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Airmen fight cancer, build support group

  • Published
  • By Melissa Klinkner
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. (AFPN) --  At 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 30, Master Sgt. Dee Ann Poole received the call that changed her life. It came from her doctor’s office; the nurse had called to inform Sergeant Poole she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I was breathless,” she said. “My conversation with the nurse was a blur. It didn’t really sink in until the next day.”

In what seemed like minutes, Sergeant Poole’s life went through a whirlwind of change. She went from working in the 509th Bomb Wing public affairs office here to becoming the recipient of numerous surgeries and treatments. It also included time-consuming computer research and learning a new language -- medical terminology.

“It’s a tough language to learn because it can be so confusing,” she said.

Over a period of seven months, she underwent several magnetic resonance imaging tests, a mastectomy and removal of seven lymph nodes, two of which had been cancerous. She received eight chemotherapy treatments that left her feeling nauseous, foggy and exhausted.

After overcoming these physical challenges, Sergeant Poole is now trying to rebuild her familiar way of life while creating a “new normal.” This comes with confusion and many, often unanswerable, questions: “What happens next? When will my hair grow back completely? When will my taste buds return to normal? How will I try to prevent the threat of the cancer coming back?”

Although she has been surrounded by her husband, Senior Master Sgt. Steve Poole, her two children, extended family, friends and fellow Airmen through the journey, Sergeant Poole said there were still times when she felt alone.

“You can’t do it by yourself … you just can’t,” she said.

Sergeant Poole said she knew there were others in the Whiteman community also fighting a form of cancer. It was with this thought that she decided to form a cancer support group here.

“This was important to me because I wanted to meet other military members who had or have cancer so we can be a resource for other members of the Whiteman team to call upon,” she said. “I feel the military tie we have binds us together as a family.”

Members of the group said it helps to share experiences.

“I now have more people I can call on if I need help when I’m feeling down,” Sergeant Poole said. “They’ve been where I’ve been.”

She said maintaining a full-time positive attitude is impossible, but it helps to set small goals and meet them. Starting this group was one of her goals.

“It gave me something to focus on besides the chemo and how I felt after each one,” Sergeant Poole said.

“It helps to know you’re not the only one,” said Master Sgt. Karin Clark, a support group attendee who is assigned to the 509th Maintenance Squadron. “You feel less isolated.”

Sergeant Clark had her own story of battling cancer.

It started with a routine appointment at family practice. After a two-and-one-half-hour appointment, Sergeant Clark was notified she could have either a severe infection, a collapsed lobe in her right lung or lung cancer. Three weeks later, her doctors determined it was lung cancer.

After learning the diagnosis, Sergeant Clark said she was surprised and scared to tell her children. She said at 39 it is rare for someone her age to have an advanced lung cancer tumor.

“I just let them think everything was going to work out OK until I knew for sure if I was going to have a surgery,” she said.

Sergeant Clark said it was extremely hard for her to tell her mother and siblings -- her father died of lung cancer in 1985.

“It was like a repeat nightmare,” she said.

She was recommended to a thoracic surgeon, and her entire right lung was removed in 2004.

“The hardest part for me is knowing I probably could’ve prevented the whole experience if I’d never started smoking,” she said.

When she saw Sergeant Poole’s ad in the base newspaper advertising the support group she decided to participate. Sergeant Clark said it helps to get a different perspective on the experience, and it has been valuable because of the military connection.

The group is also beneficial because people are at least talking about things and not bottling them up, Sergeant Poole said.

“When you’re going through something, and you feel alone and like no one understands because they’ve never been there, that’s when you need to talk and hear from those who’ve been there and are going through it too,” said Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Taylor, another participant in the group. He is assigned to the 442nd Logistics Readiness Squadron.

He fought his own cancer battle in 2001. After having a wart removed from his leg, a biopsy analysis revealed it had been cancerous. As Sergeant Taylor began checking himself more thoroughly, he found an irregularity and brought it to his doctor’s attention.

Sergeant Taylor was diagnosed with testicular cancer, underwent an operation and had follow-up radiation treatments. Now, because of early detection and treatment, he has been certified cancer-free.

He attended the cancer support group to share with others the fact that “being diagnosed with cancer isn’t the end of the world. Cancer can be beaten and survived. I did it, you can too,” he said.

Holding onto the hope of beating the battle and keeping a positive attitude as often as possible, these cancer survivors are reaching out and making a difference in their lives and the lives of others through their cancer support group.

“If it can make one person more positive about themselves and their situation, it’s worth attending and recommending,” Sergeant Clark said.