Albertina Dancy survived liver cancer | fatty liver disease | radiation treatment | chemotherapy

DESCRIPTION

In 2021, Albertina Dancy began to experience abdominal pain, but that wasn’t all.  She also had gastrointestinal issues, jaundice and other problems.  However, she didn’t take them seriously and thought they could be successfully addressed with over-the-counter remedies.  When that didn’t happen, she sought medical attention.

Albertina’s doctor said the symptoms, combined with her existing fatty liver disease, merited a trip to an oncologist.  A series of scans and tests, plus the stiffness of her liver, led to a diagnosis of liver cancer.

The diagnosis left Albertina depressed, wondering if she would get well again.  She regrets not seeking medical attention at an earlier time because doctors said her only treatment option with a regimen of radiation treatment and chemotherapy.

The chemo was extremely tough on Albertina.  She was in constant pain, felt extreme fatigue and was demoralized about losing all her hair.

However, she achieved survivorship and says because she pays close attention to diet and exercise, her health is better than it was prior to her diagnosis.

By way of advice, Albertina Dancy strongly advises anyone suffering unusual health issues to immediately seek medical attention.

Additional Resources:

American Liver Foundation: https://www.liverfoundation,org

TRANSCRIPT

Bruce Morton: Welcome to the Cancer Interviews podcast. I am your host, Bruce Morton.  Our guest on this episode was bombarded with a long list of nasty symptoms, which led to a diagnosis of liver cancer.  However, a positive attitude and her strong faith led to her attaining survivorship.  She is Albertina Dancy of Chesapeake, Virginia, and now is the time to hear her story.  Albertina, welcome to Cancer Interviews.

Albertina Dancy: Thank you so much for having me.

BM: Albertina, before we hear about your cancer journey, we would like to learn a bit about you.  If you would, tell us a bit about where you are from, what you have done for work, and what you like to do for fun.

AD: Yes, I am from Chesapeake, Virginia, and I have been living here all of my life.  I have worked in the human services and criminal justice field for 26 years.  For fun, I definitely enjoy singing.  I am a gospel music recording artist.  I enjoy cooking, I enjoy shopping, I enjoy traveling and I am a single mom with two boys.

BM: For all of us who have been on a cancer journey, there was a time in which our health went from normal to abnormal.  In your case, there were a whole bunch of things that didn’t seem.  What were some of those things?

AD: I started having abdominal pain, definitely on my right side.  I started having gastro issues and that would be issues with digesting acidic foods.  Furthermore, I couldn’t lay down on my side.  I started gaining more weight, and I was a diabetic, so, it seemed like my levels were getting higher.  Those were some of the major issues I was experiencing. 

BM: With all of those things ganging up on you, was it difficult to know what sort of medical attention you should seek?

AD: It did present a problem for me, mainly because I was in a denial stage.  I thought my symptoms would go away if I stopped eating this or that, or I could purchase this over-the-counter pill, so it presented a problem for me because I was in denial.

BM: We’re confident you’ll be able to learn some tips and tools to help through your personal cancer journey, but first we’d lke to invite you to give us a ‘like,’ leave a comment or review below and she this story with your friends.  Kindly click on the Subscribe button below and click on the Bell icon, so you’ll be notified when we release our next interview.  We also want to remind you that on Cancer Interviews, we are not distributors of medical advice.  If you seek medical advice, please consult a licensed health care professional.

So, Albertina, you were in denial, but eventually you sought the medical attention that you needed to seek.  Once that happened, what led to your diagnosis?

AD: I was actually singing at an event and started having heavy abdominal pain.  I came home that evening and fainted.  At the time, a caregiver friend of mine called an ambulance.  I was tested and told I needed to see a specialist regarding my liver.  That specialist recommended I see an oncologist.  This was back in 2021 and I was aware that I had fatty liver disease.  I was not really vigilant and I was not really concerned of the overall care of dieting and eating properly and getting the exercise I needed because at that time I was a little bit obese along with the health issues that I had, high blood pressure and other things.  That was what sparked me getting the treatment that I needed.

