One month after a mammogram showed Lisa Eikey to be in fine health, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
And while life for the 45 year-old Goodrich resident was temporarily derailed, not for one moment did she think it would be lost.
‘I’ve always had a positive attitude,? said Eikey, a large grin spread beneath the orange bandana she wears on her temporarily hairless head. ‘I think that’s helped my family.?
Eikey was at the cinema watching ‘King Kong? with sons Erik, 9 and Ben, 15, last December when she received the phone call that would change her life.
Though her yearly mammogram had not detected any problems in November, Eikey found a lump during a self-exam.
Wanting to be sure there were no problems, Eikey made an appointment with her physician, who performed a needle biopsy.
When she checked her cell phone messages after leaving the movie, Eikey found she had a message from her doctor saying they needed to meet.
At that meeting, Eikey learned suspicious cells had been revealed in the results of the biopsy.
A lumpectomy and lymp node mapping were performed on Eikey shortly after the revelation. The surgery revealed one of the three removed lymp nodes was infected, but the other two were fine. Eikey attributes the limited spread of the cancer to early detection.
Early detection, due entirely to Eikey’s own persistence performing self-exams even after nothing suspicious was discovered by the mammogram.
Debra Frick, clinical trial coordinator at Genesys Hurley Cancer Institute in Flint, said though Eikey’s situation is not common it is also far from rare.
‘That happens frequently unfortunately,? said Frick, who has been in the business for 10 years.
‘We always tell the patients to do their own self exams and if there is a question to see their doctor and pursue it if there is something going on.?
‘Patients know a lot more than they give themselves credit for,? said Frick.
Originally, Eikey said she expected to get the surgery and return to her job as a first grade teacher at Stewart Elementary School in Flint.
She had left her students for the holiday break believing herself to be in good health. She didn’t know at that time she would not be teaching again until the next school year.
‘I miss them horribly,? Eikey said of her students.
Eikey’s teaching career was not the only aspect of her life put on hold after her diagnoses.
Chemotherapy ‘to be followed with radiation? left Eikey unable to live the busy life-style to which she was accustomed.
Prior to the treatment, ‘I was very, very involved,? said Eikey. ‘The world kept going and I kind of stepped off.?
It was 17 days after her first chemo treatment that Eikey lost her hair.
Friend and neighbor Stephanie Sears had cut short Eikey’s locks prior to the first treatment. ‘You know you’re going to lose it,? said Eikey. ‘Why prolong it??
When asked if it was difficult to deal with her impending hair loss, Eikey smiles.
‘It was until I realized there’s so much more to me than my hair.?
More than Eikey’s tresses were lost following the chemotherapy.
She recalled eating a spaghetti dinner with her family and wondering why it was flavorless. It was then she realized she had lost her sense of taste.
The realization didn’t come entirely as a shock to Eikey, who had become an avid researcher of the effects of cancer treatment since her diagnoses.
‘I knew it was coming,? said Eikey.
Even so, Eikey said it was strange to taste things only by way of consistency and temperature.
Hot, cold, smooth and crunchy have replaced salty, sweet sour and bitter for Eikey until she is done receiving chemotherapy.
The taste of Mint chocolate chip ice cream is missed most of all.
Eikey’s sense of smell, which has greatly improved in the absence of the other sense, does not compensate for the loss of taste. It does, however, allow her to fake herself into tasting things, such as Italian dressing, if the smell in pungent enough.
To keep herself from feeling like’as she described it, ‘a blob?, Eikey has made a point of putting on earring and eye shadow every day since beginning treatment. It’s something that, no matter how small, Eikey can do for herself everyday to reclaim normality.
Family, friends and faith have the crucial network of support for Eikey these past 6 months.
Fellow members of St.Mark’s Church, in Goodrich, deliver meals to Eikey’s family the week following her chemotherapy. Eikey’s mother, Marge Brunet, comes to stay with her those weeks as well, to help around the house and provide support. Friend Sue Frownfelter, of Flint, is among many others Eikey said were imperative to her recovery.
In yet another showing of support and to raise awareness, Eikey’s sons and husband Kevin, will shave their heads at 7 p.m. on May 22, the night before Eikey’s final session of chemotherapy.
Friends and family will come to the family’s home to watch the ‘hair razing?, as it has been dubbed.
Afterward, the four of them will begin to regrow their hair? and their lives? as a family.
‘Because I was so busy, I did so much before, I had a routine,? said Eikey. ‘You do this, you do that’and all of a sudden, the breaks go on. You learn to appreciate every day.?
Frick said a yearly mammogram is advised for all women 40 and older. Younger women should consider going earlier if there is a family history of cancer.
‘Most women, when they get that clean mammogram, think ‘I’m done for a year,? said Eikey. ‘I want to get the word out to get the self exam.?
Eikey will begin radiation treatment in June. Her hair and sense of taste should both be returning by then.
‘I will be able to step back on to the world,? said Eikey.
Just in time for some mint chocolate chip ice cream.