Fighting back, with help
Cancer doesn't pick favorites. The dreaded disease doesn't care if we are young or old, heavy or thin, black or white, or male or female. Everyone seems to know someone who has been afflicted with some type of cancer and we do what we can to comfort or assist them.
Chris Hansen has now been on both sides of the fence. But the personable 48-year-old from Taunton never thought it would happen to her. Hansen, a former employee at the Mascot, left her position as office manager there to become the bookkeeper and website manager at FCA in April.
But after only being at new job for five months, the mother of four was diagnosed with breast cancer. Hansen has three daughters; Larissa, 25; Lacey, 20, and Lauryn, 19; and a son Devyn, 13.
“My friend and neighbor, Wendy Vierstraete, had breast cancer a couple of years ago,” Hansen said. “I attended her benefit and helped her out with some financial things and household tasks. Never did I think I’d be going through the same thing.”
And now it’s Vierstraete who has been there to support Hansen in a time of need.
“Wendy has been wonderful in helping me with support and lots of information on what to expect and what to do or not to do.”
To help defray medical and travel expenses, a benefit coordinated by her good friend Nona Fay Gottskalkson will be held for Hansen from 5-9 p.m. March 3 at the American Legion in Minneota.
“She is such a great person,” said Gottskalkson about Hansen. “I know that if this happened to me, she would do this for me.”
“I've heard a lot of others say the same thing; that she would do it for them, too. She is always willing to help the community and church.”
The benefit will include a free-will donation meal from 5-7 p.m. consisting of a pulled park or BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans, chips, bars/cookies and water.
There will be a silent auction from 5-7:30 p.m. Nona Fay Gottskalkson and her daughter, Kassandra, will perform from 5-6 p.m. Karaoke and dancing music will be from 6-9 p.m. Although Hansen tries to maintain a positive outlook, there are times when the thought of having cancer gets a bit overwhelming.
“I’m trying to stay positive all the time,” she said.
“There’s always that hint of worry, though.”
“The hardest is when I am alone and just thinking ‘Why me?’ And just hoping that everything is going the way it’s supposed to. I’m always praying to God that the test results will be good so I can keep living to see my kids finish college and high school, get married and spoil my grandkids.”
In 2012, during her mammogram test, a radiologist noticed a spot and Hansen was asked to return for another mammogram and ultrasound. “At that point, they could hardly find it again and figured it was an overlapping fatty mass,” she explained. “So the years went on and I had a mammogram every year just like I’m supposed to.” During her mammogram on Aug. 9 of 2017, Hansen decided to check her records and noticed that every year there had been a notation about the fatty mass, but nothing was mentioned about it to her.
“I received a call to come back in so they could do a re-check,” she said. “I wasn’t worried and just figured it was that fatty mass again.” Just over a week later, Hansen returned for a follow-up mammogram and ultrasound test. The examiner sent the test results to a radiologist in the Twin Cities.
Not long after, Hansen got a phone call. “They said they wanted to talk to me,” she said. “I was shaking, but tried not to show any emotion.” “The (oncologist) told me that he was the one that found the mass in 2012 and he thought that mass had grown and that I needed to have a biopsy done.”
Hansen was informed that because the mass was growing, it was likely a cancerous mass. This type of cancer is slow in progressing. “I think I was more mad than anything,” she admitted.
“I couldn’t really answer anything and just kind of nodded, but didn’t really believe it.”
As with anyone diagnosed with cancer, Hansen’s life was about to change drastically as she focused on the battle ahead of her. Hansen and her mother, Eyvonne Hoese, drove to Willmar on Aug. 22 to have a biopsy to determine if the mass was cancerous.
“It took awhile to figure out exactly where the mass was,” she told. “I was rather scared and confused that with the world’s technology today, they can’t easily pinpoint where a mass is.”
“My breast cancer is lobular, meaning I didn’t have just a round tumor. Lobular is like a mass of spaghetti and a little harder to detect.”
Oncologists determined that the mass was about a stage-2 with the size of the tumor being 1.5 centimeters. “I’m thinking it wasn’t too big and that was good, but still feeling like the biopsies will come back non-cancerous,” Hansen said.
Even though the results would come in a few days, the wait felt like months. “Waiting is not fun,” Hansen admitted. “I just kept my mind on work, but still scared as to what the results may be.” On Aug. 25, an oncologist from Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar called Hansen.
“I checked the number when the phone rang and saw it was the hospital in Willmar,” Hansen recalls. “My heart started pounding. I sat at the table and answered the phone.” “She said the biopsy results were showing breast cancer. My heart dropped and I teared up and squeaked out answers to her questions.”
Three days later, Hansen’s mother, sister Lisa, and fiancé Lee Kilpatrick all went to meet with a breast cancer surgeon to get a better understanding of what the next step would be. “At this point, the mass is small and a lumpectomy should take care of it as long as there is nothing in the lymph nodes,” Hansen said.
“They felt they found it plenty early and it should be small.” Surgery was then slated for Sept. 7. Even though further MRI tests revealed the mass to be larger than initial tests, surgery went well.
“(The surgeon) did say that he ended up taking out a tennis ball-sized mass and he wanted to take larger margins to hopefully be sure to get it all,” Hansen explained.
“When we met with the breast surgeon again and received the results of testing on the mass and lymph nodes that were taken out, it was found that the ends of the mass and a small spot in the lymph node were still testing positive for cancer.”
Hansen then met with an oncologist in Sioux Falls and would receive 16 rounds of chemotherapy and possibly radiation.
During one of her chemotherapy days, Hansen’s gynecologist had biopsies taken on her uterus and a pap test on her cervix. Precancerous cells were found on her cervix, meaning she will need a total hysterectomy once her chemotherapy rounds are completed.
As with many people undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, side effects can be problematic both physically and emotionally. Because she has been afflicted with migraine headaches since she was 13, Hansen’s chemotherapy magnified these headaches.
Then on Day 14, Hansen’s hair began to fall out. “Losing my hair was pretty sad,” she said.
“After it started falling out, I was determined to cut it myself. I sat for hours trying, but couldn’t do it.”
“Finally, I took a deep breath and let Lee shave it.”
Hansen’s final infusion will be on Feb. 28. She will then get a much-needed break through most of the month of March to heal and rest. On March 29, she is scheduled for a double mastectomy and total hysterectomy in Marshall and will be off work for six weeks.
“Lee has been my dedicated driver to 90 percent of my appointments,” Hansen said.
“My mom has come with to about 80 percent of my appointments.”
“My sister Lisa lives in Sioux Falls and met us at the cancer center for every appointment. My daughters have all taken a turn or two coming with for support. My family has been absolutely wonderful.”
And Hansen has received an overwhelming amount of support. “The support of money, food, cards and many hugs and words of encouragement has been absolutely phenomenal,” she said. “It’s so great to be in small communities.
The positive encouragement from everyone has been very important in keeping my attitude positive and just spiritually sane to keep my head up and keep going.”
If anyone has an item to donate for the silent auction, contact Nona at 507-829-3379.
Anyone wishing to make a monetary donation can send it to: Chris Hansen Benefit, 209 South Jackson Street, Minneota, MN 56264.