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One mother's fight: A survival tale | Pahrump Valley Times from Categorized | , Posted on22 October 2010. GINA B. GOOD / PVT - Renee Olson visits Smart Style Salon, inside Walmart, to support its annual fundraising event for the American Cancer Society.By GINA B. GOODPVTLast year Renee Olson found a lump in her breast over the Halloween weekend and was diagnosed with mammary ductal carcinoma the following Monday. She and her family will celebrate what she calls “my one year anniversary of survivalship” next month.This is Olson’s personal account of her struggle to overcome her fear, to accept the help she desperately needed and the steps she took to survive.At 35, Olson was in the prime of her life, with two young children and “an amazing husband” when she was told she had stage two breast cancer. “The doctor said it was grade three, the most aggressive,” she said.“It was absolutely awful. I cried every day when I woke up and when I went to sleep because I was so scared.” However, the former emergency medical technician rallied.“What do I do, curl up in a ball? What can I do to save my life?” Olson decided, “I will leave no stone unturned.”Her first step was getting a second opinion, which she advises everyone to do. Then she and her firefighter husband began the process of educating themselves about the disease. “Once I realized the pathology of it, that helped,” she said.In typical firefighter fashion, the couple set up a staging area. An easel displayed notes and cards from friends and family. Olson also pinned up verses from the Bible, brought in a computer and books. “I gave myself two weeks to figure out what I was going to do.“I would say to others, don’t run out and do something tomorrow. Go home and research. Find women who had breast cancer to talk to.” One of the steps in Olson’s education was talking with a panel of women to see their reconstructive surgery.“I chose to get rid of my breast and I ultimately decided for the surgeon to take both breasts. I decided on the prophylactic surgery as a precautionary measure,” she explained. “It’s an important decision. You think about breast feeding your children and intimacy with your husband. It affects who you are. I had my image reborn.”Olson said initially the surgeon operated on her left breast and took out 15 lymph nodes, finding the sentinel node. When that node was found to be positive for cancer, the surgeon took 14 more. Olson also had radiation, “because I didn’t have a clean margin” as well as chemotherapy treatments.Olson, known as Miss Renee to her students, teaches ballet and lyrical dance to a group of young girls. “I was very honest with them,” she said. “I told them they were going to see my body change. I will lose my hair and struggle.“I told them they could ask me anything and not to be afraid of me because I can’t give you cancer. I wanted them to be able to embrace my daughter, who is one of the students.”Having a group of supportive people around her contributed to Olson’s recovery. “I am blessed to have three extended families,” she said, naming the firefighters, her dance group and her church.“The firemen made me a DVD. They all wore pink gloves,” she said. The firefighters also raised money for the family, as Olson’s husband took a leave of absence to care for her and their kids.“There were times that no matter what anybody told me, I had so much fear I couldn’t sleep. I needed my husband 24/7.“My church was amazing. They stepped up to the plate,” she said, adding all three groups fed her family and “prayed for us daily.”“One of the most important things I learned is you have to let go of your duties. You have to let go of your mommy duties and your wife duties. You just have to give everything up and hand off the weight of it to the Lord,” she said.“When you rest, you heal. Women have a hard time resting. They want things done a certain way, but I could not get up with my daughter and do her hair for school.Olson says she was sick for six months from chemo.“I was out of service. There were times I just could not function. But I want people to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I want others to know you have to be ever vigilant but there is an end to the fight.” GINA B. GOOD / PVT – Renee Olson visits Smart Style Salon, inside Walmart, to support its annual fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. kathy says: You are trully an inspiration to God’s love. The support of family friends and church shows how strong the power of prayer and love is. God bless you and those in your circle. I pray your courage continues to shine to everyone you meet. Leave a Reply You must be to post a comment.