In 1976, Diane Wickersheim’s mother died of lung cancer. Eleven years later colorectal cancer killed Wickersheim’s father. Three weeks after that the 33-year-old wife and mother of two sons, ages 9 and 16, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I kept thinking my younger son was too young to be left without a mom,” Wickersheim said. “Cancer took my parents away, but I wasn’t going to let it take me away from my kids.”
Wickersheim, of Round Lake Beach, underwent surgery at Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, followed by seven months of chemotherapy in her doctor’s Barrington office and 16 weeks of radiation treatments at Lake Forest Hospital. During the therapy she lost 40 pounds and all of her hair in addition to experiencing nausea for days after each chemotherapy session.
“It was rough, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but once a girlfriend asked me what I would do if it happened again, if they found cancer on the other side. I told her no matter how awful it was to feel sick, I’d do it the same way again. I’m not ready to leave my family. I’m not ready to die.”
Today, Wickersheim is one of the thousands of people in Lake County who proudly wear the title cancer survivor. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 8 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer, half of whom were diagnosed five or more years ago. Most of these 4 million can be considered cured, meaning they have no evidence of the disease and have the same life expectancy as someone who never had cancer.
According to the society, in the early 1900s few cancer patients had any hope of long-term survival. But today hope prevails due in part to the early detection of abnormal cell growth and the discovery of improved techniques to control the spread of these cells.
“The word has gotten out that you can be a long-term cancer survivor. You can be cured,” said Dr. William Brand, chairman of the cancer committee at Highland Park Hospital, which has the only community hospital comprehensive cancer program in Lake County approved by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
According to Brand, great strides have been made recently in chemotherapy, which is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Experts have determined that the drugs work more efficiently when given in combination.
“We now know that cancer in one person might respond to certain drugs differently than cancer in another person,” Brand said. “So we throw in a second, third or fourth drug in combination with the hope that one of these, or a combination of all of them, will do the trick.”
“I’ve seen so many good things happen during my career,” said Brand, who attended medical school during the 1960s. “We are better off now than we were 20 years ago, and I know that, even though we have a long way to go, we’ll be even better off 20 years from now.”
Two decades ago women diagnosed with breast cancer had two options: undergo surgery to remove the entire breast or wait for the cancer to spread. But today breast cancer patients have alternatives, most of which are much less drastic.
“In 1993 probably 75 percent or more of the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer will not need to have a mastectomy (the surgical removal of a breast),” said Dr. Arthur Michel, medical director of the breast center at Highland Park Hospital and a surgeon specializing exclusively in the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease. “We have learned that we can treat the majority of patients with a lumpectomy (the surgical removal of a breast tumor with minimum removal of surrounding normal tissue) and radiation, and these women do as well as those who were given mastectomies.”
In addition to treating patients with radiation, physicians often recommend chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells that have spread from where the tumor originated. Unfortunately, both forms of treatment usually cause adverse side effects, some so vicious that patients choose to discontinue treatment.
Because radiation and chemotherapy destroy healthy red and white blood cells along with cancer cells, patients often develop anemia and become more susceptible to infections. According to Carol Potter of Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, patients can now receive drugs that help the bone marrow produce increasing numbers of red and white blood cells, thus decreasing the severity of these side effects. Also, anti-nausea medication is available today that Potter said has proved to be a godsend to her patients.
“Ten years ago it was just a given that you’d be sick after receiving treatment for cancer, but not anymore,” said Potter, the nurse manager of Condell’s oncology department. “People who are receiving treatment still feel run down and tired but nowhere near as much as those who got it years ago.
“Cancer is not that horrible skull and crossbones that it used to be.”
In addition to providing medical care, Potter also offers emotional support to patients undergoing treatment. Although some patients choose to go it alone, others welcome the outstretched hand and listening ear.
“It’s so important for people to know they are not alone,” said Carrol Working, social worker at Lake Forest Hospital and facilitator of the hospital’s cancer support group.
Four years ago Working began matching newly diagnosed cancer patients with cancer survivors through the American Cancer Society’s CanSurmount program at the hospital. One volunteer, John Ziebell of Buffalo Grove, has offered support to numerous patients.
“There is a calming assurance in talking with someone who has been through it,” Ziebell said. “They ask, `Were you scared. Were there tough days?’ It’s important for people to know that what they’re going through is not a solo experience. People are happy to hear from a survivor, and some just need someone to talk to.”
In 1984 Ziebell was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, for which he received radiation. Nearly three cancer-free years passed before Ziebell was dealt a second blow: He was diagnosed with leukemia. In January of 1987 he received chemotherapy at Lake Forest Hospital, which placed the disease into remission. Then he chose to take a drastic step, taking charge of his treatment in an unconventional way. “I didn’t want to sit on a time bomb and just wait for it to come back.”
Ziebell traveled to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas in Houston, where he donated bone marrow to himself in a procedure called an autologous bone marrow transplant. Five percent of Ziebell’s bone marrow was removed from his body, treated and frozen to destroy any vestiges of cancer that it might have contained. His other 95 percent of marrow was killed with high doses of chemotherapy. Eventually the frozen 5 percent was thawed and returned to his body.
Although Ziebell survived the transplant, he acquired a very serious infection in November 1987 that resulted in septic shock and nearly killed him.
“The ironic thing was I survived the cancer but almost died because of the infection,” Ziebell noted.
As with many people who have experienced a brush with death, Ziebell’s attitude about life has changed somewhat because of it.
“If one were to say there is a silver lining to having cancer, it’s the daily reminder of putting my life into perspective,” Ziebell said. “You think about mortality, you don’t take anything for granted. I wake up now and say, `Thank God for this day.’
“Now I have much more of an appreciation for life. Sunsets are a lot more beautiful. Music is so much more inspiring. Friendships are more precious.”
Wickersheim knows the feeling.
“In May it was the first time I heard the birds singing, I mean really heard them singing. The sun felt warm on my face like it had never happened before.
“When I had cancer they dissected 15 of my lymph nodes and all 15 were cancerous, which was not a very good sign. But I’m okay now and I’m living proof that nothing is hopeless. My advice to people with cancer is, `Don’t give up. Fight it.’ I don’t think anything is hopeless.”
