“When I was young, I thought I might die of breast cancer early, like my mother, but when that age passed, I thought I was in the clear,” she said. “So, when the radiologist said it was likely I had cancer and took a biopsy then and there, I was shocked.”
Gayle was treated with chemotherapy and radiation for cancer in her left breast. The radiation damaged her chest wall causing chronic pain. And she was diagnosed with a second primary, liver cancer, while undergoing chemotherapy for her breast cancer.
“Because I had risk factors, I had regular liver cancer screenings,” she said. “During the breast cancer episode, I missed one screening, so it had been a year since my last one. That is when they found the lesion right next to a blood vessel.”
Because of the location of the tumor, her physicians suggested radioactive seeds as the best treatment option. They had to make sure that the cancer did not spread into the blood. However, Gayle had an extremely adverse reaction to the seeds. She ended up with a month-long hospital stay and was on a ventilator for radiation-induced pneumonia.
Despite this, she said the seeds saved her life.
Gayle returned to work, she said, “to keep myself from going crazy.”
That workplace turned out to be Fred Hutch - Proton Therapy, where she managed the nursing team and helped get the facility certified with the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Gayle said she was especially proud to be part of a facility that offered such an important treatment for childhood cancer patients.
“Seeing the children there really touched me,” she said. “Chances are you are going to get cancer as you age, but it’s hard to see young kids go through it. I’m so glad we could make a difference.”
Because of her liver cancer, she was screened every three months, which detected more tumors over the years, always outside the last treatment field. Between 2012 and 2022, she underwent conventional radiation several times.
“I wondered if I should be getting protons, since I worked there and knew it to be a wonderful treatment tool,” she said. “But I trusted my radiation oncologist, Dr. Smith Apisarnthanarax, to recommend the best option for me. In fact, I can’t say enough good things about Dr. A. It’s not easy treating a nurse — they always think they know everything! Dr. A has been so accepting and keeps me closely involved in my care.”
In the spring of 2023, Gayle developed a larger tumor. This time, Apisarnthanarax recommended proton therapy.
“Given that this was her third course of radiation, and multiple other liver-directed therapies had been done, treating a large area of clustered lesions would typically be more difficult,” said Apisarnthanarax. “Proton therapy allowed us to better spare Gayle’s healthy liver and better protect her kidney, which was just behind the treatment area.”
She started in June.
“When you get radiation treatment, it can make you very tired, but for me, it wasn’t as pronounced with proton therapy,” Gayle said. “I didn’t have any adverse side effects and it didn’t take over my life like the breast cancer and first liver cancer treatments had. It was a little awkward because I’d worked there and now, I was getting treatment and wearing a gown. But the staff were fantastic and so good to me. I was so impressed with the great job everyone did — the doctors, nurses and technicians. They made me feel so comfortable.”
When she was first diagnosed with liver cancer, Gayle was told she had about four or five years to live. But she decided to live one day at a time.
And now – nearly 15 years later – she said she’s glad she did. Otherwise, she would have “wasted much of life worrying.”
Her advice to other patients is to do the same.
“Cancer can be overwhelming at first,” she said. “Make only decisions that have to be made right now and focus on today instead of too far ahead — because things can change. It will keep you from worrying constantly. And don’t search the internet until you have concrete information!”
Now in remission, Gayle is back to doing the things she loves: gardening (especially propagating hydrangeas and growing veggies), quilting, reading and listening to music. This year, she said she produced “the best green beans I’ve ever eaten," and her tropical hibiscus and pineapple plant are extra showy.
She’s planning to travel to Hawaii in November where she can experience even more of her favorite flowers.
“I’m a survivor and I’m glad I chose to focus on living because every day is a gift,” she said. “At my last follow-up appointment with Dr. A, he told me he expects to be able to discharge me from this service in the next four years! That was so good to hear.”