BM: Before we go any farther, Albertina, looking back, if you found yourself at the same juncture a second time, do you think you would have been more proactive in addressing your symptoms and do you recommend being proactive to others?

AD: Oh, definitely, Bruce.  I would say the moment you feel as abnormal symptom to seek medical attention right away and be very cautious about what you are doing because your health is very important.

BM: Now let’s get to your diagnosis. Once your doctor or team of doctors knew about your symptoms, at what point did they tell you that you had liver cancer?

AD: When I saw an oncologist, that was when I was diagnosed with the liver cancer.  I went through a series of tests and CT scans, I had a biopsy and I was requested to go through a series of clinical trials.  I did not do that, so I would to anyone who is offered an opportunity to go through clinical trials to do so.  They are free.  I believed, Bruce, I was very overwhelmed and in disbelief that I had cancer.  They did measure the stiffness of my liver and it was at a severe stage.  I immediately had to go on to chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

BM: Did you have treatment options or was chemo the only way to go?

AD: There were treatment options for me, but because I delayed seeking medical attention when needed, I had to go with chemotherapy and radiation to try to save me from the rapidness of possible death.

BM: You have been diagnosed with cancer, preceded by a bunch of awful symptoms and you are going through chemo.  That’s a lot on your plate.  For those of us who have survived cancer, each diagnosis is different, each person diagnosed with cancer is different.  Considering your personal cancer equation, how did you handle this?

AD: At first, I was very depressed.  I didn’t want to eat.  I didn’t want to take anybody’s encouragement.  I thought I wasn’t going to see my way out of this tunnel.  I j ust couldn’t get my life together, mentally; but with the support of my community, my church, my friends consistently encouraging me when I couldn’t se my way out and gaining the strength from that, and to gain the strength from my faith through prayer, through what I love to do, which is singing, which I continued to do through the entire process, Bruce, that’s what got me through the chemo and radiation.

BM: Chemo and radiation are never pleasant.  Looking back on that treatment regimen, what was the toughest part?

AD: I would say the toughest part was going into those appointments and some days my levels were at a level that was needed for that treatment.  I would then have to go back home and wait two weeks for another appointment.  Or I would go in for a CT scan to see how the treatment was going and they would say the treatment isn’t working so they would want to do radiation.  For me, that was the downfall at times, and I thought I was never going to get over this hump.  There was great disappointment when the treatment wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do.

BM: What about some of the other things that accompany chemotherapy?  Was faitigue much of an issue?

AD: Yes.  Fatigue was an issue.  Sleep was an issue.  I was in chronic pain all the time.  With liver cancer, they tell you not to take Tylenol.  There were no other pain meds that I could possibly take, so I was in a lot of pain and I could be very nasty, very mean to family members that would care for me.  There were bright things at times, Bruce, but the majority of the time during those treatments, I did go through a lot of pain, a lot of vomiting, times when I didn’t eat for days, I couldn’t keep anything down, foods or liquids.

BM: The following is kind of a double standard because I think it is much tougher for women than men in terms of how traumatic it is, but did you experience hair loss?

AD: It was a huge problem for me.  I have a complex when it comes to hair.  With the treatment, I lost all of my hair.  It resulted in a step down in my confidence level as a woman.  However, my community rallied to my side, embracing my new look of having the bald head, that helped, but it still was a challenge.

BM: Now I want to ask you a question that is peculiar to certain types of cancer.  We have interviewed folks diagnosed with lung cancer and they talk about how when others learn of the diagnosis, they automatically think the person diagnosed was a heavy smoker, when in fact there are lots of people diagnosed with lung cancer who have never touched a cigarette.  There is a stigma with lung cancer.  Can you say with liver cancer there are people who think you partied too much, that you drank too much booze?

