Hollings Horizons 2023 Combined for flipbook - Flipbook - Page 15
Sully’s Village
Words of experience
Everyone feels differently about disclosing
a cancer diagnosis. It can be a difficult
conversation, especially if the patient has to
keep retelling the story and answering the
same questions.
An ovarian cancer diagnosis comes as a
shock. Fewer than 20,000 women are
expected to be diagnosed with ovarian
cancer in the U.S. this year, so it’s a cancer
that most people are unfamiliar with.
But Carol found strength in the retelling.
Carol tells other women to pay attention to
their bodies — even to the vague, seemingly
unrelated symptoms that can signal ovarian
cancer. For her, she just felt that something
was off, and she’s glad that she pursued that
feeling.
“It was important to me that I told each and
every close friend individually,” she said. “For
my friends in our community, I met with each
of them in person. It made it more personal
and real. Each time of explaining what was
happening and what my plan was to deal
with it, it helped me with acceptance and
gave me strength to fight with all my might.”
And her community rallied to her side.
Her pickleball team surprised her right
before surgery with team bracelets that
said “Sully’s Village.” The bracelets spread
quickly, first to spouses, then to friends and
other pickleball teams. Carol even brought
some to the hospital to give to nurses.
As much as that sense of community helped
Carol and Joan to get through the year, so,
too, did faith.
“For me, a lot of it's faith,” Joan said. “I had
one really bad day. And then from then
on, it was just like, ‘Tell me when to worry.’
Because I couldn't handle it otherwise. And
I just followed her lead. Where she seemed
to falter, I pushed, and where she was going
strong, I was right beside her.”
As Carol finished chemotherapy and slowly
grew stronger, she resumed more of her
activities. Back on the pickleball court,
Carol joked that her game would come back
when her hair did — and, so far, that seems
to be true.
TO P :
Sully's team;
MIDDLE:
B O T TO M :
Pickleball friends;
Carol and Joan
hollingscancercenter.musc.edu
Joan advises taking a partnership approach
with the medical team.
“Participate,” she said. “Be a part of the
team. I mean, Dr. Orr’s a doctor, but Carol
was just as important because he needed her
input. She needed his input. So they worked
together.”
And don’t be afraid to call, she added.
“Waiting was the hardest thing. We hated
waiting. So we would give it a little time, but
eventually Carol would call,” she said. “Know
that you’ve got to wait, but don’t be afraid to
call and step up and say, ‘Hey, I need some
information.’ And participate. Know that
you’re part of that team.” Carol is a naturally
positive person, but it’s a trait that she’s
nurtured as well.
“You wake up every day, and you have a
choice to decide what today's going to be
like. And I always try to find the ways to
make that day a good day.” ◗
Now, she’s done with IP chemotherapy and
is on a targeted therapy called a PARP
inhibitor. The drug blocks an enzyme that
might help cancer cells to repair damage to
their DNA, hopefully preventing the ovarian
cancer from recurring.
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