Kay Thomas: ‘I realized just how lucky I was’
Late January 2010, my mammogram results determined I needed a second mammogram. This has happened before because my breast tissue is dense, so I was not highly concerned.
However, the second mammogram revealed “something.” That “something” spurred a biopsy and the biopsy spurred “the phone call.”
I was at school the day I got the call. My first-graders were working diligently on their assignment. The nurse said I needed to come in to the office that day to see Dr. Jay, but I wanted to know the results right then. Dr. Jay came on the line and told me, “It’s cancer.” Immediately, I realized I should not have asked for the diagnosis with a classroom of 20 students.
The school counselor came to take over my class, and my first-grade team teachers walked with me to the assistant principal’s office. David came to the school and we all prayed together in her office for strength, peace and healing.
One of my team’s mother had just been through her own cancer journey and she called her mom’s doctor’s office in Little Rock to get me an appointment. At my first appointment, Dr. James Hagans walked into the exam room, gave me a big hug and I felt a sense of confidence and strength that I was going to get through this. After the examination, Dr. Hagans met with me and my family to discuss the treatment plan. He felt I was a perfect candidate for a lumpectomy because the lump was small, contained and caught early. We felt confident with his plan, and I was scheduled for surgery the following week.
Earlier in that school year, I broke my shoulder and had to have surgery. That was a long recovery and I used all of my sick days with that episode, so staying home very long after this second surgery was not really an option. I returned to school with the drainage tube, and another teacher helped me drain it during the day. I scheduled my chemo treatments for Fridays so I would have the weekend to rest up and be ready for the week. Despite the physical and emotional toll the surgery had, I was determined to keep moving forward.
To celebrate my first chemo treatment, my sister and I went shopping for a beach hat. I had planned a girls’ trip to Destin, Fla., with some teacher friends, and I was not going to miss it. My radiologist said I could go to the beach as long as I wore a big hat. My sister and I found the biggest hat in Little Rock and I bought it. Each summer as I pull out that hat to protect me from the sun, I am reminded that God has protected me through the most difficulty journeys in my life.
I count myself lucky. I had only three chemo treatments, and as I sat through those three treatments with other patients who were much more sick than I was, I realized just how lucky I was.
After chemo and radiation treatments, I was declared cancer free. Each year, I see Dr. Hagans for scans and, of course, a big hug. Although I still feel slightly worried when waiting for the results, my mammograms have all received an A+.
I cannot imagine having to go through this journey without my loving and supportive family, the many wonderful friends and my Heavenly Father, who all infused me with the confidence, strength and peace I needed to face this journey. As a result of my diagnosis, I choose to work with Komen Texarkana to share my story and to offer that same confidence, strength and peace to others who are facing their own journeys.