{"id":17210,"date":"2023-01-04T19:07:53","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T19:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=17210"},"modified":"2023-02-10T18:36:10","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T18:36:10","slug":"julie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/julie\/","title":{"rendered":"Julie Montas: A Masterclass in Cancer Survivorship","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s said that experience makes the best teacher. If that\u2019s true \u2013 Support Volunteer Julie is ready to teach a masterclass.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d noticed blood in her stool and went to the doctor in 2008. Their \u201cIt\u2019s probably nothing, but let\u2019s play it safe.  I\u2019d like you to make an appointment for a colonoscopy\u201d discussion soon took a turn. Rather than nothing, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized to a large tumor on her liver.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a dread-filled moment. \u201cFor me, Stage 4 was the same as death. There are no more stages after that.\u201d She plowed ahead. Thanks to an extraordinary medical team, chemo, surgery, more chemo, more surgery, and mop-up chemo, she was declared \u201cno evidence of disease\u201d in 2009. Since then, she\u2019s battled through two recurrences, including multiple surgeries and even more rounds of chemo.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through it all, she\u2019s maintained her upbeat outlook on life, gratitude for her support system, and a determination to help others facing the same challenges. As a Support Volunteer, she\u2019s providing hope and support for patients across the nation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot a day goes by that I don\u2019t feel like the luckiest person in the world.  Many of my loved ones who were alive and well when I was diagnosed have since passed, yet I\u2019m still here.  Survivor\u2019s guilt is real, but I wholeheartedly accept the fact that I have unfinished business here on earth, that not even I know about.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She offers four tips for dealing with a colon \u2013 or recurring \u2013 cancer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Be a champion of your own care.<\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cMy surgeons and oncologists worked together as a team \u2013 and I was part of that team,\u201d Julie recalls. Her first journey through cancer left her feeling empowered. \u201cI became a lot more assertive and directed how I wanted things to go.\u201d In 2012, she asked them to remove a spot they\u2019d been monitoring on her lungs. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t really growing, but it was weighing on me emotionally. When they biopsied, we found out it was related to my colon cancer.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    She is resolute in her belief that patients can benefit from working with a team of professionals, relying on each to bring the experience and expertise of their specialty. \u201cYour oncologist is your expert in your chemo plan. But if it\u2019s in your liver, the liver specialist knows livers and the lung specialist knows lungs. I\u2019d go to Taco Bell for tacos, but not burgers.\u201d (Authors note: Post-pandemic, we promise to introduce Julie to better tacos.)<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Ask questions. <\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Her second tip flows naturally from the first. Ask. Ask. Ask. \u201cNever hold back your questions, because getting answers can be therapeutic. Sometimes, if we don\u2019t ask questions, we let our minds run away from us.\u201d The simple act of gathering more information can help relieve some of the upset and anxiety. \u201cFighting cancer is such a scary time. It\u2019s easy to fall into bad assumptions. Questions help manage those assumptions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Accept help. <\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        A self-described \u201ceternal optimist\u201d who is \u201clarge and in charge\u201d and a natural caregiver, cancer taught Julie an important, if difficult lesson. Let people help. \u201cI wasn\u2019t very good at accepting help. I take care of everyone else. If I were to go through a hard time again, I\u2019d be vulnerable enough to let others take the lead. I was such an actress, and it was exhausting. No one expected that of me except myself.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Her first instinct as a mother was to tell her children that everything would be ok and that they just needed to focus on their schoolwork. \u201cIn hindsight, I could have said \u2018this is not normal, so let\u2019s not pretend it is.\u2019 My efforts to ease other people\u2019s burdens \u2013 in ways they weren\u2019t asking me to \u2013 were exhausting. I should have validated and acknowledged that what we were going through wasn\u2019t normal.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        When she did let people help, the comfort was palpable. Diagnosed at the height of the financial crisis, she was blown away by the generosity of friends and strangers who stepped up to donate vacation time and contribute to fundraisers. \u201cI continued to work, but I missed eleven weeks for surgery, three days every other week for chemo. That generosity meant I kept my house. It was such a huge peace. With the fight I was already focused on, I didn\u2019t have to worry about where we would live.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. Keep perspective. Look for possibilities.<\/strong> <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          As someone who would \u201cdo a million surgeries to avoid chemo,\u201d the prospect of 12 rounds of chemotherapy was especially daunting. Julie\u2019s surgeon helped her find much-needed perspective. \u201cDon\u2019t view it as 12 chemos. View it as one chemo at a time. Break it up into little tasks. If you look at 12, it\u2019s too much\u201d That worked, and after each chemo, she\u2019d head back to the office where a big red marker was waiting to scratch off her latest small victory. \u201cOne at a time made it manageable. It was a mental game, but it worked.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Today, she sees her role as a volunteer in a similar way, helping patients find their own victories, and finding hope in possibility. \u201cI want to be that beacon of hope for others with a stage 4 diagnosis. I venture to guess that there are many people like me who think stage 4 is synonymous with death. And here I am 12 years later.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u201cThe statistics are not high. But the problem with statistics is that they focus on probabilities. But I don\u2019t want to focus on probabilities. I want to focus on possibilities. My doctors were real, they didn\u2019t sugarcoat, but it was combined with such confidence. I asked the tough questions. Anything is possible, so you might as well be focused on possibilities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          It\u2019s said that experience makes the best teacher. If that\u2019s true \u2013 Support Volunteer Julie is ready to teach a masterclass.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":16,"featured_media":17214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nJulie Montas: A Masterclass in Cancer Survivorship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s said that experience makes the best teacher. 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