The road to survival

Kayla Kiley | Cadillac News Dawn Paulin of Cadillac was first diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and then again in 2006. After finishing chemotherapy and radiation in the spring, she is continuing to fight the cancer. In the story, she details the struggles and fears of battling the disease, and said after being diagnosed ÒI appreciate life a whole lot more.Ó October is breast cancer awareness month.

Cadillac News

Breast cancer is one of the biggest mortalities for women.

So, when Kathy McCurdy, Patty Schneider and Dawn Paulin were diagnosed, one of their biggest fears was dying.

“Probably, like many women, my biggest fear was death, I think,” Schneider said. “I have a 13-year-old at home, I have older children and a granddaughter. Your biggest fear is ‘am I going to be around to see the things that I want to see with them?’”

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All women said their support systems were very important in the process of getting through the disease; the three women said their families and friends, as well as others who have gone through the disease, were very helpful.

“I know it helped me when I went to a support group meeting to see that there were women there who had it like 15 to 20 years ago, because there were also women there that were dying,” McCurdy said. “And when I’d see the women that had it a long time ago, and they were doing OK, it’s like, I want to be like them.”

While McCurdy and Schneider were surprised when they were diagnosed with breast cancer, Paulin almost expected it, she said.

“My mom, grandma, great aunt all died of breast cancer, and it’s also on my father’s side,” she said. “I knew the risk was incredibly high and the odds were there.”

McCurdy is a survivor, Schneider is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation and Paulin recently finished chemo last spring and is now taking the drug FERMA, which inhibits estrogen in the body in hopes of preventing cancer from reoccurring.

All women believe reaching out and allowing others to help while maintaining hope is the mind-set it takes to beat the disease.

CADILLAC — When Dawn Paulin was first diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, she “wasn’t all that shocked.”

“I knew the risk was incredibly high and the odds were there, but I just always thought I’d be older,” said the now 53-year-old, who knew she was a good candidate for the disease, because it runs on both sides of her family. “You do worry about dying — that’s really natural.”

After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, which caused nausea and exhaustion, Paulin thought she was done with the disease — but she wasn’t.

One year ago, Paulin went in for her yearly mammogram and doctors found even more aggressive pre-cancerous cells in her other breast.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was so sure I was doing this so I wouldn’t have to go through it again,” said Paulin, referring to fighting cancer for the second time.

This time, Paulin was completely shocked and experienced much heavier emotions.

“I was depressed and angry — sometimes all in one day,” she said. “There were times where I’d cry and cry, and other times I’d be really pissed off because I had to (fight cancer) again for the second time in two years.”

But after her initial shock of being diagnosed with breast cancer a second time, Paulin said, “Let’s do this (fight cancer) and get it done.”

And that’s what she’s done so far.

Paulin underwent chemotherapy and radiation for the second time this spring, and had a bilateral mastectomy. Now, for the next four years and 10 months, Paulin is taking the drug FERMA, which inhibits estrogen in the body in hopes of preventing cancer from reoccurring.

Living a normal day-to-day life was important to Paulin because that meant she wasn’t giving in to the disease.

“I tried to keep life as normal as possible because I didn’t want to give in to cancer,” said Paulin, regarding one of her strategies of dealing with the disease. “Not doing all the things I normally did meant I was giving into cancer — I wasn’t going to do that.”

But after being diagnosed with cancer, Paulin said “normal” is a bit different.

“It’s the new normal,” Paulin said. “You know exactly what is normal. For most, it’s appreciating life everyday and trying to do the right thing — trying to help people, trying to be nice to my husband and pay him back for all the things he did for me.”

According to Paulin, dealing with cancer is a highly emotional time — from fearing for your life to losing your hair — “it’s tough.”

“My hair fell out on Christmas Eve, and after two to three days, there was almost nothing left,” she said. “I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes and got stuff in my eyes.

“It’s hard to look at yourself — you look strange. …But my husband still loved me — it’s all that mattered.”

Paulin recommends yearly mammograms, because her self breast exam didn’t catch her first cancerous lump.

“The first one was against my chest wall — I couldn’t have felt it. Even the mammogram barely caught it,” she said.

Dr. James Wilson, medical director at District Health Dept. No. 10, agrees that early diagnosis is important for increasing survival chances.

“Early detection is key,” said Wilson, who noted there is definitely a genetic predisposition for breast cancer. “If you wait until you have a big lump or assume it’s something else, it could be too late.”

According to American Cancer Society, “In 2007, 178,480 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,460 will die from it. However, if detected at its earliest stages, breast cancer is 98 percent survivable.”

While Wilson said, “they don’t know what causes breast cancer,” he recommends healthy living to boost the immune system and help prevent the disease.

“Eat lots of fruits and veggies, consume less meat and alcohol; exercise and don’t smoke — these all have to do with the health of the body,” he said. “If the immune system is high, it’s less likely to get cancer of any kind.”

After being diagnosed with cancer, Paulin said she appreciates life and the little things a lot more.

“(Having cancer) definitely brought us closer together,” Paulin said, as she nudged her husband. “I appreciate life a whole lot more, and I found out I have incredible friends and an absolutely amazing church family.”

Paulin said she’s very grateful for her husband, family, friends and church family and believes she wouldn’t have made it through cancer without their support.

“Find friends, family, church — find somebody who will let you talk about how you’re feeling, find somebody or more than one who will let you vent or cry if you need to,” Paulin said. “You need positive support.”

Not only did Paulin find support through friends and family, she also found an online “support group” at www.facingownrisk.org, a Web site for women who carry the breast cancer gene.

“A lot of ladies (on the Web site) have high familial risks, and provided me with an incredible amount of support,” she said. “I even corresponded through phone and e-mail with women in Las Vegas and California and received some gift, which was really touching.”

While Paulin’s run with cancer has been rough, she tries to keep her head high and encourages others with cancer to keep their chins up, too.

“You will get through it, even if it feels like it’s never going to end,” Paulin said.

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