JUNE 25, 2009 ISSUE
Thriving with Cancer
The Cancer Resource Alliance spurs fresh spirit and health in people dealing with cancer. But the lousy economy has put its programs in jeopardy.
Kathie Billing’s “Pink on the Move” class is so effective, whether you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, as Billing says, 40 seconds or 40 years ago, that one member even went with a broken leg. Pictured from left are Stella Maj, Linda Lopez (back), Kathy Moorman, Susan Barron, Kay Brewer and Kathie Billing.
So why on earth can’t someone who’s had breast cancer just go to a regular exercise class, anyway?
“During one class, one of the girls grabbed her prosthesis and flung it in the corner—she said, ‘I just can’t do it with this thing on!’” explained Linda Lopez, a regular at the Cancer Resource Alliance’s “Pink on the Move” class.
And the rest of the class understood, really understood.
But a class designed specifically for women who’ve had breast cancer isn’t simply about understanding each other’s needs, limitations and scars. When you have surgery, and chemo, and radiation, it alters your body profoundly. Unless you learn how to push it—far enough, but not too far, and a little further every time—you might never get your full range of motion and strength back.
“We can’t do a regular class. It needs to be taught by someone who understands how treatment affects your whole body. At first I could hardly do anything; it’s fantastic being able to do things I was afraid to do before,” said Lopez, who vividly remembers bursting into tears when her daughter brought dinner and she literally couldn’t reach the fork.
An Innovative Class
Even though many studies prove that breast cancer patients who exercise moderately in groups are significantly less fatigued and stressed and make vital physical gains, women here never used to have the option of any such class—in fact they’re still rare, even nationwide.
We still wouldn’t have one if Carolyn Carr hadn’t discovered that there weren’t any support groups available back in 2006. “She said, ‘Well, THAT is just unacceptable,’” Beth Andrews remembers.
Andrews, who has dealt with cancer herself, huddled with Carr and Peggy Setzer, the Seby Jones Cancer Center social worker. Twenty or 30 people showed up for the very first meeting of the brand new Cancer Resource Alliance (CRA), and a variety of programs were introduced.
Kathie Billing, an RN and Pink’s leader, was one of them. She’s an athlete who’d sworn that cancer was never going to change that about her. “I took my cancer as a challenge,” she says.
She already knew all about the problems caused by “babying” bodies after surgery; frozen shoulders, limited range of motion, diminished strength and lymphedema (painful and sometimes dangerous swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system), and she found that yoga and exercise were tremendously helpful in getting her through the anxiety and physical challenges.
So several certification courses later she began to share her knowledge, offering “Pink on the Move” through the CRA. “Pink” is a mix of Pilates, yoga, strengthening and relaxation, along with a walking program—and emotional and informational support. Billing and Stephanie McDaniel also teach a newer aquatic program on similar lines,“Pink in the Water.”
Support for Body, Mind and Spirit
The “Pink” programs are far from the only CRA programs available. The group also initiated hand and foot massage for people undergoing chemo and figured out a way to get patients specialized cancer massage at rates they can afford.
“Some people can barely walk after treatment. The massage gets them back on their feet and takes away the pain and fatigue for several days,” said Setzer.
They funded a fully stocked Art Cart that expressive arts therapist interns can take into treatment rooms, encouraging patients to pull out some colors, or just sit and talk—whatever works.
Soul Stitching, a quilting group led by cancer masseuse Morgan Winkler, was recently born. In Billing’s warm, inviting farmhouse women “gather, talk, sew a little, share what’s going on in their lives—do what people have done for centuries,” says Andrews. This gathering, though, also functions as a creative, busy-handed support group facilitated by trained staff.
And then there’s Women Helping Women, a support group with an expressive arts twist. “Everyone needs someone with whom they can talk openly and honestly…where they don’t have to put on a good face,” Andrews said. “Often people feel that they have to be up all the time for the people they love; or sometimes they feel their family is saying, your treatment’s done, now get back to normal.”
Heather Cameron runs the group along with Melanie Childers, the director of pastoral care at WMC. Five years ago, breast cancer taught her that you’re not the same person after treatment—“eventually, however, you realize that you’re different, but better.”
