Strength Out Of Adversity

After two bouts with cancer, Marcy Jones continues to have hope.

The mother of two was first diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2003 and soon after underwent surgery to remove the tumor.

“We thought it would be just a simple process and that I would be in and out,” Jones said.

During the surgery it was discovered that Jones’ cancer was much more involved and would require a second, more extensive operation followed by four rounds of chemotherapy.

“When I was first diagnosed I just said ‘God, if I can help one person get through what I’m going through, this will be worth it,’” said Jones, who credits her strong faith and the support of other cancer survivors, friends and family with her ability to overcome the disease.

“I always tried to have a very strong faith and I always tried to believe that God truly had a plan for my life,” Jones said.

Following the four chemotherapy rounds, Jones became gravely ill and underwent an emergency appendectomy. As she recovered from the various operations and treatments, everything appeared to be going well until Jones discovered a lump, which her doctors assumed was scar tissue from the first round of operations. In April 2005, the lump was removed and it was determined that it was in fact cancerous.

Jones underwent two more operations to remove additional cancerous tumors discovered after full body testing. In addition, the full body scans revealed possible ovarian cancer.

Jones was told that she would need to receive 37 radiation treatments in Scottsbluff, heal, then undergo another surgery to determine if she had ovarian cancer.

“To drive up there 37 times and to know that you just have to heal up to go back in to see if it was cancer again. It was pretty discouraging at times. I confronted fears that I didn’t know were within myself.”

Toward the end of the radiation treatments, Jones’ doctors suggested that she suspend the treatments and allow her body to heal.

“I said ‘No, we’re going to get this done,’ because I just thought that just gave it another chance to come back. I said ‘I’m going to make sure that we finish this.’ Somewhere deep inside I mustered up the courage and the strength and the faith to proceed and get that done,” Jones said. “You know that saying ‘What lies within us,’ you don’t know it until you’re confronted with these adversities.

“There are so many difficult, stressful situations. It’s very, very stressful and it’s very, very scary. Fears came up that I didn’t even know existed. I always hoped and prayed for the very best, but on some level I always tried to prepare myself for the worst.”

Jones said that during her battles with cancer, she drew strength and inspiration from other survivors.

“When you’re faced with death and your mortality you will not believe how much comfort reading other people’s stories of survival give to you. They bring you so much comfort.”

Jones added that in addition to reading survivors’ stories, she drew strength from the bonds she formed directly with other survivors.

“I also found out that when I was dealing with cancer that something that brought me a lot of comfort along with my strong faith was to visit with other cancer survivors or people going through cancer.”

Jones said that through her relationships with other survivors she learned the power of hope.

“That was when I learned that the most powerful word in our English language is hope. Nobody can ever take that away from you, hope. If one hope or dream eludes you, you can come up with another new hope and another new dream.

“This might sound silly, but you can be so hopeful for the people that come into your life, you can be so hopeful for the new treatments that are becoming available, the new cures, but even if those things don’t work I’ve found that you can hope. They can never take it away from you because you can even hope for a peaceful death.”

Jones said the comfort, strength and hope she received from other cancer survivors inspired her to serve in a similar capacity.

“One thing that I have learned through this whole process is that you need to mentor others.

“My heart goes out to each and every person who has been diagnosed with cancer or who knows someone who is facing cancer or has lost someone to this disease. It truly is devastating.”

Jones said from her struggles she has developed an added appreciation for life.

“I was very inspired by my experience with cancer. I just realized that after I had cancer every rainbow became more hopeful, every sunset became more beautiful, and every flower became more fragrant. One thing that I found out through this process is that cancer continues to keep me very humble. I take nothing for granted.”

Jones said all the struggles she has undergone have provided an opportunity for her to grow.

“As you’re losing your hair and you’re losing body parts left and right, at one point I remember looking at it as being pruned. Pruning positions us into new growth.”

This year marks the seventh year since Jones’ first cancer diagnosis. During this time she has remained active with her husband of 24 years, Mark, in the family’s organic farming operation south of Oshkosh where they have raised their two daughters.

“My other prayer to God was that I could see both of my daughters graduate from high school,” Jones said.

The couple’s oldest daughter, Bricelyn, 22, currently attends the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the youngest daughter, Aubriel, 17, attends Garden County High School.

– This is the third in a series of articles highlighting the struggles cancer victims and their families face. The Sidney Sun-Telegraph thanks Marcy Jones for her interview. We urge support for cancer research that will provide more people the chance to become cancer-free.