Category: From the Desk of

From the Desk of is a POV written by Cancer Care’s staff, volunteers, donors, and board members.

From the Desk of Megan Clifton

Megan Clifton - Client Connection Manager and Survivorship Navigator

From the Desk of…

Megan Clifton

Cancer Care Services’ Client Connection Manager, Survivorship Navigator and a Cancer Survivor

When you are a small-town coach’s kid, well, you are viewed just a little bit differently. Sometimes in a good light, but if the team’s not having a winning football season, you may be seen in a not-so-good light! This is how I grew up: with the small-town spotlight always on my family, so when my family got THAT call from the doctor… not only did our lives change forever, but the spotlight was there again, too. But this time in a much different form.

When I was just 13 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare form of pediatric cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. When the doctors “caught it”, the odds were stacked against me. The tumor was big, and time was of the essence. Diagnosis on a Friday, in the operating room on a Monday. It was scary. It was emotional. It was real.

Once the news spread, in my tiny hometown of Comanche, Texas, the LOVE poured in. That same spotlight that once shined on my dad’s wins and losses, now shined on his 13-year-old daughter. It felt like every inch of Texas was praying for me, and it was so overwhelmingly amazing!

I’ll never forget my first thoughts when my parents and I received that dreaded phone call that no one wants to hear. When my parents sat me down to say, “the tumor is malignant”, I jumped up from my seat and ran outside to the backyard. My dad, trailing behind me, scooped me up in his arms and said it’s going to be ok, and we are going to get through this. My response to that took him by surprise.

I looked up at my dad and asked, “Does this mean I won’t get to run track this season?” You see, when you are 13, you aren’t thinking about life or death. You’re simply thinking about how this is going to affect your social life. (We’re talking about the oh-so-awkward, preteen/teenage years, after all.)

I really needed to know at that moment if my track season was coming to an end. Needless to say, my parents had other, bigger concerns. Soon, we would be meeting with the oncologist. My amazing parents dealt with the hard stuff, the tough questions like what is chemo going to do to her body, or what was the percentage of me actually making it through the next 10 months.

Meanwhile, I remember being scared of what my friends were going to think. No, really. The first thing I asked my doctor was, “Am I going to lose my hair?“ I was absolutely terrified that I was going to be “that” kid in eighth grade – the weird, bald-headed kid. It was nearly impossible for me to imagine anything worse than that.

Chemotherapy was hard. Oh, so very hard. Hair loss, nausea, weight gain from steroids – my whole appearance changed in the blink of an eye. I was sick, all the time. In the beginning, my chemo treatments were outpatient, so I would always get to come home afterward. However, this was also hard because my low blood counts meant my friends weren’t allowed to visit; my very weak body would not be able to fight off the infection.

I was a sad teenager, a lot. I felt isolated and could not figure out why this was happening to me.  Again, thank goodness for my amazing parents and, add to that, two amazing big sisters. And a town that was wrapping me up in prayers, good thoughts, and hugs – even though from a distance.

After six months of chemo, my oncologist did another biopsy. Unfortunately, we found that the chemotherapy was not working, and the cancer cells were about to start spreading  At this point, my doctors had to get aggressive with my treatment. This meant much stronger chemo and dreaded radiation. Trying to explain this to my friends was no easy task.  I didn’t understand it any better than they did. And, all I could think about was I am about to start High School bald-headed and pale.  It was the worst. I cried a lot. Thank goodness for prayer and my momma!

It was time to start radiation. I have never been so scared in my entire life! I was about to have radiation beads implanted into my body, and I would have to lay flat on my back for a week straight, not being able to move, with tubes and machines attached to my body as well. No one was allowed in my room for more than a short period of time, and they had to stand behind a shield in order to see me. An experience like that is something you can never forget, no matter how old you are when you experience it, 13 or 30 or any age.

My oncology nurses had to have some very serious conversations with me about how this radiation was going to affect my body in the future. Conversations about my body, which at 14 now was already changing because of puberty and adolescence, changing even more because of radiation and cancer, made me so confused about life. I will say everyone, and I mean everyone, on my medical team was so kind, caring, thoughtful, mindful, and, encouraging, and would do whatever they could to try and put a smile on my face.

Following my week-long radiation treatment, I began a six-month-long chemo regimen. For this round, instead of coming home, I would have to stay in the hospital for days at a time while my chemo slow-dripped. Again, “sick as a dog” was an understatement. I thought those 6 months were never going to end.

I began my freshman year of high school bald, rail-thin, sick, and uncomfortable. But I wasn’t the only one in my small town with an unexpected new look. I started high school the same way all the freshman boys did – because they shaved their heads! All 30 of them! Yep, the boys of my class, who were probably pretty nervous about starting high school too, shaved their heads to support me. Their sweet gesture made entering those double doors that day a little less frightening.

