June 27, 2007
Survivors offer "living proof" of cancer's challenges, lessons
Although each person's overall experience is different, one thing remains the same: a cancer diagnosis changes your life forever. It does not, however, have to derail your passions.
That was the message conveyed by several adult and pediatric speakers at a celebration held last Thursday as part of Dana-Farber's annual Survivorship Week.
Lisa Diller and Charlotte Karol
"Being a survivor motivates me to be the best I can be, because I know I have the strength and ability to overcome not only cancer, but the other challenges my life will bring," said 13-year-old Charlotte Karol of Scituate, Mass. She underwent a year of treatment for rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, when she was 8. Now she's back to playing basketball and lacrosse, hanging out with friends, singing and reading, and being a "normal" teenage girl.
But Charlotte and her fellow panelists at the June 21 presentation, "Living Proof: Celebrating Survivorship," acknowledged that there's really no going back to "normal." They noted how cancer had touched their friends, relatives, and co-workers who supported them through appointments and sometimes nasty or unpredictable side effects.
Mayor Thomas Menino offers his remarks
"Fighting cancer is a team effort. No one beats cancer alone," keynote speaker and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told some 200 attendees in the Jimmy Fund Auditorium. Menino is both a cancer survivor and a leader in pressing for better cancer prevention, detection, and treatment efforts in the city and beyond.
The week also featured workshops on nutrition, advocacy, sexuality, health insurance, and other topics aimed at enhancing quality of life after cancer. The events were sponsored by DFCI's Perini Family Survivors' Center and organized by a planning committee that included staff and patients/survivors.
Blair Hamilton addresses the crowd
Among the other speakers on June 21 was Blair Hamilton, 57, policy director of the Vermont Energy Investment Corp. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 17 years ago, he withstood two bone marrow and stem cell transplants, along with multiple hospital stays and visits to Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center in recent years.
Even while in isolation, he rented a fax machine and had it disinfected to use from his bed. "I'm passionate about the work I do," he said of his efforts to reduce the economic and environmental costs of energy use. Another dream was to watch his then-3-year-old son grow up. That son is now 20, and he applauded his dad from the audience.
The strength of family also resonated in remarks by Charlotte Karol's father, Bernie Karol, who thanked DFCI and Children's Hospital Boston for his daughter's great care, and who plans to ride in his third Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike-a-thon this year benefiting Dana-Farber. "Charlotte is an amazing inspiration," Karol said. "I've learned a lot from her inner strength, her faith, and her drive." When she scored a lacrosse goal recently, "the joy of life and survivorship were poignant on her face."
Changing lives
Underscoring the message that life is never the same after cancer was Andrea Stein Fiorentino, who at 32 learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma. She endured surgery, chemo, radiation, and reconstructive surgery, as well as a dissolved marriage.
"I'll never feel like my old self anymore," said Fiorentino, a graphic designer for the Museum of Science. "I have a new life...Breast cancer has been a teacher to me. It's taught me to open my eyes to life. It's taught me that it's OK to cry, it's OK to laugh, and it sure as hell is OK to survive."
In his talk, Mayor Menino outlined some of the anti-cancer steps Boston has taken during his 13-14 years in office, including providing cab vouchers for patients needing rides to treatments, launching Boston's Mammography Van (now operated by DFCI), and raising awareness about racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care and incidence. But more work is needed, he stressed. Despite Boston's reputation as a health care hub, Menino said, "in the shadows of those buildings, some people don't get any health care at all."
Introducing the speakers that night were Perini Center Director Lisa Diller, MD, and DFCI Chief Medical Officer Larry Shulman, MD.
Among those Diller welcomed was Eileen Perini, whose family has championed survivorship issues at Dana-Farber. Perini recalled her son, David Jr., who died after several years facing cancer, and how she and her husband, David Sr., channeled their son's joy for life into something positive: establishing a clinic in his name for survivors of childhood cancers. The David B. Perini, Jr. Quality of Life Clinic, along with the Lance Armstrong Foundation Adult Survivorship Clinic and the Stop & Shop Family Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Outcomes Clinic, represent the center's range of clinical services.
Looking out at the audience, Eileen Perini said, "We will continue to do everything in our power to help you."
— Debra Ruder
debra_ruder@dfci.harvard.edu
Photos: Justin Knight
