2008 Woodie Awards
Cancer survivor shares knowledge
Ashley Fairbanks
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: Lifestyles
- Page 1 of 1
Radiation, spinal taps, bone marrows, and chemotherapy are words that I didn't understand yet but heard often when I was a small child. I spent most of my time in a hospital bed, with an IV hooked up to me, and doctors and nurses prodding and poking each day. When I think about being the age of four, I think of how I was depressed, sad, and dying.
A month after I turned four, I was diagnosed with Acute Lemphosetic Leukemia, a type of cancer found in the blood. It was a day that my mother wrote in a journal she kept while I was sick that changed my family's lives forever. I remember lots of tears and even though I was only four, I remember everything that happened to me during this time. The journal that my mother kept helped me when I was older to actually understand what happened to my body. I can remember living in a hospital in California, losing all my hair, getting shots several times a week, and being constantly depressed. I was skinny and weak and never wanted to see anyone, my mother never stopped crying and never left my side. Each day my cancer got worse and eventually started up my spine to my brain. When this happened, I began more chemotherapy and took more medication.
I started to show improvement after several months and was allowed to come back home to Kansas. My mother could give me my medication through a central cathadar that was surgically put in my neck and came out through my chest; these were often referred to as my "tubies." I also had to go and visit a doctor in Wichita once a month to get shots and make sure I was still doing OK. I was allowed to attend school but couldn't run, swim, horseplay, or even get bumped for fear my blood wouldn't clot. This time period from age five to seven was called remission. My cancer wasn't all gone, but I was slowly making my way to becoming cancer free.
At age seven my family and I were told I was cancer free. It was such a relief to know that I was going to get to live the rest of my life and do the things I wanted to do. Most importantly, my mother had her first born healthy and ready to live life to the fullest. This part of my past is what pushes me to do the many things I do today and hope that I can change someone's life so that I know that I survived to help people.
Cancer is a scary thing, and it was a miracle that I survived. My having had cancer is the force that drives me to want to do the many things I participate in today.
Medical advancements are amazing, however , anyone can help with the fight against cancer. It's important to be aware of all types of cancer and to make sure that when you visit the doctor you have he or she checks for everything. Being a donor and giving blood regularly is a way that one can help those who are fighting against cancer. If it weren't for other's blood donations I wouldn't be who I am today.
A month after I turned four, I was diagnosed with Acute Lemphosetic Leukemia, a type of cancer found in the blood. It was a day that my mother wrote in a journal she kept while I was sick that changed my family's lives forever. I remember lots of tears and even though I was only four, I remember everything that happened to me during this time. The journal that my mother kept helped me when I was older to actually understand what happened to my body. I can remember living in a hospital in California, losing all my hair, getting shots several times a week, and being constantly depressed. I was skinny and weak and never wanted to see anyone, my mother never stopped crying and never left my side. Each day my cancer got worse and eventually started up my spine to my brain. When this happened, I began more chemotherapy and took more medication.
I started to show improvement after several months and was allowed to come back home to Kansas. My mother could give me my medication through a central cathadar that was surgically put in my neck and came out through my chest; these were often referred to as my "tubies." I also had to go and visit a doctor in Wichita once a month to get shots and make sure I was still doing OK. I was allowed to attend school but couldn't run, swim, horseplay, or even get bumped for fear my blood wouldn't clot. This time period from age five to seven was called remission. My cancer wasn't all gone, but I was slowly making my way to becoming cancer free.
At age seven my family and I were told I was cancer free. It was such a relief to know that I was going to get to live the rest of my life and do the things I wanted to do. Most importantly, my mother had her first born healthy and ready to live life to the fullest. This part of my past is what pushes me to do the many things I do today and hope that I can change someone's life so that I know that I survived to help people.
Cancer is a scary thing, and it was a miracle that I survived. My having had cancer is the force that drives me to want to do the many things I participate in today.
Medical advancements are amazing, however , anyone can help with the fight against cancer. It's important to be aware of all types of cancer and to make sure that when you visit the doctor you have he or she checks for everything. Being a donor and giving blood regularly is a way that one can help those who are fighting against cancer. If it weren't for other's blood donations I wouldn't be who I am today.
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