To read more of the survivorship series, find part one here, part two here, and part three here.
Cancer was treatment over for me, but the cancer journey far from over. This became more apparent every day as cancer survivorship changed the course of my life.
What to do now?
I was fatigued, my body was in a complete inflammatory response, my dad was slowly dying, and I couldn’t stand the thought of working with my then-current business partner one more minute. Little to no support or understanding of cancer survivorship at work made the decision for me. (I even worked in the oncology industry at the time!)
I quit. My work life had to start over. I had not been without a job since I was eleven years old & here, I sat jobless.
The first job that presented itself was helping my dad die. It certainly wasn’t easy emotionally or physically but being “jobless” gave me time to help him ease out of this world. It was the hardest yet best job ever.
While performing those duties I continued to ponder… had I given the cancer industry everything I could? Was working in oncology and then actually surviving cancer and cancer treatment enough? Could I remake myself into something else? I knew I had to test the waters.
Testing the Waters
I called Stephenson’s Cancer Center at the OU Health campus asking about being a volunteer. They were welcoming but also said that I had to interview for the position. Game on!
The head of the volunteers at the facility was a man by the name of Bill. Bill was a cancer survivor and as soon as he met me and we discussed my background his comment was, “Interview over, let’s get through the paperwork so you can start next week.”
The next week as I learned the process of taking drink & food orders for the infusion patients. Bill and I got to know each other, and we then realized we did know each other. I treated Bill while I was radiation therapist student many years prior to volunteering.
Bill had one recurrence since then but was a man of perseverance. He had little of one side of his face left from the many surgeries and hadn’t eaten solid food in years; he was an inspiration to keep going for me and many, many others.
Cancer Survivorship Changed the Direction of My Career
It took one year of volunteering until I decided to take a part-time job in oncology. The universe had brought Bill into my life for a reason and that reason was to keep me steadfast in the cancer world – to help more cancer patients deal with this dreaded disease – to make their journey a bit easier.
That part-time job quickly led to a full-time job which ultimately led me to Ben Frank and the creation of Wheelhouse.
I kept in touch with Bill and the last year was tough. He had another recurrence and this time he knew would be the end. We texted, since he could no longer speak, and I sent funny cards.
Not many weeks ago my phone rang, and it was Bill’s phone number. Since Bill couldn’t speak, I knew what was coming. His sweet wife, Merrilyn was on the other end of the call. She stated she didn’t know me, but I was on a list of nine people that Bill wanted her to communicate with upon his death.
One of nine.
The honor I feel as one of his chosen ones still overwhelms me. Without Bill I would most likely be selling insurance or working at Starbucks instead of doing the work that I love, one cancer patient at a time.
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