Two weeks after turning 50, Wendy Tamis Robbins realized she had stage II colon most cancers. Having lived with nervousness, obsessive compulsive dysfunction, and panic problems practically all her life, she used the identical methods that helped her navigate these struggles to fulfill her most cancers prognosis head-on.
Robbins dealt with the ups and downs of her summer season 2022 remedy utilizing a visualization method through which she pictured chemotherapy infusions and their associated unwanted side effects as a slim, roaring river with giant stones rising above its floor. The stones served as resting factors between the infusions, with every taking her nearer to the opposite facet of the river.
When she grew uneasy serious about the cancerous cells inside her physique, and the toxic medicine wanted to kill them, Robbins appeared on the willow tree outdoors her Marblehead dwelling. Though it appeared unkempt and close to demise, she knew that the tree’s vitality would return with pruning and time. So too would her well being, as soon as the chemotherapy did its job.
Simply as she did in her psychological well being journey, Robbins discovered allies past her supportive husband and stepchildren. Her medical group within the Colon and Rectal Most cancers Heart at Dana-Farber Brigham Most cancers Heart, led by oncologist Nadine J. McCleary, MD, MPH, doctor assistant Kathleen Boyle, PA, and social employee Holly Barron, MSW, LICSW, talked her by every anxious second in particular person or by Zoom. No one judged her when she meditated throughout remedy, or cried over the telephone to an on-call physician late at night time. And when Robbins felt she simply couldn’t take one other spherical of chemotherapy, McCleary assured her that it was okay — and medically secure — to take action.
“From the primary assembly we had, Dr. McCleary was so in-tune with my issues,” says Robbins. “She informed me she could be at my beck and name, and he or she and your entire group positively have been. I used to be so blessed to seek out freedom and acceptance at Dana-Farber, together with unbelievable care.”
Charting a course
Rising up outdoors Boston, with a mom who had untreated psychological well being and nervousness points, Robbins skilled her first panic assault when she was six years outdated. She says she adopted perfectionism and overachieving to get by the numerous darkish moments that adopted — changing into a stellar pupil, a collegiate javelin thrower, and a profitable lawyer regardless of a number of bouts of despair and suicidal ideation.
“I by no means had efficiency nervousness, simply nervousness about not attaining,” remembers Robbins, who additionally struggled with disordered consuming and consuming. “After I was competing, I by no means felt anxious.”
New well being issues got here in early 2022, when Robbins had a bout of COVID, shingles, and a number of urinary tract infections. At her annual bodily that spring, her main care doctor observed her iron was severely depleted and despatched her for extra assessments. This led to Robbins’ first colonoscopy, at age 49, and the invention of a big cancerous tumor on her colon.
She had surgical procedure at one other hospital to take away the tumor and a big portion of her giant gut, then was informed she would want six months of chemotherapy. When Robbins went to McCleary for a second opinion, nonetheless, she realized of an alternative choice.
A medical trial led by McCleary’s colleague Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, co-director of the Colon and Rectal Most cancers Heart at Dana-Farber Brigham, had decided that for some colon most cancers sufferers with earlier-stage illness whose tumors had been surgically eliminated, a three-month course of chemotherapy wouldn’t considerably have an effect on the speed at which their most cancers returned. The shorter course would additionally stop dangerous unwanted side effects, together with nerve damage from the chemotherapy drug oxaliplatin that may typically trigger ache, numbness, and tingling.
“Figuring out I might simply do three months, and never fear about these unwanted side effects, was sufficient in itself to make me change my care to Dana-Farber Brigham,” says Robbins. “They have been additionally head and shoulders above in analysis, knowledge, and compassion.”
This consists of the way in which McCleary labored with Robbins to deal with the challenges that got here with the shorter chemotherapy routine. In between her infusions at Dana-Farber Brigham, for example, Robbins would take dwelling a chemotherapy pump that she would depart connected for 48 hours after which take away herself.
“Part of the three-month remedy is one thing somebody has to handle on their very own,” explains McCleary. “I’ve had some sufferers that, resulting from nervousness, don’t totally adjust to this remedy regardless of their finest intentions. We made up a plan with Wendy for every step of remedy, and I let her know there was nothing we couldn’t discuss as typically as she wanted.”
Remission and reboot
Serving to to execute this plan — which included Robbins’ determination to forgo the final of her six chemotherapy cycles because of the toll it had taken on her liver — have been different clinicians together with Boyle and Barron. All Dana-Farber Brigham sufferers are eligible for social work companies as a part of their remedy; Barron, who met with Robbins commonly, says that many individuals coping with most cancers expertise nervousness and fear, and studying methods to cope is a singular, particular person course of. Robbins used her already-developed coping abilities akin to meditation, yoga, and visualization to assist accomplish that.
“With all facets of most cancers remedy, there are existential crises that come to the floor,” explains Barron. “and even individuals who have by no means handled nervousness or despair can expertise one or each. Wendy was in a position to say, ‘OK, that is occurring to me. Now what’s going to assist me navigate by it?’”
Even earlier than her prognosis, Robbins had been present process a transformative interval. Wanting to assist others with extreme nervousness carve out productive, fulfilling lives, she authored a e-book on the topic in 2021. Then, after her remedy, she stopped training regulation to develop into a wellness coach, public speaker, and launch a worldwide digital wellness neighborhood the place skilled ladies have a secure area to get the psychological well being and well-being assist they want, in addition to assist one another. She calls it the profession she was all the time meant to have.
“Most cancers was not a prognosis, however an accelerator,” says Robbins, at present cancer-free and in a surveillance interval of normal scans and check-ups. “It gave me permission to pause, reprioritize, and pivot towards my ardour — empowering others who’re struggling to seek out peace and rediscover their energy and genuine voice.”