Published: June 16, 2007 10:21 pm            

Terre Haute woman marks fifth anniversary of being told she had one year to live after cancer diagnosis

TERRE HAUTE — One year has managed to last for five years for Terre Haute resident Denise Story.

In June 2002, she was diagnosed with colon cancer and was told she had a year to live.

Today marks her five-year anniversary, and although she’ll never be out of the woods, reaching this point gives her a better chance at recovering.

“It’s a celebration to me after what I was told, ‘Start living today because you won’t be here a year from now,’” Story, 42, said about reaching this point.

With a 3-1/2-inch mass wrapped around her rectum, doctors wanted to perform emergency surgery on Story when she was initially diagnosed.

Because the mass was so large, she first had to undergo three months of extensive chemotherapy and radiation to shrink the mass before any surgery could take place, during which time she endured third-degree burns, among many other side effects, she said.

On Sept. 23, 2002, Story went through a 9 1/2-hour operation, which was followed by a 22-day hospital stay and nine more months of chemotherapy once a week, she said.

After the last round of chemotherapy, Story only had to have annual CAT scans and colonoscopies. She is expected to have another colonoscopy June 23, but if the results are good, the tests will become biannual.

Not counting skin cancers, colon cancer is the third-most-common cancer in the country, according to the American Cancer Society’s Web site. More than 112,000 new cases will be detected this year.

It is most commonly found in people in their 50s and 60s, Story said, but she was diagnosed at age 37.

Her biggest concern was staying alive for her sons, Andrew Butts, 14, and Austin Butts, 11, who were 9 and 6 at the time.

Two days after she went in for surgery, her sons were picked for all-star baseball teams for Clay County, Story said, and she worried whether she would ever get to spend another summer watching them play.

Since then, she has spent many days watching her sons play, although not always under the best circumstances.

“She was still always there, no matter what,” said Tami Davis, one of Story’s friends and a fellow baseball mom, about Story’s attendance at baseball games. “You wouldn’t even have known she was sick.”

During her chemotherapy treatments, Story wasn’t allowed to be in the sun or heat for long periods of time, she said. To combat that, she sat under a golf umbrella or sometimes pulled the car closer to the field and watched from the inside of the air-conditioned car.

“Five years ago, I never would have been able to sit out here like I am today,” Story said Saturday morning at Brazil’s Forest Park for Austin’s June Bash baseball tournament.

In her fold-up chair with her friend and fellow baseball mom, Anita Mace, Story watched her son, Austin, play catcher for his team.

“Good job, Aus!” and “Cover the plate!” she shouted at her son.

Although he doesn’t worry as much as he used to, Austin said he still worries. He said he considers his mom a good-luck charm when she comes to his games.

“Last year, when she came to my game,” he said, “and she said ‘hit the ball,’ I hit the ball over the fence. Well, more than once.”

He said some advice he has for other children who might face a similar situation is, “Don’t give up when you get bad news, just keep trying your best.”

He also said it’s important to not go to bed mad at your parents.

Andrew said things are better now because his mother isn’t limited in how she does things and he’s glad that he doesn’t have to go to the hospital all the time anymore.

Advice he has for others is similar to his brother’s in emphasizing the importance of not giving up.

He said he’s looking forward to his mom living.

“It’s better than anything,” Andrew said.

While most people don’t start receiving colonoscophies until later in life, because of Story’s encounter with colon cancer, her sons are now at a higher risk and will need to begin screenings when they turn 18, she said.

Story attributes her success to the support of her friends, family and doctors, she said, as well as her faith.

“You have to have a very positive attitude and strong faith when faced with a tough situation,” she said. “… I always thank God I can see another day and see my kids grow up.”

One thing Story did for herself to celebrate her five-year anniversary was purchase a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS in March, she said. She said she was told when she bought it that she was the first in Terre Haute to own the 2008 model.

Also to celebrate her special anniversary, Mace and four other friends rented a limousine to take Story to dinner and to spend a night on the town in Indianapolis.

“We’re really proud of her,” said Bobbie Ringo, another friend and baseball mom, “and glad that it all turned out.”

Davis thinks fate played a role in it, she said.

“God does everything for a reason,” Davis said, “and I think it was totally the awareness that she brought everything and an example of how you can do it all and do it with grace and dignity and never give up.

Spreading awareness about cancer came as part of a deal Story made with God when she was first diagnosed, she said.

“I had always said if I was able to pull through all of this, I would make sure I gave 110 percent helping others dealing with cancer, not just colon cancer, but any kind of cancer,” Story said.

Story plays a big role with the American Cancer Society, especially during March, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, she said. She also speaks about her experience at churches, sororities, and women and men’s groups. Her family is also involved in Stop Cancer events and Relay for Life.

Her testimonies aren’t limited to Indiana, either. She has also spoke and sang at her mother’s church in Kentucky.

“She’s truly a miracle,” said Jean Ohlmann, Story’s mother. “… She’s alive by faith, and she is, she never gave in to dying.”

Ohlmann stayed with Story for more than a month after her daughter’s surgery to help with her recovery.

“It’s very painful to see one of your children go through an experience like this and the thing is … no matter who it is, it affects the whole family when something like this happens because not only does she have the cancer but the burden of it is on the whole family,” Ohlmann said, fighting back tears. “The only thing that I can say that keeps me as a mother is my faith. I have a real strong faith and I know God will see us through anything, as long as we trust him.”

When her daughter got sick, Ohlmann said she turned her garden into a garden for her daughter with a variety of flowers and angel statues as a place to think and pray.

“I celebrate her life every day,” she said, “and I just celebrate that she’s come through the whole ordeal, and that she’s such an inspiration to others.”

The two talk on the phone a couple of times a day, Ohlmann said, even if it’s just to say “I love you.”

“We have a little thing, when she was real young, I used to say, ‘I love you, Denise,’” Ohlmann said. “She’ll say, ‘I love you, Mom, I love you more,’ and I’ll say, ‘I love you better.’”

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.

        

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