Pat Hall is a survivor.The Falcon 56-year-old found out she had breast cancer in June 2003 when she discovered what she describes as a “dent” in the upper part of her right breast. At first, she didn’t think much about it.”I just thought maybe it was a wrinkle from old age or maybe I had just slept wrong,” Hall said. Two weeks later, she visited her doctor for a routine checkup and mentioned the “dent.””I have always been good about getting mammograms, so I didn’t think much about it,” she said. After examining her, Hall’s doctor quickly ordered a mammogram.The results showed that Hall was in the early stages of invasive cancer, meaning the cancerous tumor was about the size of a quarter. “The first thing they did was go in and remove the cancer,” she said. “Then they went in and removed a couple of my lymph nodes under my armpit.” She said doctors did not find that the cancer was spreading, but removed the lymph nodes as a precaution.After her surgery, Hall opted to do both chemotherapy and radiation treatments. “When they first tell you that you have cancer, they give you this information and it is so overwhelming,” she said. “You’re given these heavy choices to make.” Even though many of the choices Hall had to make were difficult, she felt the sooner she made those decisions the better. “Once I had made those decisions, I didn’t look back,” she said. “I knew I was doing the right thing.””Go as hard and as fast as you can” was the advice given to Hall when she was told she had cancer. In August 2003, Hall went for chemo treatments for one hour about every three weeks for four months and radiation treatments every day for 30 days. Her radiation treatments took less time than it did to get from her house in Falcon to Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs.Pat found wonderful support from her family and friends.”I was lucky enough to have my sister-in-law, Chris, who lives not far from us, to help me,” she said. “She would drive me to and from my treatments or stay and play cards with me while I would get chemo,” Hall said. “Sometimes you just want someone there to talk to or take your mind off things.”When she first found out she had cancer, Hall said she attended several cancer support meetings. “You go and you hear some of the worst stories. Terrible stories,” she said. “And you think, “I don’t have it so bad.” But the support groups were not all bad. Hall said she was able to meet people she had more in common with than cancer who are now good friends.Carol Forsberg, a social worker at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Colorado Springs, agrees that support groups can be more than just the sharing of sad stories. It’s a way for people to find a common bond and build on it. “For many people, what is most helpful about being in a group is that they are surrounded by others who understand without saying specific words,” said Forsberg. “There is an incredible healing energy there.” She said that within a support group women can really “let go and express themselves without fear.”Peggy Thomas, a breast cancer nurse at Memorial Hospital, agrees. She has discovered that patients who come to the hospital have found support groups to be very beneficial. “As a breast cancer nurse, it is my job to inform and educate you,” she said. “Yes, I can tell you how you may feel after going through chemotherapy or I can tell you it’s emotional when you lose your hair, but to talk to somebody who has gone through it is a very valuable thing.”In addition to support from loved ones, Hall also found respite from her cancer through one of her favorite hobbies – art. Some days she found the cancer was not only tough on her physically, but also mentally and spiritually. That’s when she picked up a pencil and started drawing. “After something like this happens, you start doing things you were meant to do,” she said.One of the other things Hall feels she is meant to do is help others who may be going through cancer. “I just think, “How will they know about me? How will they find me?” she said. Hall said she is willing to help at all levels: from sharing how she felt to informing people of where to find a good wig. “You pick up little tricks along the way,” Hall said. “And I learned that I could pass that along to someone else.”One of the tricks she learned was to bring a recorder with her to each of her doctor’s appointments so that she could remember what they said. Then she could look up what she called “cancer” words. “You’re so in shock … you can’t write fast,” she said. Something else she recommends is documenting all phone conversations. “I talked to insurance people. I talked to doctors,” she said. “You get these huge bills and you think they are overcharging you, so it really helped that I wrote everything down.”Hall completed her treatments in December 2003. Since then she has slowly returned to doing the things she did before, including working. Hall has worked at Safeway since it opened five years ago. She started in the bakery, but within the last few months has switched to working at the Starbucks in the store. “I knew I was going to be OK going back to work,” she said. “When I could remember what people ordered, I knew my brain was not ruined.”If she had to go through it again, she is confident she could, if she had to. “I know I would be OK,” Hall said. “It wasn’t fun, but if you are scared enough, you’ll do it again.”If you or someone you know in the Falcon or Peyton area are going through cancer and would like someone to talk to, contact Hall at 683-6885.*According to the American Cancer Society, one in seven women will have invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. An estimated 211,240 American women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2005.Breast cancer is the second most common cancer – the first is skin cancer – among women, and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of women.American Cancer Society, Colorado Springs chapter: 1445 N. Union, Suite 100, Colorado Springs, CO 80909; 719-636-5101Rocky Mountain Cancer Center, Colorado Springs: 3027 North Circle DriveColorado Springs, CO 80909-1181; Phone: 719-577-2555
