Kathleen Visovatti
My "Silver Linings" in Boston
"Every cloud has a silver lining." We've all heard the expression, and I have lived it these past two years in Boston.
In April 1999, while living in Chicago, I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. My husband of 34 years had died of esophageal cancer just one-and-a-half years before, and the thought of returning to the hospital where he had received treatment overwhelmed me. At a major medical center in the area, the chief of thoracic oncology advised me to move to Boston where my adult children lived. "There is no better place for treatment than Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center," he recommended, "and you'll be with your family."
Soon after, I relocated to Boston and started treatment—chemotherapy, radiation, and thoracic surgery. I joined a support group at the Wellness Community and began the integrated therapies of massage, yoga, and drinking herbal tea. After six months of treatment, a CT scan showed no evidence of disease.
With that wonderful news and upon the suggestion of my oncologist, Dr. Bruce Johnson, I volunteered to participate in a clinical trial at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to test a vaccine that could help prevent a recurrence of cancer. Now, after almost a year on the protocol and many trips to Bethesda, Md., my blood counts are normal and my X-rays are free of active disease. I hope to continue to beat the odds. I credit the aggressive, cutting-edge treatment for my good fortune.
Perhaps the traditional treatment brought me to this apparently cancer-free state, but I plan to keep drinking the herbal tea, attending my support group, and participating in the NCI trial as long as possible. These preventive strategies may well be contributing to my remarkable, and I hope permanent, recovery—and it is important to my mental well-being that I am proactive.
My family and friends, back in Chicago and here in Boston, have been wonderfully supportive. Living near my son, daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughters has made the last two years among the best of my life. If not for my cancer diagnosis, I probably wouldn't have moved near my family. What a pleasure it is to have daily contact with my children as adult friends. While undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment, I lived with my daughter and her family. Seeing my little granddaughter, Daisy, every day was my best medicine. There is a special bond between us. Whenever I feel sad about my past or worry about my uncertain future, Daisy and her infant sister, Rose, bring me to the present and remind me to delight in the moment.
There is one more silver lining in the gray cloud of my cancer experience. During chemotherapy, my son Scott, a medical student, accompanied me to every infusion. After my treatment was complete, he continued to drop in at Dana 10 to visit with one particular Dana-Farber staff member whom he had come to know and admire. Eventually, he asked her out for dinner. Ten months later, he proposed. On June 9, my son will marry my former oncology nurse. I can hardly wait for the wedding. It's great to be alive!
This story first appeared in the Spring 2001 issue of Side by Side.
