Perseverance Story: Jodi Alexander

Photo courtesy of Heather Eveland Photography.

Over the course of four weeks, members of the community will be sharing their story.  These stories are about individuals and their experience with cancer. They are the reason the Lowell community comes together for the Pink Arrow Football Game.  Each story is written by the person you will read about or by someone on their behalf. We thank them for sharing their story and courage.

Photo courtesy of Heather Eveland and is used with permission.   Heather donates her time to get to know those she is photographing and capture an image to be used with each story.  You can visit her photography website and Facebook page for more information about her work.  

Heather is also the volunteer coordinator for Pink Arrow events.  If you are interested in helping out at the Kidz Zone during Riverwalk (Saturday, July 14), Community Day (Thursday, Aug. 16), or game day (Thursday, Aug. 30) please contact her by calling 616-291-8907 or send an email to [email protected].  Heather will let you or your group know what help is needed to determine the best fit.  

The following is from Jodi Alexander.  She shares her story of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival in her own words.  

My name is Jodi Alexander.  I am a breast cancer survivor, and this is my perseverance story.

My reason for telling my story is to give women some comfort.  Just because you are diagnosed with cancer doesn’t necessarily mean chemo or radiation.   It doesn’t mean your world has to stop.  Or that your doomed.  It just means you have some choices to make.

A little back ground about me.  My life is pretty simple, I have been married to my husband Tom for 16 years.  We have a 13-year-old son, Brady.  I work part-time at an insurance company in Ada. My mom and dad live across the street and I have a sister who lives in Wayland.  We live on the Flat River so our lives mostly consist of pontooning and fishing.

Photo courtesy of Heather Eveland Photography.

I was 39 when I got my first mammogram.  My Aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer in her late fifties.  With having a family history of it, I wanted to make sure I was doing all I could to take care of myself.  On Thursday, May 11th, 2017 I had my routine mammogram at the mobile unit in Cascade.  I came home afterwards and literally as I was walking in the door, my phone was ringing.  It was the hospital.  They read my mammogram and saw a spot that looked suspicious on my left breast.   Of course, they tell you it’s probably nothing, but wanted me to set up a time to go to the hospital and have another one.   This was my 4th mammogram and I had never had any issues before, so I was a little nervous.  I scheduled it on Friday the 12th.  I kept telling my husband he didn’t need to go, it was a mammogram and I would be fine.  Needless to say, he did end up taking the day off from work and we went together.   Once there, I had two more mammograms, an ultra sound, and after that I ended up having a biopsy.  We were there for 5 hours.  I was so glad Tom was there, trying to keep me calm.  Looking back and knowing what I know now, the way nurses, doctors and radiologist talked to me, they knew it was cancer.  Of course, they can’t tell you that until the biopsy comes back which takes 24 to 48 hours.  Being Friday, I would not hear anything until the following week.   I remember, it was Mother’s Day weekend.  I spent that Sunday with my mom and sister, filling them in on my Friday visit to the hospital. I didn’t want to worry them, but I didn’t want them to be caught off guard either.

On Tuesday May 16th, 2017 my world was turned upside down. I was home alone, and the phone rang.  It was one of the nurses I met with on Friday.  She said “I’m sorry to inform you, but the biopsy came back, and you have Stage 1 breast cancer.  We caught it early, which is a positive thing.” After that I went numb.  I couldn’t believe what I had just heard, I was only 42 years old.  I don’t really remember how the conversation went or how it ended.  I just remember her saying – I know you’re not really hearing what I’m saying so let’s set up an appointment and go over my options and what this all means.

I got off the phone and started crying. My mind was racing: I’m a planner and this isn’t part of any of my plans. There is no way this is happening to me, this only happens to other people.  I called my husband and told him the results.  It took three times before I could get the words to come out of my mouth – I have cancer.  He said we would get through this together and that he loved me. I next called my sister, Andrea.  She ended up leaving work immediately and coming over. I then called my mom and then my best friend, Kelley.  Within a half hour of me hearing I had cancer my mom and sister were at my house.  Of course, there’s not much to say because I zoned out when I was talking to the nurse.  We just cried, and the support from my family and friends started immediately. Next, I had to tell my son.  Wow that was horrible. My Primary Doctor offered some great advice – he said, “If you’re telling him everything is going to be ok, you can’t cry, it will send him mixed signals.”  I didn’t cry, I couldn’t believe it, but I truly didn’t want him to worry.  He was quiet for a little bit, trying to digest the news then gave me a big hug and told me he loved me.

When you’re diagnosed with cancer, in the beginning all you think about is what in the world would my family and friends do without me. Not that the world revolves around me, but I’m very close to them. Your mind goes to the worst-case scenario spot.  I think I was ok with the thought of dying, (a little dramatic, but I didn’t know) but the thought of leaving my son without a mother was heart breaking. I was not going to do that to him.  And so, the fight began. Bring it on!