Eventually, the very long six months of chemo came to an end, and one, final biopsy concluded that I was cancer-free. That first year of being a high schooler, I felt it all: happy, sad, scared, and anxious, all while trying to navigate cancer as an adolescent. Through it all, the support that my family and I received… To this day, I cannot talk about it without getting teary-eyed. It meant so much to my survival. From family and friends to people I didn’t even know who were praying for me, the love and support I received were unconditional. This also came in the form of so many support services and nonprofits.

It is because of all the support I received that I have chosen to work in a field where I can give back some of what I’ve been given. It is my goal to help, support, and reach out to every cancer patient that comes across my path! I live to tell my story because – at any age – life isn’t always beautiful, but it is a beautiful ride!

From the Desk of a Social Worker

Social Worker taking notes

From the Desk of…

a Cancer Care Services’ Social Worker

A day in the life of a social worker at Cancer Care Services is filled with many different roles and responsibilities. No two days are exactly alike, but each day we are focused on providing care and support to the people we are here to serve. While our team of clinic-based social workers operates within the parameters of a specific, off-site clinic setting, the social workers in our building on S Henderson Street serve a broad spectrum of individuals from our community who have been affected by cancer.

Our community social workers typically spend the first few moments in the building preparing for the day. Everyone has their own process, but in addition to tending to basic administrative chores, this time is meant to put the social worker in a healthy state of mind to connect with clients. Sometimes social workers even jam out to action movie soundtracks, but those are a rare breed.

Prep time serves another practical purpose: we don’t begin reaching out to clients until after 9:00 AM, in order to give patients sufficient time to wake and prepare for whatever their day may hold. These calls continue conversations about previously identified needs or concerns; we want clients to feel they are kept current, and not like they are having to wait on responses to questions. After every call is completed on behalf of the patient, the social worker documents the exchange with a note to the client’s file. Detailed documentation is an essential element of professional social work.

Typically, the social worker will then move on to Intake phone calls. This is the first step in bringing a client on board to receive services from our agency. Many routine questions are asked in order to assess the client’s physical, mental, and even financial condition and begin to formulate a care plan for them. Not surprisingly, many notes are added to the file. Altogether, this process takes roughly an hour for each new client.

Once Intake is completed, then the social worker schedules a time to meet the new client in person, preferably, to discuss in more detail the needs of the client as well as those of his or her entire household. At Cancer Care Services, the cancer patient is not the only type of client. The husband, wife, child, parent, and any caregiver – can all be clients.

The social worker will spend time throughout their day researching and attempting to connect these people with the resources they need – whether it’s financial help, counseling, food assistance, proper treatment, prescription medications, housing, car repairs, social connections, medical supplies, nutrition supplements, burial assistance, and sometimes even mattresses. Basically, anything that is a concern or need of the cancer patient’s household becomes a priority of the social worker.

The social worker will also spend time throughout the day receiving phone calls from dietitians, nurses, and other medical staff. These medical professionals are close with their cancer patients and are a key link in the chain of caring for and providing assistance to our clients. Each one of these professionals works within the guidelines of the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), which keeps patient information confidential.

Social workers are constantly sending and receiving order forms to provide medical assistance for the patient in these cases. For instance, if a patient needs colostomy supplies, then a nurse will send over an order form, and the social worker then searches online for the specific supplies and presents their selections to a supervisor for approval.

Cancer Care Services accepts any cancer patient no matter what phase of treatment – or survivorship – they are in. We know any help that can be provided goes a long way for our patients, and we are proud to play a vital part in that process.

If you need help, fill out our online form to get in contact with a Cancer Care team member.

Makeup and Memories

Chroma Services client

From the Desk of…

Michael Sturns and Meredith Villachica

 Chroma Services
www.chromaservicestexas.com

Being in the salon business allows us to talk with and get to know so many great people. Each person has a different story, different successes, and different challenges. Over time, many clients come to feel like old friends, people we’ve known to weather life’s ups and downs.

Oftentimes, we get the privilege of helping them look their best as they celebrate milestones, like holidays, graduations, or marriages, for instance. But sometimes, it’s the greater gift that we get to help them when they’re feeling down, as they come to the salon not always feeling like their best. So great is it that something as simple as a haircut or new makeup can make someone feel so special on the inside as well as the outside.

But you know it and we know it: fighting cancer can lead to days when you feel more than just down.

We don’t claim to be able to make everything better, but our amazing team of Hair Stylists and Makeup Artists do what we can to transform feelings of depression, lethargy, anxiety, and self-doubt into moments of beauty, confidence, and encouragement.

