Patricia Irene Miskimon Gulick
The Breast Cancer Survivor

1944

1961

1998

Pat suffered with petit mal seizures throughout her life. She was not diagnosed until early adulthood and was then over-medicated for a number of years. Shortly after being correctly diagnosed and medicated for epilepsy, Pat would once again struggle with the medical community when diagnosed with breast cancer in 1971 at the age of 33. At that time, modern medicine treated breast cancer in a manner we now consider barbaric and butchering. Surgeons removed her entire right breast to the bone in addition to much of her underarm area. She endured a radical mastectomy and the failed attempts at reconstructive surgery and skin grafts. The lack of available physical therapy accelerated the damage toll. When her arm was by her side there was a gap where much of her underarm used to be large enough to see the eye of a child standing behind her. Within a short period of time she began to experience the symptoms of Lymphedema and even though the condition worsened severely over time and was brought to the attention of her physician, it was not properly diagnosed and was never treated. The pain, swelling, and numbness made it very difficult to perform basic tasks such as unzipping clothing or holding a pen. She eventually lost all feeling, flexibility, and use in her right arm.
Within months of surgery, Pat's periods stopped. The doctors assumed the cancer had spread. She was given injections to start her period and the treatments were stepped up. Several doctors expressing their frustrations were overheard by a teenage candy-striper who suggested that Pat might be pregnant. The pregnancy test was positive. She was strongly advised to abort and when she refused she was told that even if the baby did reach term it would be horribly deformed or brain-damaged by the treatments. Pat's youngest child, Erin, was born March 22nd of 1972 without event to mother or child. Erin received her teaching degree from WSU in 1998 and now teaches for the Wichita Public School System.
Pat's newborn and undying need to create forced her to find a way to teach her left hand to take over for her right. She began to letter the Bible with free-form script. At the time of her death she had lettered and illustrated beyond the first 5 books of the Bible. This ongoing challenge also helped to combat the depression she often felt as a breast cancer survivor trying to hold together a mutilated body and self-image with little support from the community. Many who questioned her absence from home and were told of her cancer did physically step away from her as if the cancer was contagious.
It is most noteworthy that Pat didn't just survive. She found ways to thrive. The support and resources for breast cancer survivors today simply didn't exist years ago. Survivors of yesteryear had to rely on themselves while still trying to maintain households, raise children, and work outside the home. Pat's case was no different.
The visible physical damage that Pat and others like her suffered with was severe. The clothing and swimsuit fashions developed for survivors today could not adequately mask the damage these survivors sustained.
The women from yesteryear who survived their disease and the treatments, fought the battles that laid the groundwork for the support and education that is known today. Women like Pat fought their illnesses all by themselves and many did it without spousal support or a spouse at all. Because they did it alone many developed an almost hostile attitude that they channeled into the task of making others aware of their struggles and triumphs. As younger survivors came along they had this energy to feed from and they were in turn made stronger for their own battles. All of us today owe a great deal to those women who suffered alone but who would not keep quiet about their struggles.

RETURN
DIANA'S PLACE
IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS
GUESTBOOK

All written, hand-drawn and photographed works on these pages are the sole property of Diana Hartman and may not be copied or distributed in any manner using any means without written permission. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 Diana Hartman
*All Rights Reserved