ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 24, 1997 TAG: 9704240026
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT
SOURCE: CODY LOWE THE ROANOKE TIMES
Pregnant and fighting cancer, Jane Stillson faces an uncertain future as she undergoes her final chemotherapy treatment, prepares to move home to Indiana and awaits the birth of her baby next month.
If you ran into Jane Stillson walking into Blue Ridge Medical Center here, you'd probably never guess she's sick.
Pregnant, yes. Sick, no.
She might be just another patient with a ``motherly glow'' on her cheeks on her way to see family doctor/obstetrician Tod Stillson for a prenatal checkup.
She's not just another patient, however; she is Tod's wife. And in addition to being pregnant, she's in a fight for survival with a particularly virulent type of breast cancer.
``People say, `Jane looks great! I can't believe she's as sick as they say she is,''' Tod said last week.
"What she's been through could not have gone any better than it has - other than to know she's cured right now."
Everywhere she goes, people ask how she's doing, Jane said. When she says things are going well, ``They say, `That's because all those people are praying for you.'''
That's a conclusion that will get no argument from either Jane or Tod.
Jane has ``not had a complication or a problem,'' Tod said. "We are thankful and grateful to the Lord for that."
Likewise, the signs are that ``the baby has done well. Again, that is evidence in our minds of God's care.''
Since their story was first described in The Roanoke Times on March 2, the couple, both 31, have been deluged with cards and letters, e-mail, and personal greetings. About 1,000 pieces of correspondence have arrived so far.
"I can't go a day without being encouraged in that regard," Jane said. "Whenever I get anxious about something, a call will come, or e-mail or I'll open the mail. That has been such an encouragement."
Although the mailbox initially was stuffed with good wishes, "We thought the cards would stop coming" within a few days after the article appeared, she said. But six weeks later they are still arriving, sometimes three at a time.
"It's very humbling."
Jane's breast cancer was diagnosed Jan. 7, when she was 15 weeks pregnant. Doctors found a particularly aggressive type of cancer that fewer than 20 percent of women survive.
Though Jane was advised to have an abortion and immediately begin preparations for a bone-marrow transplant, she and Tod decided against that.
Their religious convictions against abortion were so strong that they didn't even consider that option.
Instead, they chose to try to "thread the needle" - beginning a course of chemotherapy that they hope will be effective in fighting the cancer, but not harm the developing fetus.
The last of those treatments will be administered today.
The couple decided early on to have Jane's cancer treatments at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, where Tod was trained and which is close to both of their families.
In fact, they have decided to move back to Indiana permanently. Tod already has a new practice lined up in Plymouth, Ind., a town of about 10,000 only 15 minutes from Jane's parents and not much farther from his.
"We decided to follow the doors that were opened to us," Tod said. The new practice will be "with a family doctor friend of mine whom I went to church with while I was in med school in Indianapolis."
"It was as though a red carpet was rolled out, an affirmation of God's plan or will for us to go home."
Although a "lot of prayer" was involved in the decision, Jane said, "it's very hard to leave the friends we have here. We've been [in Western Virginia] six years, the longest time we have lived anywhere since we married. It makes it difficult."
Yet, the rigors of the delivery and the bone-marrow treatments, and the relatively poor prospects for her health - combined with what they see as God's leading - caused the couple to believe it was best to move back near family.
They've already started saying their goodbyes here, and are scheduled to leave May 19.
May 20 will mark the 34th week of Jane's pregnancy, a point at which they feel it will be relatively safe to induce delivery.
At the time of the birth, doctors will save the blood from the umbilical cord, to be stored in case it is needed later for Jane or the baby.
One of the many unknowns about treating breast cancer in pregnant women is whether the baby or Jane could develop leukemia or other complications, despite the care that is being taken to monitor her progress.
"It is not a low-risk venture," Tod said, "but the Lord is going to take care of that."
Jane is scheduled to have the baby at the Indiana University hospital, after which she'll go directly into preparations for the bone-marrow transplant.
The first item of business will be a conclusive "staging" of Jane's cancer, to determine exactly how far advanced it is.
Because radiation, including X-rays, would have endangered the pregnancy, a complete staging has been impossible so far. Although the cancer had spread widely into the lymph nodes near Jane's right breast, which was removed just after the cancer was diagnosed, there has been no evidence so far that the cancer has spread into her lungs or liver.
After the delivery, doctors will look in her brain, bones and other organs to see if the cancer has spread to them.
"We hope it is still in an early stage, when the benefits [of the bone-marrow transplant] outweigh the risks," Jane said. But, "If the liver or lung or brain are involved, they could decide at that point" not to proceed with the transplant.
Today, however, Tod and Jane are optimistic that the transplant will proceed on schedule. Doctors will collect Jane's blood marrow, treat it and her with a high-dose of chemotherapy to kill as much cancer as possible, then reinsert the cleansed marrow.
The procedure itself is risky. The chemotherapy is so potent that it can cause permanent damage to such organs as the liver and kidneys. Jane's immune system also will be depleted by the treatment, so she will be susceptible to the slightest infection.
"It's a balancing act," Tod said.
"We have hope for a cure, hope for the future," that extends into an "eternal future, beyond the physical."
"I have a hope and belief, almost a certainty, of Jane's welfare," Tod said.
"I'm not saying she is healed, but I have a certainty that she is in God's care, that he has her and me and our family's best interests at heart.
"That takes the pressure off us.
"We pray to God for a good outcome. We're trusting him every step of the way."
"It makes you evaluate your dependence on the Lord," Jane said. "This I can't control. It is somewhat freeing. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I am 100-percent dependent on him."
"God's been good."
LENGTH: Long : 138 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY THE ROANOKE TIMES. 1. Jane and Tod Stillsonby CNBhave begun saying goodbye to the friends they've made in the six
years they've lived in Southwest Virginia. 2. Jane Stillson and her
toddler son, John, relax outside the family's Rocky Mount home. 3.
``I have a certainty that [Jane] is in God's care,'' says her
husband, Tod (above with son John), ``... that he has her and me and
our family's best interests at heart.'' The family continues to
receive cards and letters of encouragement (below), which Jane
describes as ``very humbling.'' color.