News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Katie Powers and Shirley Lalli are fighters.
Annette Ehrenstrom shaved Katie Powers’ head as a gesture of solidarity.
Shirley Lalli is in the fight of her life.
The Sisters woman had a double mastectomy this summer and is undergoing chemotherapy to fight breast cancer.
"I went for a mammogram in July, and the 30th of July I saw the surgeon," Lalli told The Nugget.
What she thought would be a lumpectomy quickly became a much more radical operation, as the cancer was found to have spread through her breast tissue.
Lalli's battle is one that Katie Powers has fought. She had known for decades that she was at risk for breast cancer.
"I started mammograms when I was 26, because my internist found a lump under my arm," she said.
Thirty years later, at 56, after years of multiple mammograms, the bad news finally came in February of 2004. She went in immediately for a mastectomy.
"I didn't have to go through chemo, and I didn't do radiation because I had them take the whole breast," Powers said.
Both women are adamant about the importance of regular mammograms - a message they are especially keen to get out during October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Lalli's cancer did not form a lump - it formed tentacles that could be seen in a mammogram but not felt in a manual self-examination. Powers' lump escaped manual detection.
"The lump was as big as my little fingernail," she said. "You couldn't feel it at all."
Lalli has been getting regular mammograms since she was 40. She also urges women to pursue all the "well-woman tests."
"I had uterine cancer in '96 and that was caught in a pap smear," she said.
Early detection is critical to successful treatment of cancer. Both women emphasize that women who are uninsured or underinsured should seek out programs to get mammograms and should never let a manually detected lump go because they are afraid they cannot pay for treatment.
Resources are available in the community. Information can be obtained from the American Cancer Society at cancer.org or 800-227-2345.
The initial treatment is only the beginning of a long and complicated struggle that turns lives upside down - and not just for the patient.
Cancer can be very tough on spouses and relatives.
"I think our spouses and the men in our lives want to be fixers - and you can't 'fix' cancer," Powers said.
Lalli was just recently married when she got her diagnosis. She had lost her first husband to pancreatic cancer and had recently reunited with an old flame.
"One of the little facts about this is that my husband is my ex-husband from 45 years ago," Lalli said.
He stayed right by her side through the ongoing ordeal of surgery and chemotherapy.
"We've only been married 20 months - 22 now - and he was my nurse," Lalli said.
Both women agreed that humor is the key to managing the stress and heartbreak of cancer.
Powers recalled: "I got on the scale and said, 'My gosh, I've lost 10 pounds.' And he (her husband Ray) said, 'Don't flatter yourself Katie. It wasn't that big.' And it made me laugh. You have to have laughter - and that's what our support group is all about."
Lalli is becoming the newest member of SOS - Support Our Sisters - a 30-strong local support group for those battling cancer or survivors.
The group meets each month. Sometimes there are speakers; sometimes the women just talk. And, though the topics they deal with are as grim as they come, the meetings are not downbeat.
The women can let down their guard among their peers and friends in a way that they can't always do even with family members. Sometimes family members are so devastated by the diagnosis themselves that they find it hard to talk about their loved one's condition. That can contribute to a feeling of isolation - and to an additional burden.
SOS helps relieve that burden. Sometimes spouses are included in events, which has proved beneficial for them as well. Powers also noted that it is important to inform children and grandchildren and help them understand what is happening to their loved one.
Support for cancer patients and survivors shows itself in all kinds of ways. When she found out that Lalli was going through a grueling course of chemotherapy that had made her beautiful head of hair fall out, Powers headed down to High Desert Hair Co. and got her head shaved as a gesture of solidarity.
The women of SOS help each other with decisions about reconstructive surgery or prosthetics and are available just to be a shoulder to cry on.
Ray's Food Place is holding a fund-raising drive in which customers can buy a letter 'R' for $1 to support breast cancer awareness and research.
For more information about SOS contact Jan Baldwin at 549-2015 or Marilyn Anderson, 549-1088.
Lalli continues her fight, despite chemotherapy that leaves her with an upset stomach, difficulty sleeping and an acute tiredness.
"I am living with a life-threatening disease," she said. "But the key word is 'living.' And that's what it's all about."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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