Pinktober Profiles: Beth Teel

Here's the next fantastic profile in our series, collaboratively written by my Brunswick Community College Eng 111 students as part of their service learning "Profile of a Survivor" assignment. Many of these students are still in high school, participating as part of the Early College High School program. They are taking college level courses in addition to their full course load of high school classes, and many are involved in extra-curricular activities as well. In order to raise awareness of what breast cancer is really like right here in our community, these students collaborated to write profiles of 7 incredible survivors from our community. I'll share their writing with you all week long.

Support Through the Storm

Guest Contributors: Dylan Blanton, Bailey Campbell, Mallorie Cole, Kaitlyn Dove, Dezarae Lehman, Claire Longshore, Shelby Mathis, Valerie Renna, Skyler Watson

When Beth Teel first found out she had breast cancer she didn’t know what to do, no less how to act. Her initial reaction was confusion because she did not know how or why she got breast cancer. No one in her family had ever been diagnosed with breast cancer, or any type of cancer at that.  She began to shake, and feel uneasy as this information sank in and didn’t know what step to take next.

Beth knew that one of the hardest parts would be telling her family: Her husband, sons, and daughter meant everything to her, and this news would break their hearts. When she did tell them, it was no surprise that they rallied around her with support, willing to do anything to help Beth get through this. At her first doctor’s appointment all three of her sons showed up unexpectedly to surprise her, and she broke down in tears. There was no doubt her family would be her rock through it all.

At her appointment, her oncologist told her that her right breast was filled with a nine centimeter long tumor (For a visual reference, a 5cm tumor is comparablein size to a lime. Beth’s tumor was almost twice that size!). Despite the bad news, Beth knew she was very blessed to have had one of the best and most involved support groups to help her through her breast cancer journey.

Beth's son shaving her head.

Beth wanted to get a lumpectomy to just remove the tissue around the cell but realized that a lumpectomy wasn’t going to be enough. Although she didn’t want to get this procedure done, she soon made the decision to get a mastectomy, to remove both breasts entirely. Her breasts were part of her body and getting rid of them was a hard decision to make, but it needed to be done. As she had this procedure done, the doctors found cancer in her lymph nodes, so all of the lymph nodes in her right arm had to also be removed. Chemo meant the loss of her hair, and although it seems like just hair to you and I, it meant losing more and more of herself in Beth’s eyes; First her breasts, and now her hair! She didn’t understand why this was happening to her and wondered if she was ever going to get better. Chemotherapy made her very sick. She experienced horrible bone pain. Overall, she just felt like she was dying. Her biggest challenge throughout chemo was getting through the physical pain. It was hard for her to understand how some people could make it through chemo feeling fine, yet every session made her feel terrible. It was discovered that she was highly allergic to the Leukine shots she was given. She would vomit, had trouble breathing, and even ended up with Shingles which are incredibly painful. Beth was reaching her breaking point.

Leukine is injectable medicine, classified as a colony stimulating factor, which forces the body to produce more white blood cells in an effort to help the patient undergoing chemotherapy defend against infections during their weakened state. One of the most common side effects of these medications is severe bone pain, because the medicine forces the bone marrow to hyper-produce white blood cells.

Surgery had meant the loss of her breasts. Chemo caused her to lose her hair and she suffered through incredible pain throughout her treatment. Now, Beth would face 39 radiation treatments. Three of the radiation treatments included “boosts,” which meant Beth had to have extra exposure of radiation to the places in her breasts where the original tumors were to further reduce any risks of recurrence. Radiation burned her skin, and made her susceptible to a staph infection. There were constantly new obstacles. For Beth, it felt like every step toward finishing treatment led to more pain and suffering.

Beth raising awareness with the
support of her loved ones.

The burns from the radiation treatments caused her burned skin to weep, or discharge, at random times. When she showed her doctors, they were shocked at how badly burned she was. She was put on IV fluids and antibiotics, and then hospitalized for a week due to the damage of the radiation. Somehow through all of the obstacles, Beth did not sink. Her faith in God, which had grown even stronger throughout this experience, and the support from her family helped her get through each obstacle.

 Although cancer has negatively affected Beth’s life and her family’s lives, they have found ways to embrace the situation. Spreading awareness through presentations, telling Beth’s breast cancer story and holding on to a family bond that can never be broken are some of the ways that Beth and her family try to make the best out of a bad situation.  Her children and even their friends took her to appointments, went to every surgery, and helped her up when she was down. In addition to the support from her family, Beth also had support from her doctors who treated her as more than just a patient. They did everything they possibly could to ensure that Beth would overcome this setback in her life. Although Beth would sometimes feel discouraged, she was overwhelmingly happy to have so much support. When she felt like giving up, they gave her the strength to keep fighting.

Beth, with my daughter Charlotte,
 at PIPF Pink Fashion Walk
Fundraiser 2015. They are
SO beautiful!

In life, it usually takes tough situations to really figure out the lesson you are supposed to learn. Beth Teel’s breast cancer journey has taught her a lot, more than she would have imagined. She says that “the hardest thing about breast cancer was not knowing what to do.”  Some of the most important lessons she has learned have been to rest when you need to rest and to be aware of your body and research everything. Beth was asked, what she would tell someone who was newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Her answer was “to have someone by your side who has had cancer.” She says that although everybody’s journey is different, it's encouraging to have someone to talk to that is experiencing similar issues and that can give you advice when you are unsure of what to do. Beth says to listen to other people’s good thoughts and have a good support system.  Beth is excited to have celebrated being a breast cancer survivor for the past four years. Beth says “do not have bad days, have bad moments.” Her perseverance through these constant obstacles teaches us all that with a great support system and a positive attitude, we can overcome so much.