Photo courtesy of Heather Eveland Photography.

Now the doctor appointments start.  Tom’s work was extremely flexible, so he was able to go to all my appointments with me.  The first appointment was with the Oncologist Surgeon.  This was when I was told what my options were as far as treating my cancer.  I could do radiation, a partial mastectomy or a double mastectomy. Chemo was not necessary at this point.  After my husband and I left that appointment we sat in the car and just looked at each other.  Holy #*&@, what is happening to us?!!?  Again, this doesn’t happen to us, this happens to other people. Neither of us could believe what was happening.  It felt like everything was moving at whirlwind speed. It’s so overwhelming, so much information to obtain.

After talking to my family and friends I decided to get a double mastectomy. This procedure gave me the best odds at never getting breast cancer again.  One month after my diagnosis I had the surgery.  I was in the hospital for 3 days.  It was the most horrible pain I could have ever imagined.  The surgery to remove my breasts and put in expanders took 6 hours and 2 surgeons. Tom, my mom, my sister and best friend waited patiently through the whole thing and were in my room waiting when I was finished.  After the surgery comes the reconstruction of my breasts.  Dr. Martin was my plastic surgeon.  I absolutely adore him and his nurse Courtney.  Each week following surgery I had to go get an injection into the expanders so that my skin and body would respond to the implants when that time came.   They were so kind and so easy to talk to.  I always felt comfortable asking them questions or getting their opinion.  It sounds weird, but I miss them now that it’s over. I really did enjoy seeing them each week.  I had two more surgeries after my mastectomy, one December 1st, 2017 and another May 4th, 2018 to get my permanent silicone implants.

From the first mammogram on May 11th, I had some sort of doctor appointment every week for 3 months.  It was exhausting for my family and friends.  I couldn’t drive which meant I needed someone to change their schedule around to help take care of me.   And I never ever heard a no, or I can’t do it.

In July, I met with my Oncologist.  This appointment was to determine the best way to prevent the cancer from coming back.  I could do chemo or I could take Tamoxifen for five years.  I asked my Doctor what she thought.  She said if I was her sister, she would pick the Tamoxifen.  I started that in August.

So many people helped me in so many ways through this journey.  At the time of my diagnosis my employer did not offer short term disability benefits to part-time employees.  Which meant my medical leave would be without pay, recovery time was estimated to be about 3 months.  Shortly after I told the owner of my company about my diagnosis he changed the disability benefit to include part-time employees.  I couldn’t believe it.  What a great gift.  What a great guy.  The Pink Arrow Pride has been with me along the way.  Helping any way they can and keeping tabs on me.  Teresa Beachum is amazing, and the community is very lucky to have her.

Photo courtesy of Heather Eveland Photography.

My family was unbelievable.  My husband and son were so helpful and so sweet during the whole ordeal.  When I got home from the hospital Brady had bought me balloons and all my favorite candy bars and put them next to my bed.  My husband set his alarm and got up every four hours to make sure I stayed current on my pain meds. Tom always made sure our house was clean, because we seemed to always have a flow of visitors.  My mom checked on me every day.  My mom and sister would bathe me since the use of my upper body was minimal and if my sister couldn’t help, my best friend stepped in.

Don’t get me wrong I had some bad days.  I would look at myself in the mirror and cry.  I had my regrets, but I always seem to have someone there to remind me that I made the right decision. One of dark days my sister-in-law, Lisa happened to stop over.  She gave me the boost I needed to get my mind back on the positive track.  She is one of those people who always knows what to say.  She always makes me feel loved, that I’m a good mother and most importantly pretty at a time when I needed it most.  She has a way about her that makes you want to smile and laugh.

One thing I learned along the way – I had no idea of how much I was loved by my family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  The out pouring of support was amazing.  I’m big on sending ‘Thank Yous’ out.  Knowing this Kelley, my best friend bought me a box of ‘Thank You’ cards. I’m happy to say, I sent out every one of them.  I received so many cards and letters of support.  My friends and neighbors brought food over.  I received many bouquets and plants.  I got the greatest bracelets.  My co-workers gave me several gift cards to restaurants around town.

I just celebrated my one-year being cancer free and I’m done with my surgeries.  I only have follow-ups with my Oncologist every six months.  People ask me if cancer changed my life.  I always say, absolutely. It’s made me a better person.  It has changed how I look at life and the people around me.  I rekindled old friendships and strengthened the ones I have.  Tom and I are closer than ever, and I could not have made it without him.  He was by my side the whole way and never let me forget how much he loved me and that I am beautiful.   Sounds corny, but I have a new outlook on life. I feel like it’s my second chance. I hug more, I say ‘I love you’ more, I want to spend more time with my family and friends.  It really puts things in perspective.  I try not to sweat the small stuff.  Yes, cancer changed me, and for that oddly enough I am grateful.

Always remember you are braver than you think, stronger than you seem and loved more than you know.

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