{"id":2941,"date":"2018-01-18T19:11:17","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T19:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=2941"},"modified":"2023-11-16T11:36:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T16:36:16","slug":"when-lucky-isnt-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/","title":{"rendered":"Being lucky isn\u2019t easy","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Ellen is lucky. Diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1996, she was treated at a teaching hospital and had a very good experience with her care team.\u00a0 In fact, in discussing her prognosis, her lead doctor expressed great confidence. \u201cEllen,\u201d she proclaimed, \u201cYou\u2019re not going to die from this.\u201d And she was right. Ellen finished radiation in October 1996 and had officially beaten cancer.<\/p>\n

\"match<\/a>
\nBut life as a cancer survivor has included its own set of challenges. \u201cI\u2019ve had ongoing souvenirs of this journey,\u201d Ellen says. \u201cI\u2019ve managed, but the journey continues.\u201d The radiation that saved her life also \u201cdid a number\u201d on her intestines, resulting in a ruptured colon, three resectioning surgeries, a colostomy and ongoing GI issues. \u00a0The radiation affected her bladder, too, and over the years decreased its function.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s faced a bilateral nephrostomy (drains inserted in her kidneys, out through the back and down her legs) and anticipates more surgery to make the drainage permanent.<\/p>\n

That urostomy will remove her neurogenic bladder (In Ellen\u2019s words \u2013 \u201cIt just went kaput. The nerves are dead.\u201d). That surgery will create a new conduit from her intestine and replace the tubes down the back of her legs with a single ostomy bag that will get her back to the tennis and golf that are a beloved part of her active lifestyle.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen deciding on treatment options, they take you through the percentages. There\u2019s a one percent chance of this side effect. A three percent chance of that. Unfortunately, they\u2019ve all happened to me.\u201d
\nThrough her many setbacks, Ellen has kept her sense of humor. \u201cMy character was fine before cancer. I didn\u2019t need this to be a life-transforming experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out who my friends are. And who they weren\u2019t,\u201d she recalls. \u201cSome people shut down and turned away. I know cancer scares a lot of people. You don\u2019t know what to say. I don\u2019t myself. But people who were just there<\/em> made a huge difference. The smallest kindnesses mean something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her first round of complications meant a nine-week stay in the hospital \u2013 and created a moment she\u2019ll never forget. \u201cOne of the nurses who had been caring for me told me she was putting me at the end of her rounds so she could wash my hair. You\u2019d have thought it was Christmas morning.\u201d
\n\"being
\nAs she\u2019s faced these challenges, she\u2019s shared her victories \u2013 and struggles \u2013 with Cancer Hope Network patients facing similar diagnoses or considering similar treatments. She\u2019s also connected with CHN Support Volunteers of her own, finding comfort and solidarity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel like you\u2019re the only person going through what you\u2019re going through. You feel like your family is done hearing about it. Your doctors are an appointment away. Knowing someone is going through, in pretty close detail, what you\u2019re going through is very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I call a match, I\u2019m hoping that I\u2019m helping them. Often, when I get off the phone, I feel like they\u2019ve lifted my spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope has many faces. Want to be matched with a Support Volunteer who has been where you are? \u00a0Click HERE\u00a0<\/a>or call 877-HOPENET (877-467-3638) today.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cervical cancer survivor Ellen shares an honest look at the complications and challenges of life after treatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":23,"featured_media":8731,"comment_status":"closed","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":[207,208,62,130,98],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Ellen - cervical cancer survivor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Being lucky isn\u2019t easy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cervical cancer survivor Ellen shares an honest look at the complications and challenges of life after treatment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cancer Hope Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CancerHopeNet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-18T19:11:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-16T16:36:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Being-lucky-isnt-easy.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"775\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"913\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brandon Pantano\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CancerHopeNet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CancerHopeNet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brandon Pantano\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brandon Pantano\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/#\/schema\/person\/0b4a729980018733a63833ec14c219d4\"},\"headline\":\"Being lucky isn\u2019t easy\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-18T19:11:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-16T16:36:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\"},\"wordCount\":542,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"cervical cancer\",\"nephrostomy\",\"ostomy\",\"side effects\",\"Survivorship\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Survivor and Caregiver Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/when-lucky-isnt-easy\/\",\"name\":\"Meet Ellen - 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