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A continuing fight
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Heather Palmerton became sick with scleroderma in 1994, putting her at higher risk for cancer. She is now a stage IV breast cancer patient. |
Local woman has upbeat attitude despite stage IV breast cancer
By JILL AHO
H&N Staff Writer
Heather Palmerton doesn’t believe that the average two years other stage IV breast cancer patients live past their diagnoses pertains to her.
Maybe that’s why she maintained an upbeat attitude last week just days after receiving her final chemotherapy treatment.
“I know that I’m going to have to go through treatment for the rest of my life,” the 43-year-old said. “I will try anything and everything until my last dying breath.”
When Palmerton was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, she had a mastectomy of one breast and chemotherapy, which she called a red devil cocktail of the drugs Cytoxan and Adriamycin.
“They were actually surprised that it didn’t kill me,” she said.
Following treatment, she was cancer-free for nearly six years.
“I did feel good,” Palmerton said.
But after she fell delivering newspapers in October 2007, her lower back hurt, and the pain got progressively worse.
“I couldn’t cough without it really hurting,” she said.
An X-ray didn’t show any reason for the pain. But when she visited her oncologist later that winter, results from an ultrasound were deemed suspicious.
“I knew then it was cancer,” Palmerton said.
The cancer returns
The biopsy was positive, and another biopsy on her spine confirmed cancer was in her bones.
“It’s like you’re in this huge fog and you’re trying to find your way out,” she said. “I kept my emotions away from my family. There were a lot of early mornings with no sleep and a lot of tears.”
Palmerton’s husband, Curt, has driven her to Medford once a week since she started treatment last January. She stopped keeping track of the amount of money they were spending on gas; by July it had surpassed $5,000.
A few months ago, Palmerton still had cancer hot spots in her bones, marrow, liver, lymph nodes and chest area.
“I was lit up like a Christmas tree,” she said.
But a body scan last week saw very little sign of cancer, suggesting chemotherapy and hormonal therapies are working.
Her cancer is complicated by scleroderma, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system triggers cells to produce too much collagen. The extra collagen is deposited in the skin and other organs, causing hardening and thickening.
She thinks chemotherapy saved her from the scleroderma, which has partially paralyzed her hands.
A continuity
Palmerton said she has been lucky to maintain a certain continuity in her life. She continued working throughout her chemotherapy, making floral arrangements at the South Sixth Street Safeway.
But she worries about the stress the cancer puts on her family, and about her daughters Ashley, 19, and McKenzie, 16. She was excited to learn her first grandchild is on the way.
“Nobody in my family got breast cancer except my grandmother,” Palmerton said.
Her grandmother was diagnosed at 75, and today is a survivor pushing 100.
Palmerton’s cancer is driven by estrogen. She will continue to take Tamoxifen to control the estrogen in her body and hopefully keep her cancer from growing. She’s hoping for the day she is N.E.D. — no evidence of disease.
“It’s possible,” she said. “A positive attitude plays a big part of it.”
Maybe that’s why she maintained an upbeat attitude last week just days after receiving her final chemotherapy treatment.
“I know that I’m going to have to go through treatment for the rest of my life,” the 43-year-old said. “I will try anything and everything until my last dying breath.”
When Palmerton was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, she had a mastectomy of one breast and chemotherapy, which she called a red devil cocktail of the drugs Cytoxan and Adriamycin.
“They were actually surprised that it didn’t kill me,” she said.
Following treatment, she was cancer-free for nearly six years.
“I did feel good,” Palmerton said.
But after she fell delivering newspapers in October 2007, her lower back hurt, and the pain got progressively worse.
“I couldn’t cough without it really hurting,” she said.
An X-ray didn’t show any reason for the pain. But when she visited her oncologist later that winter, results from an ultrasound were deemed suspicious.
“I knew then it was cancer,” Palmerton said.
The cancer returns
The biopsy was positive, and another biopsy on her spine confirmed cancer was in her bones.
“It’s like you’re in this huge fog and you’re trying to find your way out,” she said. “I kept my emotions away from my family. There were a lot of early mornings with no sleep and a lot of tears.”
Palmerton’s husband, Curt, has driven her to Medford once a week since she started treatment last January. She stopped keeping track of the amount of money they were spending on gas; by July it had surpassed $5,000.
A few months ago, Palmerton still had cancer hot spots in her bones, marrow, liver, lymph nodes and chest area.
“I was lit up like a Christmas tree,” she said.
But a body scan last week saw very little sign of cancer, suggesting chemotherapy and hormonal therapies are working.
Her cancer is complicated by scleroderma, an autoimmune disease in which the immune system triggers cells to produce too much collagen. The extra collagen is deposited in the skin and other organs, causing hardening and thickening.
She thinks chemotherapy saved her from the scleroderma, which has partially paralyzed her hands.
A continuity
Palmerton said she has been lucky to maintain a certain continuity in her life. She continued working throughout her chemotherapy, making floral arrangements at the South Sixth Street Safeway.
But she worries about the stress the cancer puts on her family, and about her daughters Ashley, 19, and McKenzie, 16. She was excited to learn her first grandchild is on the way.
“Nobody in my family got breast cancer except my grandmother,” Palmerton said.
Her grandmother was diagnosed at 75, and today is a survivor pushing 100.
Palmerton’s cancer is driven by estrogen. She will continue to take Tamoxifen to control the estrogen in her body and hopefully keep her cancer from growing. She’s hoping for the day she is N.E.D. — no evidence of disease.
“It’s possible,” she said. “A positive attitude plays a big part of it.”
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Jennifer Whitehead wrote on Nov 19, 2008 2:11 PM: