Will Stone's Story
Worst phone call of my life. “Good morning Mr. Stone, I have the results of your test. You tested positive for malignant melanoma. We have taken the liberty to make an appointment with the Hershey Cancer Center for next Tuesday. If you prefer to see someone else, please let me know.”
Oh my, let me tell you that my mind raced. Of course there was some kind of mistake. The fact that my mother, my aunt, and all of my grandparents died of various forms of cancer should be forgotten. I am in good shape! Never smoked cigarettes. By God, I have grandkids I want to see grow up. Why me?
Then I got another call from the Hershey Cancer Center, confirming my appointment and asking if I needed any assistance. Wills, estate planning, counseling, what can we help you with? Hmm…this is different. Oncologists that I have known had their personalities removed surgically somewhere along the line.
Very long weekend. Who do you burden with this one tidbit of information? No one can do anything for me. No words are going to change what is growing in my body.
Hershey Cancer Center is only about 45 minutes from our home. I had driven it several times, taking a neighbor who was undergoing treatment a few years ago. I said all of the right things to him. I was cheerful, supportive, well meaning. He died. It struck me how different it was to be going there to face my sentence. Why me?
The facility is pretty as hospitals go. We were greeted by friendly valet parking attendants, directed by cheerful friendly volunteers to the right spot. Laughed with the clerks who checked us in. Promptly seen by a friendly, professional surgeon. Dr. Pameijer laid out the situation, explained the options, answered our hundreds of questions and she asked me if I trusted her? She offered to put me on her schedule for surgery. We agreed to proceed.
She gave me her card, I was given the card of her nurse, I was given the card for my cancer coach, I was given the card of every conceivable, possible contact I might need at the center.
We returned home and we received more phone calls. Just checking in, how are things going? Can we refer you to any of the resources at the center? Is there anything we can do? The one thing I most wanted done was to make the whole mess go away.
The surgeon had explained that it appeared to be early, that it was in a lucky position and she was pretty confident that things would go well. Easy for her to say! Why me?
The surgery went well. It hurt! Worst pain in my life. The wounds were covered in bandages, could not see what it looked like, but sure could feel it. We were instructed to change the dressing in 48 hours. Cricket had the pleasant task of stripping off the dressing and ripping off the blood encrusted bandages to reveal a hockey puck size of a hole that had raw hamburger at the bottom. Neither one of us passed out or tossed cookies, but it was close.
Then the call came. Stunning news!
Very confident we got it all, chances of reappearance in the single digits. You are good to go! Why me?
I am pretty confident that it is not about me, I am very confident it is about we. From the team at the Hershey Cancer Center to you, it is about we. What can we do to help understand and eliminate this miserable disease.
I am asking you to help me say thank you to the Hershey Cancer Center through a donation. The opportunity, the challenge is to help the Hershey Cancer Center continue to help those who have been less fortunate than us.
Cricket Hile's Story
2016 - Worthy of a Novel
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Although "A Tale of Two Cities" was always one of my favorite books, it is not one that I would have chosen to live through.
As many of you know, my husband Will Stone, broke his collar bone and multiple ribs in July 2015. He healed quite well and we went to Croatia in September to do a cycling trip. So as we rang out 2015 and rang in 2016, I thought that we were also ringing out the worst of times and bringing in the best of times. We had a surprise coming.
In February, I noticed a spot on Will's arm. Like most men, he told me it was nothing and that it would go away. Several days later I looked at it again and noticed that it was not going away. Like most wives, I nagged! He finally agreed that maybe five years might be a little long between dermatology appointments. He called and was fortunate to be able to see a doctor within a week. The doctor removed two spots to be sent off to have biopsies done. We both went about our business fully expecting a phone call telling us that all was well. When Will received the phone of "Mr. Stone, the one spot was only a basal carcinoma and will be fine. However, the spot on your arm is definitely melanoma cancer. We have taken the liberty of contacting Hershey Cancer Center to make an appointment with a surgeon. Is that ok with you?" Ok? There was nothing that was ok at that moment. Will had just found out that he had cancer, and I had just found out that my husband could very well die leaving me to be a widow. We had just been talking about all the things we wanted to do when I retire. This was definitely the "worst of times".
