a local paper interviewed me and this is what they wrote:
Battling cancer on her terms
Cindy Hilsabeck is the 2011 Kossuth County Relay for Life Honorary Chairperson.
By Mindy Baker, Editor
Published: Thursday, April 7, 2011 10:50 AM CDT
Esophageal cancer is uncommon. Less than two out of every 100,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed each year — the rates for men only slightly higher.
It’s also difficult to defeat — with a five-year-survival rate of 37.4 percent.
Cindy Hilsabeck has every intention of beating the odds and “kicking cancer’s ass.”
The tiny fireball graduated from Bancroft High School in 1980, graduated from Briar Cliff University with a degree in early childhood development, and has been married to her ‘rock’ — Kevin — for 26 years. The couple has three children: Kalen, Dustin and Jacob.
//
Since her teen years, she’s dealt with acid reflux disease.
“I have always used Tums or other over-the-counter medication,” said Cindy.
In 2007 she went on a prescription reflux medication.
Two years later, in August of 2009, everything changed as she tried to swallow her morning vitamins.
“They got stuck. I could breath, but I couldn’t swallow them,” said Cindy.
Kevin did the Heimlich maneuver, and she was able to cough up the pills. She didn’t see the doctor that day, but had her regular yearly exam already scheduled and mentioned the episode to her doctor at that time.
“I can’t say enough about the staff at Kossuth Regional Health Center,” said Cindy. “Those guys, they saved my life.”
“I have the worst news”
Dr. Harry Condoleon did a scope of her throat. Seven days later she waited in his office waiting for results. She wanted to see her chart, but the nurse wouldn’t let her have it, stating she had to wait for Condoleon.
“I knew then it was bad news,” said Cindy. “He came in and said ‘I have the worst news I can possibly give you. You have cancer.’”
Cancer underestimated Cindy.
“I knew it wasn’t my time,” she said. “I asked him what I needed to do and two days later I was at Mayo.”
Every test was redone and Condoleon’s diagnosis stood. The decision was to treat the cancer aggressively with surgery, an esophagectomy, and a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
By mid-September, she was doing six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation.
The chemotherapy was a 96-hour treatment, where she was hooked up to a fanny pack holding the medication on Wednesday at noon in Mason City and unhooked from it on Sunday at noon at Kossuth Regional Health Center.
“I did radiation every day. I never missed a day,” said Cindy. “They guaranteed I would need a feeding tube. I said no.”
It was tough. She lost 12 lbs. in those six weeks. She returned to work at the preschool, colorful scarves covering her bald head.
On Dec. 16, 2009, she returned to Mayo, thinking the appointment was just to set up the esophagectomy. She had a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, and the doctors at Mayo couldn’t find any traces of cancer.
“They told me the surgery was scheduled for 7 a.m. the next day,” said Cindy, laughing. “We didn’t have a change of clothes, we didn’t have toothbrushes.”
But they stayed and she had the four-hour surgery on Dec. 17.
The next day she turned 48.
“I woke up and my birthday present was no cancer. It had not spread anywhere else,” explained Cindy.
An esophagectomy is surgery to remove all or part of the esophagus, the tube that moves food from the throat to the stomach. After it is removed, the esophagus is rebuilt from part of the stomach or large intestine.
Cindy had her entire esophagus removed, one-third of her stomach and a dozen lymph nodes.
One of the complications in moving organs is that scar tissue or veins can wrap around the moved organ.
“I was doing great, up and moving around,” said Cindy. “But on the fourth night I began shivering and was really cold.”
She ended up coding — her heart stopped. A main vein had wrapped around her new stomach. A second surgery fixed the problem and for six weeks she was not allowed to swallow anything – including water.
Then she lost 55 lbs.
“I went from a size 12 to a size 0,” said Cindy. “I had always wanted to lose some weight, but never like this.”
Relationships are torn apart or made stronger in times of trial, and Cindy speaks about Keith in glowing terms.
“He was my husband. He was my nurse. He took care of my feeding tube, the incision, gave me baths, and still went to work,” said Cindy. “He’s my hero.”
