National Cancer Survivor’s Day

The search for a new primary care physician led Valerie Fine of Hattiesburg on a journey she never planned on taking. But the Lord had other plans, and she’s now immersed in a cause that’s become near and dear to her heart. As National Cancer Survivors Day is celebrated on June 1, Valerie shares her story.

In 2022, Valerie and husband, Ted, were living in Houma, La., where he served as senior pastor at First United Methodist Church, Houma. A pastor’s wife and a CPA, Valerie had found her niche using her accounting talents as she worked with smaller churches in the area.

A routine visit with a new primary care physician in Baton Rouge, La., led to blood work, which turned into a visit with a gastroenterologist, more blood work, and eventually, an ultrasound, which showed a 7.5cm x 3.5cm mass in her gallbladder. Surgery resulted in the removal of her gallbladder, part of her liver, and some of her lymph nodes.
Originally diagnosed with Stage 3B gallbladder cancer, Valerie underwent normal treatment after surgery – oral chemo for six months with scans every three, which went well.
Ted interjects a story that might have made a big difference in Valerie’s entire journey.

In the year prior to Valerie’s original diagnosis, she was admitted to the hospital with severe abdominal pains. At that time, they saw her gallbladder had stuff in it, sludge or something. Simultaneously, Valerie had developed a rash determined to be shingles, which they attributed her pain to, steering them away from the gallbladder. “Had they gotten the gallbladder at that point and taken it out, she might not be here with this today,” Ted said.

The couple moved to Hattiesburg during the summer where Ted became senior pastor at Oak Grove Church. Valerie, cancer free, was feeling fine. “Gallbladder cancer is very aggressive, which is why they do scans so often,” she explained. In September 2023, a scan discovered a reoccurrence of cancer.

Although they were living in the Hub City, Valerie returned to Baton Route for surgery to remove the lymph nodes on both sides in her aortic area; however, during surgery, her physician encountered a tumor wrapped around Valerie’s portal vein, which could not be operated on. The portal vein, located in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, is a blood vessel that carries blood from the gastrointestinal tract, gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen to the liver.

Valerie started seeing Dr. Laurie Douglas at Forrest General’s Cancer Center, who she described as “fabulous, absolutely wonderful, and supportive” of treatment Valerie was getting elsewhere. However, those out-of-state trips became too difficult and Valerie was not getting anything there she was not already getting at Forrest General’s Cancer Center.

Experiencing severe pain from the portal vein pressing on nerves, Dr. Douglas reached out to Dr. Joseph Salloum, a radiation oncologist at the Cancer Center, about treatment options. Under his care, Valerie had 36 radiation treatments. “I didn’t do so well, but it worked,” she said. “Dr. Douglas told me I would probably be on chemo the rest of my life; however, after that radiation treatment, which finished on October 15, I had six months of nothing. I started feeling better.”

Valerie was having frequent scans, and everything was going well, until it wasn’t. A new spot was discovered on her spine, which meant another round of radiation, which she finished just a few weeks ago on May 9. “It has worked,” Valerie said, “but she is also back on chemo – two on, one off, two on, one off – and will continue to do more scans.”

But Valerie’s story doesn’t end there.

Valerie’s dad, who lived in Dallas, Texas, suffered from Parkinson’s disease. There, she had found a support group for him where he got to be with people like him. Her dad got to have therapy, exercise with others, eat lunch and socialize together, while her mom met upstairs with other caregivers, social workers, and the like to get the support they needed.

Valerie noted her parents were not ones to seek help, but the support group was life changing for them. If it worked for them, she felt a support group could work for those in the Hattiesburg area with cancer. She started searching, but found nothing.

She met with Forrest General Cancer Center Director Shannon Vega, Manage Kecia Jones-Harris, and Patient Navigator, Robin Reeves, where she learned the COVID pandemic had shut down a previous cancer survivor support group.

Valerie was familiar with Cancer Companions, a nationwide non-profit, whose purpose, “We believe every cancer patient deserves a holistic experience, including a tangible way to engage the hope of Christ in the darkness of their cancer journey.”

She knew about the group through a former pastor she worked for, who suffered from tongue cancer. A friend’s church was also working through the Cancer Companions program. Valerie felt like all these things were signs from God, and committed to the program as a support group for local cancer patients.

Since 2011, the nationwide group has grown to 71 active churches in 24 states with more than 400 volunteers, making Cancer Companions the premiere national Christian Cancer Ministry. Valerie and Ted are excited to have the local group included among those numbers. And the FGH Cancer Center was happy to lend their support to the group, which held its first meeting in January of this year with cancer patients/caregivers at Oak Grove Church to get a feel for how it would work before opening to the public in February. The group meets the second and fourth Friday of every month at 10:30 a.m. at the church located at 4915 Old Hwy. 11, Oak Grove.

“We are slowly growing,” Valerie said. “This has just been a Godsend for everyone.”

The support group is for any type of cancer survivor or those who continue to go through treatment and their caregivers. “We hear from people who say, ‘I’m healthy, I don’t need to come,” but we really want to hear from them, also, because they are an inspiration to all of us going through this.”

Valerie said support group members, which currently number around 15, suffer from all types of cancer, but they don’t have a breast cancer patient, which is odd, since that is one of the more common types of cancer seen today.”

Most of those who attend are older members, who don’t work anymore or are retired, according to Valerie. Most are couples, but there are some individuals. Many, when first going through treatment and taking oral chemo, are still able to work, so meetings during work hours aren’t conducive for them to attend. She does foresee a point where they will probably be adding an evening group for those who may be younger and work.

Valerie had hoped to retire on her own terms, but cancer had other plans. On disability, she can’t work anymore. She’s currently a Stage 4 cancer patient, but she’s outlived her prognosis, by almost a year at this point.

“I think this support group is something people need very badly,” Valerie said. “I want to keep one here, as well as a second one here, when we get to that point. And I’m open if anyone would like to facilitate. I don’t have any counseling or social work experience, but Ted has counseling in his past because of being a pastor.

“This is all truly God, every bit of it. God has given me a voice. I feel like this is my purpose. I really do.”

For more information about the Cancer Companions Support Group meetings, email Valerie at Valerie@ogchurch.life or call 225-610-7780.