She stresses that you don’t have to have a shred of artistic ability to participate in the group. “We might use movement or photography or clay as a vehicle for expressing our experience, but it’s all about the process, not the end product. And sometimes the group might choose just to sit and talk. Simply seeing people a month further down the road than you are can really help.”
“Support groups work better here when they’re patient-driven,” says Childers, explaining why there are currently no groups for men. “Interest and momentum build and then ebb again—we’ve learned to listen. Recovery is such an individual journey. When the need is there, we’ll fill it.”
Other programs also pop up as necessary. Michelle Forrest has done lymphedema education, and Brenda Reese has talked about caregiver support.
Looking for Funding
The programs are all offered free of charge, but it isn’t easy. Volunteer extraordinaire Gail Gross is busy selling Appetite for Life, a fundraiser cookbook of 300 recipes from cancer survivors. She’s had cancer twice and wasn’t supposed to survive nearly this long, but she didn’t pay any attention to that.
“I think I’m around so that I can do the things I’m doing. My treatment at Seby Jones was so fabulous that I wanted to give back,” Gross said.
She’s concerned about funding but hopes that the community will respond creatively, like a new acquaintance who immediately offered to donate part of the profit on his photographs.
It was a blow, however, when the Susan G. Komen Foundation couldn’t award the grant that had previously funded “Pink.” The class is nervous. Many of them are still struggling to pay off their bills—“I have health insurance, but I still owe the hospital $8,000,” said one woman—and can’t afford the class without support. Besides, the CRA believes it’s important to keep the class accessible to everyone.
So it’s actively searching out grants and hoping the community will pitch in. “Every dollar stays in the community,” Setzer said.
“Pink”class members are sold on the physical and psychological benefits. It has helped her so much, says Kay Brewer, that she even went to class with a broken leg. She’s chased away the lymphedema and muscle spasms that were so painful she thought she was having a heart attack. Debra Kirksey had been left with almost no mobility in her arm. “I’d lost a lot of weight and muscle tone—what chemo didn’t knock out of me, radiation did,” Kirksey said.
That’s fixed now. But more, “I learned how to relax, be in the moment. I hear Kathie in the back of my mind, saying breathe—it really helps when I go for tests.”
After seven surgeries, Linda Ives has seen flexibility return and new strength in her back, which was weakened by the reconstruction process. And even 15 years after the cancer, Susan Barron is seeing huge benefits from “Pink.”
“I was a single parent of a 12-year-old son, so I told them to give it to me with both barrels and it really affected my nervous system. I couldn’t attend a support group at the time, but now I’ve learned so many things I wish I’d known then; this group has told me things the doctor never did.”
“Who’d have thought I’d learn it this way, but now every new day is a precious gift,” Kirksey finishes quietly.
To donate to the CRA, send checks to the Appalachian Regional Healthcare Foundation, PO Box 2600, Boone NC 28607 with “Cancer Resource Alliance” written in the memo line.
Current Cancer Resource Alliance Programs
“Pink on the Move”
Monday 12-2:00 PM
Wednesday 6-8:00 PM
“Pink in the Water”
Tuesdays 11:00 AM
Info: Kathie Billing, 828-262-0098, for both programs
Soul Stitching Quilting Group
Call 828-262-0098 for details
Women Helping Women Support Group
2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, 5:30-7:00 PM
Cancer Resource Center, Seby Jones Cancer Center
Info: Heather Cameron 828-964-0828
Specialized Cancer Massage
Info: Peggy Setzer, 828-262-4332 ext 27
Yoga for Caregivers—TBA
Art Cart
Offered at Seby B. Jones.
What the CRA needs:
Donations
Buy Appetite for Life. $10 from the Watauga and Cannon hospital gift shops, Wellness Center, Changes Salon, and Nelson’s.
A full or part time administrator
Fundraisers
Grant writers
Creative supporters with ideas and enthusiasm
Family Fun Day
Raffles, prizes, fun and awareness,
Boone Bowling Center, July 10, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