But Keith points out what a fighter Cindy is.
“She’s the hero.”
The estimated recovery time for esophagectomy surgery is six months to a year. Cindy left the hospital on Jan. 3, 2010, and was back to work with her preschoolers on March 1. The Christmas that had been postponed due to her surgery complications was held in March — the Christmas decorations still up.
“I still have some numbness, and I can’t eat much, especially sugar,” said Cindy.
On the one year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer, Cindy pulled out the cards and small gifts that she received during her treatment.
“People I don’t even know sent me cards, encouraging me. It meant — it means — so much to me,” said Cindy.
Relay for Life
Cindy agreed to be the 2011 Kossuth County Relay for Life Honorary Chairperson for several reasons.
“I’ve had online friends die. My mother-in-law died from cancer, my aunt, Denise Wilhelmi, went through treatment the same time I did and she passed last year,” said Cindy.
The first is to raise awareness of esophageal cancer.
“It can be caused by heartburn,” said Cindy. “I’m part of a study now to see if it is also genetic, but I want people to know how serious heartburn is. So many cancers can be caught and cured if they are caught soon enough.”
The second is her faith.
“The day Dr. Condoleon diagnosed me with cancer is the day my life changed and I had a new normal,” said Cindy. “I never lost my faith that God would give me the strength to get through this with my family.”
The third is her desire to help others.
She monitors an on-line support group for esophageal cancer patients, encouraging and uplifting people when she can.
Kossuth County Relay for Life — the official sponsor of birthdays — will be held Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lawn. Children’s games will start at noon, the annual pork patty supper at 5:30 p.m., and the Celebration Ceremony will kick off at 7 p.m., concluding with the luminary presentation at 9:30 p.m.
“I’ve always been a part of Relay for Life, but last year, when I saw my name on the luminaries, I realized — Woo, this really is real. I really am a survivor,” said Cindy. “There is a reason for everything. I had to go through this — not for me — but for someone else.”
Kossuth County Relay for Life raises funds for the American Cancer Society
Battling cancer on her terms
Cindy Hilsabeck is the 2011 Kossuth County Relay for Life Honorary Chairperson.
By Mindy Baker, Editor
Published: Thursday, April 7, 2011 10:50 AM CDT
Esophageal cancer is uncommon. Less than two out of every 100,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed each year — the rates for men only slightly higher.
It’s also difficult to defeat — with a five-year-survival rate of 37.4 percent.
Cindy Hilsabeck has every intention of beating the odds and “kicking cancer’s ass.”
The tiny fireball graduated from Bancroft High School in 1980, graduated from Briar Cliff University with a degree in early childhood development, and has been married to her ‘rock’ — Kevin — for 26 years. The couple has three children: Kalen, Dustin and Jacob.
//
Since her teen years, she’s dealt with acid reflux disease.
“I have always used Tums or other over-the-counter medication,” said Cindy.
In 2007 she went on a prescription reflux medication.
Two years later, in August of 2009, everything changed as she tried to swallow her morning vitamins.
“They got stuck. I could breath, but I couldn’t swallow them,” said Cindy.
Kevin did the Heimlich maneuver, and she was able to cough up the pills. She didn’t see the doctor that day, but had her regular yearly exam already scheduled and mentioned the episode to her doctor at that time.
“I can’t say enough about the staff at Kossuth Regional Health Center,” said Cindy. “Those guys, they saved my life.”
“I have the worst news”
Dr. Harry Condoleon did a scope of her throat. Seven days later she waited in his office waiting for results. She wanted to see her chart, but the nurse wouldn’t let her have it, stating she had to wait for Condoleon.
“I knew then it was bad news,” said Cindy. “He came in and said ‘I have the worst news I can possibly give you. You have cancer.’”
Cancer underestimated Cindy.
“I knew it wasn’t my time,” she said. “I asked him what I needed to do and two days later I was at Mayo.”
Every test was redone and Condoleon’s diagnosis stood. The decision was to treat the cancer aggressively with surgery, an esophagectomy, and a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.