An appointment was secured with Dr. Pameijer at the Hershey Cancer Center. As frightened as we were, I cannot say enough kind words about Dr. Pameijer. She answered all of our questions, never forgetting that my life too was being affected by this disease. At the end of this appointment she asked if we were comfortable having her as Will's surgeon or if he would prefer to have a second opinion. We both agreed that she was the surgeon. From that time on Will had constant communication with various people from Hershey. They offered him everything from counseling, group therapy to legal advice on setting up a will. We did not need their assistance but there was never more than two days that would pass when Will would tell me that his cancer counselor had called to see how he was doing.
On the day of Will's surgery, the hostess was very kind in making sure that I knew where the various sitting rooms were, where coffee and/or food were located and where the chapel was. It was a long surgery and I visited all of the above. After the surgery Dr. Pameijer came to find me in the waiting room. I had a beeper in case I had gone out but I was there. She explained what she had done and then said "Now we wait and see what comes back from the lab." We were still in the "worst of times".
Surgery was on a Tuesday and Friday morning Will received the best phone call of his life. The lymph nodes were clean and he was cancer free. With one phone call we had moved into the "best of times".
You may ask why I am telling you all of this. Will and I have been so impressed by the way the Hershey Cancer Center handled everything from the first visit with the surgeon to our follow up visits, that we would like your help in assisting them to continue their never ending work. We did not need all of their services but there are patients who do. Will was lucky to have been diagnosed at an early stage, but there are many patients who are not. Melanoma, when caught early, can be treated. But as many of you know melanoma is also the leading cancer death in the country. Hershey is trying to change that statistic. They are researching new ways of treating melanoma that has progressed beyond stages one and two. But they need your help.
The Chocolate Tour is an annual event that is held to raise money. It consists of both running and cycling with each event having a variety of distances.
Help us help Hershey to conquer melanoma.
Sincerely,
Cricket Hile
Worst phone call of my life. “Good morning Mr. Stone, I have the results of your test. You tested positive for malignant melanoma. We have taken the liberty to make an appointment with the Hershey Cancer Center for next Tuesday. If you prefer to see someone else, please let me know.”
Oh my, let me tell you that my mind raced. Of course there was some kind of mistake. The fact that my mother, my aunt, and all of my grandparents died of various forms of cancer should be forgotten. I am in good shape! Never smoked cigarettes. By God, I have grandkids I want to see grow up. Why me?
Then I got another call from the Hershey Cancer Center, confirming my appointment and asking if I needed any assistance. Wills, estate planning, counseling, what can we help you with? Hmm…this is different. Oncologists that I have known had their personalities removed surgically somewhere along the line.
Very long weekend. Who do you burden with this one tidbit of information? No one can do anything for me. No words are going to change what is growing in my body.
Hershey Cancer Center is only about 45 minutes from our home. I had driven it several times, taking a neighbor who was undergoing treatment a few years ago. I said all of the right things to him. I was cheerful, supportive, well meaning. He died. It struck me how different it was to be going there to face my sentence. Why me?
The facility is pretty as hospitals go. We were greeted by friendly valet parking attendants, directed by cheerful friendly volunteers to the right spot. Laughed with the clerks who checked us in. Promptly seen by a friendly, professional surgeon. Dr. Pameijer laid out the situation, explained the options, answered our hundreds of questions and she asked me if I trusted her? She offered to put me on her schedule for surgery. We agreed to proceed.
She gave me her card, I was given the card of her nurse, I was given the card for my cancer coach, I was given the card of every conceivable, possible contact I might need at the center.
We returned home and we received more phone calls. Just checking in, how are things going? Can we refer you to any of the resources at the center? Is there anything we can do? The one thing I most wanted done was to make the whole mess go away.
The surgeon had explained that it appeared to be early, that it was in a lucky position and she was pretty confident that things would go well. Easy for her to say! Why me?
The surgery went well. It hurt! Worst pain in my life. The wounds were covered in bandages, could not see what it looked like, but sure could feel it. We were instructed to change the dressing in 48 hours. Cricket had the pleasant task of stripping off the dressing and ripping off the blood encrusted bandages to reveal a hockey puck size of a hole that had raw hamburger at the bottom. Neither one of us passed out or tossed cookies, but it was close.
Then the call came. Stunning news!
