Cancer Support Made Kay’s Day Special

Kay talks about her journey with colon cancer and discusses how important support is to her during her cancer treatment. Watch more videos at http://canceris.net/portfolio-item/kays-story/.

* Colon Cancer Survivor Kay Shares Her Story of Support *
Things were going well for me. Working — I still work, but, I never really was sick in my life. I’d have an occasional headache, but rarely went to the doctor. Then, all of a sudden, I started losing weight, and couldn’t eat anything, and had pain in my abdomen. Different ones encouraged me to go to the doctor, and finally I did, only to discover that I had colon cancer. I had surgery then for removal of a foot of colon and a baseball-sized tumor and began chemo a few weeks thereafter.

It was very scary when I first started chemo because I didn’t know what to expect, but the doctor explained it and everyone was so kind. And then, as I met with the other chemo patients they would tell me their first name, and they would want to know my name, and it just seemed like they were part of a family. The staff is just wonderful, they’re very caring, just above and beyond, I believe, for what they do for their patients. It’s not uncommon for them to give a hug, to always wish us well and to have a good week.

I work in the cafeteria at Northeast Community College and unbeknownst to me, on May seventh, the students had what they called Kay’s Day at the college. There were two students that ordered and sold t-shirts to the students and staff and faculty and administrators, and on this day they wore those shirts that said ‘Comfort for Kay’ on the front, and on the back the t-shirts say ‘We Wear Blue for You’, because blue is the symbol for colon cancer. I was standing at the cash register at about one o’clock this day waiting to go on my lunch break, when I looked up and I saw a long line of students, staff, faculty, and administrators coming toward me. As they came through the line they all gave me a hug, and I was so overwhelmed with emotion I began to cry. After all of them had gone through and given me a hug, they presented me with a bouquet of flowers and presented my husband and I with a cheque for $1,167 from the sale of the t-shirts. The students are just remarkable, their love and support.

I just pray to God I’ll be able to continue to work and to enjoy our two little grandchildren.