By mid-September, she was doing six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation.
The chemotherapy was a 96-hour treatment, where she was hooked up to a fanny pack holding the medication on Wednesday at noon in Mason City and unhooked from it on Sunday at noon at Kossuth Regional Health Center.
“I did radiation every day. I never missed a day,” said Cindy. “They guaranteed I would need a feeding tube. I said no.”
It was tough. She lost 12 lbs. in those six weeks. She returned to work at the preschool, colorful scarves covering her bald head.
On Dec. 16, 2009, she returned to Mayo, thinking the appointment was just to set up the esophagectomy. She had a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, and the doctors at Mayo couldn’t find any traces of cancer.
“They told me the surgery was scheduled for 7 a.m. the next day,” said Cindy, laughing. “We didn’t have a change of clothes, we didn’t have toothbrushes.”
But they stayed and she had the four-hour surgery on Dec. 17.
The next day she turned 48.
“I woke up and my birthday present was no cancer. It had not spread anywhere else,” explained Cindy.
An esophagectomy is surgery to remove all or part of the esophagus, the tube that moves food from the throat to the stomach. After it is removed, the esophagus is rebuilt from part of the stomach or large intestine.
Cindy had her entire esophagus removed, one-third of her stomach and a dozen lymph nodes.
One of the complications in moving organs is that scar tissue or veins can wrap around the moved organ.
“I was doing great, up and moving around,” said Cindy. “But on the fourth night I began shivering and was really cold.”
She ended up coding — her heart stopped. A main vein had wrapped around her new stomach. A second surgery fixed the problem and for six weeks she was not allowed to swallow anything – including water.
Then she lost 55 lbs.
“I went from a size 12 to a size 0,” said Cindy. “I had always wanted to lose some weight, but never like this.”
Relationships are torn apart or made stronger in times of trial, and Cindy speaks about Keith in glowing terms.
“He was my husband. He was my nurse. He took care of my feeding tube, the incision, gave me baths, and still went to work,” said Cindy. “He’s my hero.”
But Keith points out what a fighter Cindy is.
“She’s the hero.”
The estimated recovery time for esophagectomy surgery is six months to a year. Cindy left the hospital on Jan. 3, 2010, and was back to work with her preschoolers on March 1. The Christmas that had been postponed due to her surgery complications was held in March — the Christmas decorations still up.
“I still have some numbness, and I can’t eat much, especially sugar,” said Cindy.
On the one year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer, Cindy pulled out the cards and small gifts that she received during her treatment.
“People I don’t even know sent me cards, encouraging me. It meant — it means — so much to me,” said Cindy.
Relay for Life
Cindy agreed to be the 2011 Kossuth County Relay for Life Honorary Chairperson for several reasons.
“I’ve had online friends die. My mother-in-law died from cancer, my aunt, Denise Wilhelmi, went through treatment the same time I did and she passed last year,” said Cindy.
The first is to raise awareness of esophageal cancer.
“It can be caused by heartburn,” said Cindy. “I’m part of a study now to see if it is also genetic, but I want people to know how serious heartburn is. So many cancers can be caught and cured if they are caught soon enough.”
The second is her faith.
“The day Dr. Condoleon diagnosed me with cancer is the day my life changed and I had a new normal,” said Cindy. “I never lost my faith that God would give me the strength to get through this with my family.”
The third is her desire to help others.
She monitors an on-line support group for esophageal cancer patients, encouraging and uplifting people when she can.
Kossuth County Relay for Life — the official sponsor of birthdays — will be held Saturday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Lawn. Children’s games will start at noon, the annual pork patty supper at 5:30 p.m., and the Celebration Ceremony will kick off at 7 p.m., concluding with the luminary presentation at 9:30 p.m.
“I’ve always been a part of Relay for Life, but last year, when I saw my name on the luminaries, I realized — Woo, this really is real. I really am a survivor,” said Cindy. “There is a reason for everything. I had to go through this — not for me — but for someone else.”
Kossuth County Relay for Life raises funds for the American Cancer Society
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