A Journey Through Cancer

By Renee Wahlen Tillema

No matter how the news comes or who is the one to deliver it, a diagnosis of cancer is always a shock and a surprise. Whether that news comes in person, over the phone or by mail it is hard to accept and to understand.

What comes next is a whirlwind of medical jargon, information, tests and a list of decisions to be made. Each individual handles their own journey through cancer in a different way. One Waupun woman has chosen to focus on hope and her faith to keep her strong.

Born in the Netherlands, Sylvia Vander Galien immigrated with her family to Alberta, Canada. She was almost six years of age. Her family moved around quite a bit because of her father's job. Sylvia went to high school in Holland, Mich. and later moved to Randolph where her brother had settled. Sylvia met Sam Vander Galien and they were married in 1965. They raised four children, two girls and two boys, and now have seven grandchildren. Over the years, Sylvia has been involved with the family business, Sam's Well Drilling, and has shared her talents in many different areas.

With work related opportunities, Sylvia has traveled the countryside with her husband while he has hauled large loads across country. On occasion they have been gone for weeks at a time. Sylvia said this all came to a screeching halt last fall.

"It was October when I found the lump," she said. "I had had a mammogram four and a half months earlier. At first I thought, 'Nah.' But, it didn't go away. Then I started the medical circuit."

A visit to her doctor for this discovered lump in Sylvia's breast then led to an ultrasound, which was inconclusive. A lumpectomy confirmed the breast cancer diagnosis. Sylvia was told that her cancer was hormone negative, but HER2 positive. It was recommended that she go through several rounds of chemotherapy, then a mastectomy, followed by several more rounds of chemotherapy. She did not need radiation treatments and all 10 lymph nodes that were checked came back clean and free of cancer.

With the type of cancer found, it was recommended that Sylvia try one of the newer drugs, Herceptin, to help reduce the risk of the cancer returning. While her chemotherapy ended in June, she is still receiving infusions of the Herceptin until November.

"We'll see what the future brings," she said. "Right now it looks good, but they really don't know – there are no guarantees until all this is done."

Sylvia has been very fortunate that she has not experienced the nausea and terrible fatigue that many patients go through from the chemotherapy treatments. While she does get tired during the day, she has learned to pace herself and accepts that she needs to rest at times.

"Everybody is different," Sylvia said. "The doctors tell you that every one is different and responds differently to the medicine. I just feel that I've been blessed and am very thankful for that."

One nurse told Sylvia that knowledge is power, and while she was armed with a large amount of reading material, Slyvia found out that becoming too immersed in the reading is not good. She did her reading to answer questions and educate herself, but also needed to set that aside at times and concentrate on other matters.

"We all imagine how would we react and feel when we hear that 'C' word," Sylvia said. "I think I was just numb when I got that phone call. I had to just sit down and wonder if I heard it right. Then after reality set in, I thought, OK, let's see what this is about and go from there."

With support from her family and friends, the whole experience has been made a little easier, but there were still two very traumatic parts of this journey that stand out for Sylvia. The first was getting her hair cut in preparation to lose it from the chemotherapy, and the second was the mastectomy.

"I was in the hospital only one night," she said of the surgery. "But, I was ready to go home that afternoon. I didn't sleep well that night. That first week you cry a little – a lot. But, people came over to encourage me; they sent cards and food galore."

While going through the chemotherapy and healing from her surgery, Sylvia needed to stay away from crowds to limit her possible exposure to colds and the flu. She had to cut back on her volunteer work at Bargains Galore Thrift Shop in Waupun, and even attending events with her grandchildren.

"I've just recently started trying to get back into a normal routine," she said. "I have always had good friends who were willing to drive me when needed and my husband went to all of the appointments. Now I can start going alone, but I've always had plenty of people willing to offer rides."

All the cards, phone calls, visits and even quick e-mail messages were very much appreciated by Sylvia. She was extremely grateful for the many prayers that were said for her during her ordeal.

"I had my down in the dumps moments," she said. "Those were the times when you can't believe it's real. But, because I felt so well during the chemo, then I acted well. It's not a breeze, but I didn't have the sick feeling most patients have. I just believed I should make the best of each day."

One of the biggest challenges was accepting the fact that all of a sudden she couldn't do the same activities or make the same plans that she always had. Any activities took planning and coordinating around treatments and how she was feeling that day.

"I think that is hard for the spouse too," Sylvia said. "All of a sudden their life comes to a screeching halt from what they are used to doing. Then life kind of revolves around a medical calendar. That kind of changes your lifestyle a little bit."

Having an appreciation for good health has become more apparent to Sylvia. For the last 20 years she has had a regular mammogram as recommended. Each year she received a positive report. Everything changed when the lump was discovered and the diagnosis of cancer was given. The things that she had always taken for granted now came into clear focus.

"In the beginning I prayed for peace, calmness and acceptance – and I've had every bit of that," Sylvia said. "That has helped me a long the way. Before my first chemo treatment I had bought a pendent with the inscriptions, Faith, Hope and Love on. For me it meant faith in God, hope for the future and love that goes around it all."

Since her diagnosis, Sylvia has stayed pretty close to home. Since she is a self-professed home-body anyways, this hasn't been too difficult to endure. Sylvia will be ending the Herceptin treatments around Thanksgiving, and with that completed, her medical journey is complete. While she said that the experience with cancer cannot be forgotten, it will be time to put it behind her and look to the future. Sylvia and her husband, Sam, are looking forward to a cruise in celebration of this chapter in life being behind them.

"I feel I'm going to enjoy each day as it comes," she said. "God will see us through this. Sam's got a saying that says it all, 'Deal with it.' Well, we're dealing with it.