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"I Believe" Survivor Stories

Pam Wolfe

Pam WolfeI had a cough, a cough that just wouldn't go away. A chest x-ray confirmed there was a tumor, and it needed to come out. My diagnosis was a rare slow-growing cancer called carcinoid tumor.

My treatment was a chest x-ray once a year. I have to say, I didn't feel very worthy of a luminary bag at the Relay events. For many years I questioned if I really had cancer.

What I didn't know about my rare cancer was that if the primary tumor is over 2 cm, it metastasizes to other organs. It was 10 years before I realized my cancer had been spreading, slowly, but steadily.

It had consumed over half of my liver and was back in my lung. The best treatment for carcinoid tumor is removal, and so within a year I had two major surgeries. One year later there were tiny "noids" back in the liver, and six months after that, another in the lung.

Another six months went by, and the shocking news came—it was in the bone. For two weeks I traveled to Fargo and received radiation treatments for pain management.

It felt like my slow-growing, nonaggressive cancer was being very aggressive. At that point, I started receiving an injection of what I call the "miracle drug" for carcinoid tumor: Sandostatin. Research is so important, or this miracle drug would never have been found.

Since then, I have been receiving an injection every four weeks from the awesome oncology nurses at Clinic Services. My tumors are stable; some have even gotten a little smaller. However, I anticipate that some day I might need more radiation. With the cancer center, driving for treatments will no longer be a burden because I will be able to receive my care locally. It is such a gift and a blessing knowing I will be able to have all of my future cancer treatments done in my hometown by nurses and technicians who are not only professionals, but also my friends.

That is why it is so important to raise money for the Cancer Care and Research Center.

There are three things that have helped me cope with my cancer: my faith, my family, and my friends. When I looked survivor up in the dictionary, it said: “to remain alive or in existence: to live on; to continue to function or prosper.”

Despite the diagnosis of cancer, the surgeries, the treatments and the side effects, you will continue to function, to prosper and to live on.

With prayer and the love and support of your family and friends, you will grow stronger. They will not let you down if you ask them to help you. It’s what they want to do most, to help you survive.

Wolfe is employed at the Minnesota State Community and Technical College and has been there more than 10 years. Her hobbies include spending time with her two daughters, Nicole and Jessie, who are both currently attending college. She also enjoys bird watching, photography, scrapbooking and riding Harleys with her husband Bob.

If you believe like Pam does, we invite you to go to the Cancer Care and Research Center donation page and offer your support today.

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