|
| A place to recharge By Stacy Trevenon [ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, May 7, 2008 1:11 PM PDT Nine years ago, Judy Kinsey of Half Moon Bay was diagnosed with cancer of the spine. The diagnosis was the beginning of several harrowing years as she veered close to death, but finally rebounded against the odds. She emerged with perspective — and the wish to help others now walking a path she knows too well. Her plan to do that is to start a support group for cancer patients on the Coastside where, she says, you don’t have to look long to find a case of the disease. “Everyone I talk to knows someone that has cancer,” she said. Her idea is still in the planning stages but her overall vision is of a support group for those battling any form of cancer, of any age, which would ideally meet on a weekly basis for a length of time to be determined by the participants. She plans to launch the group at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, on the grounds of the Community United Methodist Church at 777 Miramontes St. in Half Moon Bay, in the building directly north of the church itself. That building is behind the actual chapel, and houses the church offices. Kinsey, who is nearing her 70th birthday — which she finds “exciting” — wants to see participants share their stories as part of the group. She says she thinks it would make them more comfortable to hear from people on the same path, as well as provide a means through which participants can gain helpful information. When she was ill, her own support group helped: “I found that companionship with others in the same situation that I was in was not only comforting, but supportive.” She said that while she does not speak Spanish, Spanish-speaking participants with their translators would be “more than welcome.” The group would have only one rule: that all stories and information offered by participants would be treated under strict confidentiality. What is said in the group, remains in the group, she said. “People could express their feelings.” Kinsey said she is in the process of obtaining outlines from the San Mateo County branch of the American Cancer Society as to how support groups are run, but added that a great deal of input would come from participants. “This will truly be their support group,” she said. “But it will be coming from a proactive place. They all will have a say in how they want it run. It’s got to grow in its own way.” Though she will moderate the group, Kinsey does not expect to be the only one in that role. She said she is currently looking around for others — perhaps medical professionals or people with backgrounds in social or hospice work or psychology - to join in and share the moderating. She is also gathering lists of resources, such as dietary or other means of support like online chat rooms, from the National Cancer Institute or the San Mateo branch of the cancer society, to make available to group participants. Her detail-oriented approach to the group springs from her own experiences, both in the medical profession and with cancer. Born and raised in Denver, she graduated from the University of Colorado in 1965 and became a registered nurse. She worked in many areas, including as an emergency room nurse and in pediatric intensive care units. She came to California and settled on the Coastside in 1972, and went to San Jose State University to pursue a master’s degree in community health nursing. While in school, she worked in home care and hospice for VNA centers in Berkeley, San Mateo and Stanford. After she got her degree, she taught in a community health nursing program through the University of California, San Francisco, starting in 1986. She also started a home care/hospice program on the Coastside in the mid-1990s, which served Pacifica to Pescadero and up to Skyline to the east. But her thriving career was sidetracked in 1999 when she was diagnosed with cancer of the spine which metastasized to her liver. She reached Stage 4 — a level at which many patients put their affairs in order. She opted for treatment, from chemotherapy to surgery. It left her with heart difficulty and rods in her spine. “Every aspect of aggressive treatment and testing you can get, I had, over and over and over and over,” she said. “I can’t imagine anyone going through more with cancer than I did.” She faced her own mortality. “I learned when you’re that close to death, it doesn’t become an issue,” she said. “I really came to peace with dying or living.” But she lived, and today describes herself as “95 percent cancer-free” and comfortable. And now it’s time to give back. “My purpose is to make life a little easier for people” who are now where she’s been, she said. For more information on the support group, call Kinsey at 726-1036. Messages at the Methodist church, at 726-4621, will also reach her. |