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“I was tiny as a kid, and I was athletic growing up. I did not have the problems that obese children have. But when I quit being physically active, I started gaining weight. Then I went into a depression after my mother died of cancer, and I gradually gained more and more through the years.

“By the time I went in for the gastric bypass when I was 56, I weighed 386 pounds. When I woke up, I learned that the doctor had found tumors on my stomach, liver and pancreas. But I didn’t give myself time to be depressed about the cancer. I was too irate about him not doing the bypass.

“After being released from the hospital and having tests, it was decided that I would die sooner from being obese — I also had high blood pressure and diabetes — than from this rare carcinoid cancer. So I ended up getting the gastric bypass, at which time they also seared the tumors.

“Once I was on solid food, the doctor told me that my cancer could be controlled with an injection once a month. I saw that as no big deal, and I went on my merry way.

“I started participating in Relay for Life, but felt odd doing so. I almost felt guilty saying I had cancer or that I was a survivor. It was like I didn’t have the right to be there since I had no real symptoms of cancer the way others had. All I did was take a shot. I had no radiation. I had no weeks of regular chemo. So I just concentrated on being there for my mother and her five siblings who had died from various cancers, and for friends who died or were going through cancer treatment.”

After a rough few months dealing with side effects from an oral chemo drug, she recently learned from a liver specialist that her tumors are significantly reduced.

“My cancer is never going away. It travels the blood system and the lymph system, and we deal with the outcrops of tumors. But I’ll take that. Because back in 2005 when we started all of this, I was told by one of my doctors that because of my obesity, the cancer and my other health problems, they didn’t really expect me to still be living today. They tell me that I’m a tough old bird. I gladly relate to that.”

— Saundra Smith

(Note: Saundra Smith passed away on June 24, 2021, at age 72.)

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The post ‘Tough old bird’ survivor of rare carcinoid cancer appeared first on The Baytown Project.

When her mother tried to register Saundra Smith for school in Port Arthur, Texas, she got a surprising response.

“They said they didn’t have a nursery school, and that she should bring me back next year for kindergarten,” Saundra said.

Old enough to be a first-grader, Saundra’s small stature caused the confusion.

Also very athletic as a child, “I did not have the problems that obese children have,” she said.

‘Weight’ing game

It’s when Saundra quit being physically active that she began gaining weight.

Then, when Saundra was 25, her mother died of cancer. Depression followed.

“I started adding pounds, and I gradually gained more and more through the years,” she said.

While also dealing with high blood pressure and diabetes, Saundra became aware of how others perceived her.

“I worried about whether my family was embarrassed. The truth is that I was embarrassed for them to be seen with me,” she said.

Her son, daughter and husband were concerned about her health, but they remained supportive.

“My husband, Gary, never placed any sort of guilt trip on me,” Saundra said. “He was never critical. He never once said, ‘Do you really need to eat all of that?’ or ‘Maybe you should save some for later.’”

Saundra tried a stomach stapling procedure when she was 40. She expected it to be a magic cure. “But I didn’t do my part,” and she continued to gain weight.

At 386 pounds, she finally decided to have a gastric bypass in 2005.

Surprise, you have cancer

“When I woke up, I learned that the doctor had found tumors on my stomach, liver and pancreas,” Saundra said. “But I didn’t give myself time to be depressed about the cancer. I was too irate about him not doing the bypass.”

After being released from the hospital and having a battery of tests, it was decided that Saundra would die sooner from being obese and associated medical issues than from her carcinoid cancer.

So they rescheduled the gastric bypass surgery, during which her tumors were seared.

Once Saundra was back on solid food, her doctor began to control the cancer with a monthly injection.

“I started participating in Relay for Life, but felt odd doing so. I almost felt guilty saying I had cancer or that I was a survivor,” she said. “It was like I didn’t have the right to be there since I had no real symptoms of cancer the way others had. All I did was take a shot. I had no radiation. I had no weeks of regular chemo.

“So I just concentrated on being there for my mother and her five siblings who had died of various cancers, and for friends who died or were going through cancer treatment.”

In addition to losing her mother to breast cancer and five aunts and uncles to other forms of cancer, Saundra learned that several members of her grandmother’s family also lost cancer battles.

Still, beyond receiving her monthly shot, the carcinoid cancer didn’t seem to have much of an impact on Saundra’s daily life.

But things changed in 2016. She was up to two injections a month, and then was switched to an oral chemo drug. That’s when drug interaction problems and side effects hit her hard.

“I began to realize that I didn’t have an annoyance. I had cancer. It finally started becoming real,” Saundra said.

She began having physical problems and was dealing with the depression that many cancer patients experience.

While researching carcinoid cancer, Saundra learned about the zebra stripe ribbon that brings awareness to the disease. She was quick to order T-shirts featuring a zebra.

Her house is now full of zebra-themed items, including stuffed animals, pillows and quilts given to her by family and friends.

In the process Saundra has become more vocal about carcinoid cancer, and she is happy to educate others about the disease.

The show must go on

While she deals with mobility and stamina issues, Saundra stays busy with a number of activities. Topping the list is Baytown Little Theater, where she and Gary have been members since 1968.

“Gary is the lights guy and I’m the props mistress,” she said. “I also have directed both youth and adult shows.”

She will hold auditions for the theater’s latest play, “The Lion in Winter,” on April 2-3.

Saundra recently learned from a specialist in Houston that her tumors are significantly reduced.

“I’m coming to grips with the fact that my cancer will never go away. It travels the blood system and the lymph system, and we will continue to deal with the outcrops of tumors. But I’ll take that,” she said.

“Back in 2005 when we started all of this, I was told by one of my doctors that because of my obesity, the cancer and my other health problems, they didn’t really expect me to still be living today. They tell me that I’m a tough old bird. I gladly relate to that.”

(Note: Saundra Smith passed away on June 24, 2021, at age 72.)

Related:

• ‘Tough old bird’ survivor of rare carcinoid cancer

The post She deals with the weighty issues of carcinoid cancer appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I used to weigh about 380 pounds. It was slightly in the genes, I guess, but it was more just living a sedentary life, being lazy and not keeping up with myself.

“I grew up playing sports. When I was in high school, I was an offensive lineman on the football team. I was a big guy, but I wasn’t 380 big, you know?

“Diabetes runs in my family, and my older brother had just been diagnosed with Type II diabetes. So I thought, I know if I lose belly fat that would help to reduce my risk of getting diabetes. That was probably my big impetus for starting to lose the weight. Right now I’m 250, but I’d like to get down to 230.”

How big of a problem is obesity these days?
“My parents are from Trinidad, and my sister and her son still live there. When they came to visit last August, about 9-10 family members went to eat at a Cajun restaurant in Houston. My 13-year-old nephew turned to me and said, ‘Uncle, one thing that I’ve noticed about Americans is that everybody’s fat.’ I looked around and I was like, he’s right, we have a lot of overweight people.

“It is an issue, but I think a lot of people are trying to make that change. That’s why you see so many working out and paying more attention to what they put in their bodies these days. Just like me, they’re trying for that healthier lifestyle.”

— Robert Wells

The post Diabetes risk motivates him to lose weight appeared first on The Baytown Project.