My Cancer Year

An Ames woman faced a triple-threat health crisis and got through it with family, friends, and the Bliss Cancer Center.

Janell Meyer calls 2023 her cancer year. 

That was the year she faced breast cancer and a tumor in her appendix and a lymph node issue in her collarbone. That was the year she had surgery to treat all three problems, all on the same day. That was the year she was subsequently diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

2023 was a lot, but Meyer got through it with family, friends, and the William R. Bliss
Cancer Center by her side. 

“I know there’s a lot of situations that are a lot more complicated and a lot more serious than mine, and I just feel really lucky that I was able to get the help I needed, right here, even though it was kind of complicated,” she said. 

Diagnosis x 3

In April 2023, a lump was found during Meyer’s annual mammography. 

“It came out of the blue,” she said. “I wasn’t thinking about breast cancer at all. I was more worried about the lymph node that I'd had needle biopsied and that was inconclusive. No one in my family has ever had cancer, which has been a real blessing to me. But they found the lump and did quick work to get the backup imaging and a biopsy.” 

After the biopsy, she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma with ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast. This meant the cancer originated in the breast’s milk ducts. 

“She sent me a text saying that the diagnosis was breast cancer,” said Meyer’s husband, Brian. “It wasn’t like a ton of bricks had fallen on us but more like, we know what this is, it was caught early, so let’s start the process.” 

Subsequent CAT scans then revealed an incidental finding: an enlarged appendix. Meyer had also been coping with an enlarged lymph node in her collarbone area. 

“When everything kept stacking up, my friends—a lot of them—said, ‘Oh, go to Mayo, go to Iowa City.’ I just felt like that wasn’t needed, and I was getting the feeling from all my appointments that this could be handled here, that these weren’t exotic cancers, and they deal with these kinds of things all the time at Bliss,” she said. “That turned out to be really the best decision to have the treatment here in Ames. It’s a six-minute drive to the hospital and McFarland, and it allowed me to continue to work and care for my elderly parents, almost to the end.” 

A Big Surgery 

Dr. Benjamin Schlicher, a McFarland Clinic general surgeon who practices at Mary Greeley, did a left breast lumpectomy, an appendectomy, and a lymph node excision all on the same day in May 2023. It was, in Meyer’s words, “a big surgery.” 

“I just was like, let’s just get it done. Whatever we need to do, let’s just do it,” she said. “I was just really lucky because I can live without an appendix and part of a breast and a couple of lymph nodes. So as long as we get the cancer cleared up, it really was pretty remarkable that none of them were really serious.” 

When she arrived at Mary Greeley’s operating room, she discovered that she knew her intake nurse. 

“It was kind of fun to know somebody, but I could tell also she was like, ‘You’re having all this done?’” she said. 

Her appendix, fortunately, had a noninvasive tumor, low-grade mucinous neoplasm, and no additional treatment was needed. Following the successful lumpectomy, she started radiation therapy for the breast cancer and in later months, anti-estrogen therapy, which is typical with an invasive ductal carcinoma. 

The lymph node excision revealed Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which required chemotherapy. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer found in lymph tissue. Meyer’s was stage IIB unfavorable, meaning it was in two more lymph node groups. 

“That was pretty big,” said Meyers. “It was stage two B, compared to my breast cancer, which was stage one. The Hodgkin’s required a lot more treatment, including 6 rounds (12 treatments) of chemo.” 

Resources

Meyer and her husband, Brian, met as Iowa State students, and they have spent much of their professional lives at the university. He worked in communications positions, while she worked in food service management, food safety research, grant finance management, and finance service delivery. 

“Brian was the best,” she said. “He went with me to everything. I also had close friends, one who had gone through breast cancer herself, who were right on top of it all the time. I was surrounded by my neighbors, other friends and family, and church friends. I always felt like I was circled in love, prayers, and concerns. I had a lot of support.” 

A positive attitude, which Meyer was able to maintain throughout her treatment, and strong support are important when facing cancer, said Michelle Reichert, MSN, RN, CNL, OCN, Cancer Resource Center coordinator.

“Attitude and support can play a big role in cancer. When a patient is feeling exhausted and/or sick from treatment, it can be easy to get down on themselves,” she said. “Sometimes having a positive attitude or a support person’s encouragement can be enough to push a patient to get out of bed, eat a nutritious meal or snack, or get a bit of exercise—all things that are important to their overall well-being.” 

The Cancer Resource Center, part of the Bliss Cancer Center, was a consistent source of support for Meyer. She and Brian met frequently with the center’s cancer navigators. 

“I went with Janell to the Cancer Resource Center and was with her during the treatments,” said Brian. “Our navigator was great. We would talk with her about whatever was on Janell’s mind. She made us comfortable with the decisions that were being made.” 

Meyer also took advantage of a variety of other services, including lymphedema prevention/education counseling with Mary Greeley’s Rehab and Wellness department, oncology nutrition counseling, and a free wig program.

“I wore the wig when I needed it. I wore it for some Zoom meetings and in-person meetings. It made me feel like I fit in,” she said. 

Her hair is now coming back in—no need for the wig or head scarves—and she’s enrolled in Courage in Motion, a Cancer Resource Center-sponsored fitness class for cancer patients. After her final chemo treatment, on her birthday last December, her strength has returned quicker than she expected. She’s in a new chapter in her life—and not just because of surviving her cancer year. 

“After 33 years at Iowa State, I retired,” she said. “I’m cancer free and doing really good.”