AD: Oh yes.  I get that all the time.  I have to tell them my diagnosis wasn’t because I am an alcoholic.  That is why I wanted to educate myself on my diagnosis, what I had and why I had it.

BM: Now we want to turn the tenor of this conversation in a more pleasant direction and ask you about the time when you felt you were getting the upper hand on cancer.  What was that like?

AD: It was a very pleasant time.  My community started connecting me with people who were just like me who had the disease, introduced me to organizations from which I could get support.  That helped me to get my support up and helped me to look outside of the tunnel. 

BM: Speaking of those organizations, let’s talk about one of them, and that’s the American Liver Foundation.  If you would, tell us what ALF has done for you and what it can do for others?

AD: ALF has done a magnificent job of encouraging me, allowing me to share my story, allowing me to have a platform to educate my community, not just locally, but on a national platform, being able to educate others about this disease to make them aware of what liver cancer and liver disease, is.  It also has events aimed at connecting survivors, meeting donors, meeting individuals that are so pleased to support others that are going through this. That’s what ALF has done for me. I encourage those who are experiencing issues with liver disease or just want to know about it to find out what ALF can offer.  The website’s address is https://www.liverfoundation.org. 

BM: We are close to wrapping up, but if you look at your life from a physical standpoint, if there anything you could do before your diagnosis that you cannot do now?

AD: I would say I have gained more strength now than I had before being diagnosed.  When I look at the timeline from 2021 until the present, I am pleased at how the diagnosis really physically helped me to gain more strength and understanding of what my health is.  Health is important, and my faith helped me to become a survivor, and that I take nothing lightly in terms of making sure my health is in order. 

BM: Albertina, now it’s time to bring this to a close, and we are going to wrap up the way we usually do, with this question.  If you encountered someone who had just been diagnosed with liver cancer, there might be a million things you would to say to that individual; but if was one thing that you wanted to make sure got through to that person, what would it be?

AD: It would be that your life is more than what you are assuming now and there are many, many people willing to help you get through this journey.

BM: That message is succinctly-stated and it really packs a wallop, so that is going to wrap up this episode of the Cancer Interviews podcast, and Albertina Dancy, we want to thank you for being with us.

AD: Thanks so much for having with me.

BM: And we want to remind you as we always do when we conclude, if you or a loved one are on a cancer journey, you are not alone.  There are people like Albertina Dancy and there are organizations like the American Liver Foundation that can ease your journey, so until next time, we’ll see you on down the road.

Additional Resources:

Support Group:

American Liver Foundation: https://www.liverfoundation.org

SHOW NOTES

TITLE: Albertina Dancy - Liver Cancer Survivor - Chesapeake, Virginia, USA

When Albertina Dancy began to experience abdominal pain and other symptoms in 2021, she didn’t take them seriously; but they worsened, she sought medical attention and after a series of tests and scans, she was diagnosed with liver cancer.  Because she didn’t report the symptoms right away, her only treatment options were chemotherapy and radiation treatment.  However, she achieved survivorship and says because she pays strict attention to diet and exercise, her health is now better than it was before her diagnosis.

Additional Resources:

American Liver Foundation: https://www.liverfoundation.org

Time Stamps:

02:05 Albertina says problems began when suffered abdominal pain.

03:25 With so many symptoms, she was asked if it was difficult to know where to seek medical attention.

04:36 Describes what led to her diagnosis.

06:14 Recommends people be proactive when they detect health issues.

07:10 Albertina recalls when she was diagnosed.

08:20 Names her treatment options.

09:21 Her reaction to her diagnosis.

10:32 The toughest parts of a chemotherapy regimen.

14:15 Says there is a stigma that comes with a diagnosis of liver cancer.

15:22 Albertina recalls when she trended toward recovery.

17:55 She is asked if physically there is anything she cannot do now that she could do pre-diagnosis.

19:10 Advice to others.

KEYWORDS (tags):

albertina dancy

fatty liver disease

liver cancer

bruce morton

chemotherapy

radiation treatment