Very confident we got it all, chances of reappearance in the single digits. You are good to go! Why me?
I am pretty confident that it is not about me, I am very confident it is about we. From the team at the Hershey Cancer Center to you, it is about we. What can we do to help understand and eliminate this miserable disease.
I am asking you to help me say thank you to the Hershey Cancer Center through a donation. The opportunity, the challenge is to help the Hershey Cancer Center continue to help those who have been less fortunate than us.
Cricket Hile's Story
2016 - Worthy of a Novel
"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Although "A Tale of Two Cities" was always one of my favorite books, it is not one that I would have chosen to live through.
As many of you know, my husband Will Stone, broke his collar bone and multiple ribs in July 2015. He healed quite well and we went to Croatia in September to do a cycling trip. So as we rang out 2015 and rang in 2016, I thought that we were also ringing out the worst of times and bringing in the best of times. We had a surprise coming.
In February, I noticed a spot on Will's arm. Like most men, he told me it was nothing and that it would go away. Several days later I looked at it again and noticed that it was not going away. Like most wives, I nagged! He finally agreed that maybe five years might be a little long between dermatology appointments. He called and was fortunate to be able to see a doctor within a week. The doctor removed two spots to be sent off to have biopsies done. We both went about our business fully expecting a phone call telling us that all was well. When Will received the phone of "Mr. Stone, the one spot was only a basal carcinoma and will be fine. However, the spot on your arm is definitely melanoma cancer. We have taken the liberty of contacting Hershey Cancer Center to make an appointment with a surgeon. Is that ok with you?" Ok? There was nothing that was ok at that moment. Will had just found out that he had cancer, and I had just found out that my husband could very well die leaving me to be a widow. We had just been talking about all the things we wanted to do when I retire. This was definitely the "worst of times".
An appointment was secured with Dr. Pameijer at the Hershey Cancer Center. As frightened as we were, I cannot say enough kind words about Dr. Pameijer. She answered all of our questions, never forgetting that my life too was being affected by this disease. At the end of this appointment she asked if we were comfortable having her as Will's surgeon or if he would prefer to have a second opinion. We both agreed that she was the surgeon. From that time on Will had constant communication with various people from Hershey. They offered him everything from counseling, group therapy to legal advice on setting up a will. We did not need their assistance but there was never more than two days that would pass when Will would tell me that his cancer counselor had called to see how he was doing.
On the day of Will's surgery, the hostess was very kind in making sure that I knew where the various sitting rooms were, where coffee and/or food were located and where the chapel was. It was a long surgery and I visited all of the above. After the surgery Dr. Pameijer came to find me in the waiting room. I had a beeper in case I had gone out but I was there. She explained what she had done and then said "Now we wait and see what comes back from the lab." We were still in the "worst of times".
Surgery was on a Tuesday and Friday morning Will received the best phone call of his life. The lymph nodes were clean and he was cancer free. With one phone call we had moved into the "best of times".
You may ask why I am telling you all of this. Will and I have been so impressed by the way the Hershey Cancer Center handled everything from the first visit with the surgeon to our follow up visits, that we would like your help in assisting them to continue their never ending work. We did not need all of their services but there are patients who do. Will was lucky to have been diagnosed at an early stage, but there are many patients who are not. Melanoma, when caught early, can be treated. But as many of you know melanoma is also the leading cancer death in the country. Hershey is trying to change that statistic. They are researching new ways of treating melanoma that has progressed beyond stages one and two. But they need your help.
The Chocolate Tour is an annual event that is held to raise money. It consists of both running and cycling with each event having a variety of distances.
Help us help Hershey to conquer melanoma.
Sincerely,
Cricket Hile
Meet our Cancer Warriors
Michael Balliet
Ethan Blackbird
Cindy Briner
Joan Chestnut
Daniel E. Combs
Glenn Curtis
Kathy Mitchell
Mark Mooney
Gloria Myers
Alicia Bracale Nyer
Kent Peachey
Mary Smith
Michael Balliet
Ethan Blackbird
Cindy Briner
Joan Chestnut
Daniel E. Combs
Glenn Curtis
Kathy Mitchell
Mark Mooney
Gloria Myers
Alicia Bracale Nyer
Kent Peachey
Mary Smith
For more information on how to be a cancer warrior or submit a story
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