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4B Saturday, March 31, 2012 cOrtEZ JOurNaL
A SERIOUS INFECTION
This type of infection brought on by chemo is rare in breast cancer patients. The chemo-related infec-tion attacked her with bru-tal repercussions. Surgery was even needed to remove 18 inches of her bowel. She also lost 30 pounds during her sickness but even found a quirky silver lining in that.
“I could stand to lose a few pounds,” she says. “But seriously, I needed to lose those pounds correctly.”
This type of infection is called neutropenic entero-colitis, also known as typh-litis. It normally attacks pa-tients whose white blood cells are down.
But Fox’s white blood count was down and the chemotherapy caused the deadly infection.
So, as she watched the chemical pumped into her body the second time, Fox was understandably con-cerned. Terrified, she wait-ed. Remembering months of nightmarish pain and torment.
This time the formula was right and Fox was on the road to recovery. The road to that point is still difficult for Fox to fully absorb.
As dreadful as the situa-tion looked with Fox in the hospital, the family was al-ways optimistic.
During the rough times, Derek Fox, 25, and his Air Force flight squadron all shaved their heads to sup-port his mom in her battle.
For eldest son Kade, 26, who lives in Grand Junction with his wife and son Jack-son, he knew Mom was not going to give up.
“It didn’t look good but I know how strong my mom is,” he says. “She knew she had to fight. That’s my mom, she’s a fighter.”
DISCOVERING A LUMP
In early August, Diane was on vacation visiting Derek at Fort Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
A trip to see her 1-year-old grandson Elijah. A trip with quality family time to the brim.
That’s when she discov-ered a lump in her breast when she was adjusting her shirt.
Diane admits that she hadn’t been diligent when it came to her breast exami-nations.
“I never had a mammo-gram before, and I know that’s a no-no.”
But the lump was there. On Aug. 2, the diagnosis confirmed cancer.
Fox is focused, deter-mined and task-oriented. She approached this fright-ening and daunting situa-tion with the same perse-vering attitude.
“I took my diagnosis, it scared me, then it was time to focus. Now what? I’m just that type of person. What’s the next step?” She says.
She went on an aggressive offensive in her battle. Just 10 days after diagnosis, she had a double mastectomy.
“I just wanted to know it was gone,” she says.
Recovery, then chemo-therapy — that was the next step.
The plan was in place but then the chemo attacked her, and the plan went hay-wire.
Now, 242 days have passed since her harrow-ing diagnosis. Nearly eight months that passed with the speed of a turtle trudg-ing through mud, and Fox is getting healthier. Her life slowly inching back closer to normal.
NEW APPRECIATION FOR LIFE
Cancer and this thing called typhlitis have ham-mered away at joy and hap-piness for the Fox family.
But what didn’t kill Diane Fox has made her stronger.
“You don’t have bad days now,” Fox says bluntly.
Yes, there are difficult days when the chemo — the new chemical concoction — drains her energy and forces her back to bed with sickness, but life is good be-cause life continues.
“I’m just blessed, beyond blessed, for having people around me, people who ral-lied around me.”
For the mother of three, the silver linings are every-
where.“People are so much
worse off than I am. I have a new appreciation for life,” she says.
She jokes and remains as grounded as a wingless air-plane, never deviating from who she is and how she embraces life. For now, the roller coaster continues.
More chemotherapy and challenging days. She re-cently finished her final breast reconstructive sur-gery, and she’s developed cataracts in both eyes, and that means more surgery and more pain.
Still she jokes.Taking about her hair
loss, she just chuckles.“It was weird at first. But
it doesn’t bother me too much. I’m not a real high maintenance girl anyway. It’s coming back now and it’s coming back in gray.”
Then she confesses a little secret.
“Between me and my hairdresser, we always knew it was gray,” she says, then laughs.
Then there are the friends.“I have such great friends.
They’ve made and sent me silly hats and do-rags. I look at everything with a bit of humor so you gotta laugh or you’ll make yourself crazy,” she says.
She’s given away most of her headwear to other women who are now fight-ing their own cancer battle. But she saved one. A simple, gray wool cap. It’s the one she wore the most.
“You’d think I’d want to throw it away,” she says. “But it became so much of my identity through that time that I just kept it.”
As for the reconstruc-tive surgery, that was Di-ane’s choice. A courageous choice that many women who have breast cancer must face.
“I chose to have surgery, because I still want to look and feel like a woman.”
A TOUGH BATTLE
Only cancer survivors can comprehend how tough the recovery can be.
“It’s not an easy battle. Good friends make it easi-
aLivE
From Page 1B
Always focusing on the positive
JOurNaL/SaM GrEEN
Diane Fox receives a hug from her son, Devin, at the basketball seniors night for Montezuma-Cortez High School.
cOurtESy PhOtO
PhotograPheD in the Southwest Oncology Center in Durango, Diane Fox receives a chemo-therapy treatment. Following her first chemotherapy treatment on Sept. 25, 2011, Fox suffered a serious infection that resulted in her being hospitalized for 35 days. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in early August.
“Between me and my hairdresser, we always knew it was gray.”
Diane Fox
INSIDE ■ Devin Fox had to grow
up a little faster than most. page 12B
■ Relay for Life of Montezuma County is set for July 20 at Parque de Vida. For more information or to get in-volved, contact Susan Williams at [email protected] or 247-0278.
R e l ay foR life
See alive on Page 5B
Job Fair .
Hosted by Southwest Colorado Workforce
Where: Durango Public Library 1900 E. 3rd Avenue Durango, CO 80301
When: Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Time: 11:00 AM—6:00 PM
Are you looking for employment? Would you like an opportunity to connect with employers who are currently hiring? There will be employers looking to fill entry-level all the way to high level job open-ings. Come prepared with your resume and ready to interview with employers attending physically or vir-tually. You may also attend virtually by clicking on the icon on your connectingcolorado.com home page. Congressman Scott Tipton will be available to speak with job fair participants. Senator Ellen Roberts, State Representative J. Paul Brown and County Commissioner Kellie Hotter may be attending.
Barbara Smith970-394-4444
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