How do we do this? When a client walks through our doors, we see the person, not the patient, and we proceed to pamper them through a beautiful makeover inside our one-of-a-kind Mobile Salon. With love in our hearts, our service to each client is totally personalized and nothing is left out! We call this the “Chroma Experience”!

Every three months, we have the opportunity to provide MAKEUP & MEMORIES for Cancer Care Services’ clients. Just recently, as part of their very special Valentine’s Dinner (2/09/19). It was the fourth time we’ve come out to a Cancer Care event and each time we are touched by and grateful for the opportunity to interact with each person there. We leave always wanting to come back and do more – and we plan to.

We are 100% committed to our partnership with Cancer Care Services and we certainly share the mission of the agency, doing as much as we can to reduce the impact of cancer in our community, by coming together and changing lives, one moment at a time.

Our motivation to do this began almost a decade ago. It is the story of a particular client that our co-owner, Meredith Villachica-Hood, has serviced for many years, during which time, Meredith had witnessed her difficult battle with cancer. Although her strength and beauty continued to be remarkable, year after year, she continued to grow back and then lose her hair all over again, during multiple years of chemotherapy.

This inspired Meredith – and in turn, all of us at Chroma Services – to do whatever we could to turn the unfortunate circumstance of losing hair, due to cancer, into an agenda that any person battling or overcoming cancer may come through our doors and walk out with their head held high…we want to make sure each person sees themselves to be just as beautiful as we see them!

We work with hospitals, nurses, doctors, and caregivers. Our shared goal is to make the traumatic experience of hair loss due to cancer and treatment not one of despair, but something liberating – so that each courageous soul can walk down the street with their head held high!

A percentage of every service done at Chroma Services is donated quarterly to a Cancer Charity or Non-Profit Organization. Together, we will eliminate Cancer!

From the Desk of Jane Oderberg

Jane Oderberg

From the Desk of…

Jane Oderberg

Cancer Care Services’ Retired Program Director, Board Member, Volunteer, & Donor

As a long-time professional geriatric social worker in 2005, I attended a women’s networking meeting. While catching up with a friend, she shared the fact that an employee at Cancer Care Services was going to be out on medical leave, and she needed to hire a part-time social worker for the interim. I told her that I would be interested in applying, so long as I could do the work and still care for my granddaughters. Well…as they say (whoever “they” are!), the rest is history!!

I started as a 20-hour/week home visit social worker, which I enjoyed very much. I maintained a presence in the healthcare field and continued to attend many networking meetings. I was repeatedly surprised when asked what I was doing currently, and I answered “working part-time at Cancer Care”, how few people knew what Cancer Care Services was or that it even existed! I must admit that until I started working there, I didn’t know Cancer Care did either! But once I knew, boy, was I proud to spread the word.

When the social worker who was out on medical leave returned, we job-shared for several months. Then the CEO came to me and asked that I come to his office; my co-workers teased that I was being called to the “principal’s office” for some behavior issue (like speaking my mind!). Instead, he informed me that the program director had resigned and asked if I was interested in taking on the position full-time, with responsibility for all client programming, supervising the social work staff and interns, supporting the Board of Directors, and “other duties as assigned”!

It didn’t take long, really just a year, for my relationship with one of the finest and oldest non-profits in Fort Worth to take root and begin to grow. I loved my job of helping clients and families navigate the maze that is cancer and all the ramifications that go along with it. I could leave work knowing I made a difference in people’s lives on a daily basis.

The staff was wonderful…more like family, really. We supported each other in good times as well as bad. It was a pleasure going to work every day. I also learned from our clients how cancer impacted their lives and how much they appreciated all that Cancer Care did for them. I have never felt as fulfilled by my work as I did while at Cancer Care Services.

Then and ever since, I have made it my mission to educate as many people as possible about the work Cancer Care does, making sure people know how to refer clients to the programs.

In July 2016, I retired from my position – after more than eleven years. Who would have believed that my part-time gig would last so long? But my connection with Cancer Care Services wasn’t over; it simply changed. I became a speaker’s bureau volunteer, and I pledged financial support through the Legacy of Hope Giving Society.

From these new vantage points, I have enjoyed watching the growth of the organization as it works to meet the needs of more and more people in our community. It felt good to be contributing still to something so positive. Then I looked at it from another angle.

A few months ago I was asked if I would consider serving as a member of the Cancer Care Services’ Board of Directors. Thinking it would be interesting to now see the agency’s operations from the perspective of governance and strategy – informed by a deep understanding of our client’s perspective, I said yes. So in a few weeks’ time, I’ll begin my term of service, continuing to support my favorite organization as a volunteer… an advocate… a donor… and once upon a time a good while ago, as a part-time employee.

Each experience has shown me in different ways the same thing: the quality of care and commitment to service offered daily by this organization to its clients. I hope to continue to contribute to its impact for many more years to come.