,’” which meant Burgess was free from the frequent checkups. Burgess said she was a bit taken aback by this good news. “You get used to that safety net,” she said.
Now, she goes for cancer checkups one a year and frequently performs self-exams.
Burgess is not just a cancer survivor. She’s also stepped into the shoes of a supporter. Her husband, John, reached his fifth-year mark of being prostate cancer-free, and her son, Johnny, 40, survived testicular cancer.
Relay for Life is “such a worthy thing to do,” Burgess said. “If nothing else, you do it for the love and support. You can’t comprehend the feeling you get when you’re out there. It’s so moving to have people rooting and supporting you, even people who don’t know you.
“And there are so many survivors around here.”
Participating in Relay is “very hard to do without tears, with me anyway,” Burgess said. “I’m OK talking about it until I get out there and there are so many people showing me love and being sympathetic.”
Burgess will participate on the Saline Memorial Hospital team led by Jones.
“We’re really excited about this year’s event,” Jones said, noting chairwoman Dianne Jester, and Lisa Thornton, who’s in charge of team recruitment, “are doing a fantastic job. It’s going to be wonderful.”
Recruiting teams is the committee’s focus right now, Jones said. Last year, the Saline County 6Relay raised about $55,000. This year’s goal is $60,000, Jones said.
The neat thing about the event is people don’t have to just walk at the event, Jones said. “Just come. There will be a dunking booth and lots of different activities.”
For information on establishing a team, call Thornton at 776-3111.
Burgess thinks about her granddaughter’s chances of developing cancer one day, but for today, she’s focused on celebrating life and having fun. The Relay for Life is a good start.
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