Wendy Clifton

October 2020

In 2015 I was living in a small town in Northern California. The town, Ukiah, was in a pretty valley that was mostly agricultural. That year my boyfriend Ernie became sick with cancer. He was in and out of the hospital that year and died at home in August. His son Isaiah and I were with him when he died. For me Ernie’s death from cancer was of course difficult and quite dramatic.

In the spring of 2016 I noticed that I could feel something hard that was in my lower abdomen and was close to my left hip bone. For a week or two I thought about it, wondering what it could be. When I saw my doctor, he knew just what it was and what needed to be done. He took measurements and wrote a lot of notes. He referred me to another doctor in town a gynecologist.

That doctor also knew exactly what to do. He got an appointment for me with an gynecologic oncologist in San Francisco. She was the head of the gynecologic oncology department at the UC San Francisco Medical School.

My friend Robin went with me to the appointment. She was so helpful. She probably wrote down every word that the doctor said. My gyn onc suggested that surgery should be as soon as possible. She had me working with her assistants right away to get the surgery arranged and to gather the information that was needed in order for her to prepare.

I have two daughters and one son-in-law. Amy and her husband Rhett lived in Ashland at the time. Louise lives in Shreveport, LA. Louise arrived the day before the surgery. My friend Eileen had arranged for the three of us to stay in an apartment that was walking distance to the hospital. Today I am still so grateful for the caring and generosity of my family members and friends.

Morning of… Louise and I got up very early and walked to the hospital. It was still dark outside when I was taken back to get prepped for the surgery. Fortunately Louise connected with Marjory, my sister-in-law. They called back and forth for the whole day. And it was a very long day.

It was again dark outside when I was wheeled into a hospital room after the surgery.

My gyn onc told me that if I didn’t start chemo by August 15, I “may as well not have had all that surgery.” In discussions with family members we all agreed that it would be best for me to stay with someone because I was scared about doing chemo and especially about facing it alone. I stayed with my brother and sister-in-law, David and Marjory. They live in Boulder, CO. They got busy and found a medical oncologist. My first appointment was on August 15. Rhett generously offered to drive my car to Boulder.

That first round of chemo went well; it wasn’t difficult for me. It was nice to be with David and Marjory, and Boulder is a great town. I lost my hair, but wearing a wig was an easy solution. I also got very thin but really didn’t give that even a thought. Anyway my weight did normalize after the chemo. When I drove back to California in January I thought I was finished with cancer. Well…

Amy visited me in Ukiah two or three times. She had a concern that I didn’t have enough support there and suggested that I move to Ashland. I had visited Ashland many times and had always liked the town. So I did move there in April, first renting an apartment and later buying a house.

Amy knew about a wonderful gynecologic oncologist in Medford, and I had a few appointments with her. She watched over my CA125. When it began to increase, she referred me to a medical oncologist colleague. In early 2018 he recommended that I do a second round of chemo. This was difficult for me to accept, and the chemo was physically difficult for me. However, most importantly it was very effective at getting rid of the cancer. It seems that I was introduced to this new doctor at just the right time.

Having gone through all of the above, it occurred to me that if there was anything that I very much wanted to do, I should do it. After all, who knows what lies ahead? So I did end 2018 by doing something I had always wanted to do. I spent the month of December in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It had always been my dream to go there and see the animals (especially the mountain gorillas in Rwanda). I went with a group, and we did just that. Ahhh…

A biopsy and CT scan in March, 2019 revealed cancer growth on my liver. I began chemo in April of that year. I was surprised by how much chemo had changed. I take one tablet twice a day. Side effects were only experienced for the first two weeks, and efficacy appears to be comparable to the chemo infusions that I had become accustomed to in the past.

I remain grateful for my family and friends and for the professionals who have helped me through this difficult health crisis and have hope and optimism for the future.