The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Michelle Sather, of Harlem, shared her cancer survivor story last week with the Cancer Support Group. The support group meets monthly at the Chinook Senior Center to hear information from the latest breakthroughs in cancer research to the personal stories of survivors and families who have faced cancer. Sather described the discovery of her cancer in 2012 as "having a routine removal of a lump for cosmetic reasons and waking up to learn I had two types of cancer."

Michelle Sather grew up in Malta and completed high school there. Readers may know her from her time as the Lead Teller at Wells Fargo Bank in Chinook and, more recently, as a Loan Officer at the Bank of Harlem. She and her husband, Chris, live outside Harlem and farm and ranch.

A lump was discovered on Michelle's neck as a baby. She said, "My mom was very concerned but the doctors said there was not a problem." When she was 12 years old the lump was removed but came back soon as what was described as a "reactive lymph node," still not a medical concern.

As an adult, after she was engaged to be married, she had the lump removed again, for cosmetic reasons. She said, "The doctor told me there was 4-5% chance that the lump would be cancerous. He described it as a 'one in a million chance' of being cancerous. When I woke up I was informed I had two types of cancer-Hodgkin's lymphoma and B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma." One type required chemotherapy and the other radiation.

Michelle said this all occurred a short time before she and Chris were to be married. She asked Chris if he still wanted to marry and he said, "Yes, we'll face this together." As she told the story she had to pause a moment to control her emotions as she shared how supportive and wonderful her husband was during all her treatment and recovery. Several times she said, "I couldn't have done it without Chris."

They had their wedding and just a few days later Michelle started chemotherapy. She lost all her hair almost immediately. Part of the therapy involved steroids and she said, "I got kind of crazy." She experienced a 'chemo fog,' a condition where chemo patients have memory loss and confusion. She added, "Chris and I even had to talk about my bowel movements with the medical people. It was not a typical start to life as newlyweds." And through all this she said, "Chris was always supportive and never made mention when I was in one of my crazy spells."

A sense of humor helped

Michelle seems, by nature, to be an upbeat person. She projects confidence and a good sense of humor. She admitted, "A sense of humor helped me through the therapies." Waiting on Chris to come in from farm chores she told about eating some old crackers that had developed worms. She said, "I was so disgusted to see what I was eating that I wanted to throw up but I was on anti-nausea medicine and I couldn't. For some reason that put me into hysterical laughing."

As to quickly losing her hair, she explained, "The doctors said my body overreacted to the chemotherapy and my hair fell out almost immediately. I left from work on a Friday for a treatment, and came back Monday to work bald as could be. I decided just to go with the bald look." She showed her current driver's license that has a photo of her when she was bald. Turning serious she added, "I laughed a lot during the treatments. I was on medication and out of my head much of the time. My poor husband had no relief as he kept thing going and took care of me."

After the treatments

She completed her treatment regimen just before Christmas, 2014. The she began regular checkups every three months. A year ago she was about to move to checkups that were further apart when a CT scan showed 'suspicious lymph nodes.' She said, "After the discovery of the suspicious tissue they did biopsies of samples from my neck. The week of waiting to get the report seemed like forever. The results were negative but I'm back on revisits every three months."

She added that she really dreaded another round of chemotherapy, noting, "The first time I was naïve, I didn't know what to expect. Now I know how tough the treatments are and it scared me and Chris as well." She said, "Finally we are trying to be normal newlyweds and get on with our lives. We have probably shared more unpleasant experiences that many couples who have been married for years. Unfortunately, cancer is just as devastating to families and caregivers as to the patient."

During lunch Michelle shared at the table, "Chris and I were literally blind-sided by this disease. But we have talked about the experience and I really believe I am destined to help someone who has the same challenges. I think there is a purpose to why things happen to us. I just have to believe some good can come out of this."