Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center<\/a> who walked her and her family through an elaborate education about this cancer and its management along with the importance of post-operative treatment to further reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.\u00a0 This intensive treatment plan: 33 radiation sessions, weekly chemotherapy and check-ups was ably supported by twice-weekly fluid and electrolyte replacement, and care from speech therapists, a dietician, an oncology APRN, a palliative\/supportive care APRN, and a social worker.<\/p>\nOne nurse looked at her and asked, \u201cAre you ready for this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answer: \u201cI\u2019m not ready, but I\u2019ll do whatever I need to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so overwhelmed,\u201d Deborah said. \u201cI went home, laid in bed, and prayed. I knew I was in a fight for my life.\u00a0 The next day I reviewed all the information from the previous meeting and went into survival mode.\u00a0 It was my only choice.”<\/p>\n
She began treatment on October 25, 2023, surrounded by a circle of love and support. Her husband, children, extended family, and friends were always by her side. In the infusion room, Deborah says she was surprised by the sound of laughter. \u201cI remember thinking, \u2018How can they laugh? They\u2019re being treated for cancer.\u2019 But once I started, I understood. Laughter became a relief. It became medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I followed each and\u00a0 every recommendation made by my doctors and oncology team,” says Deborah.\u00a0 It was extremely difficult on her family to witness the pain and challenges she endured.<\/p>\n
During treatment, Deborah began journaling. She never referred to her cancer by name\u2014only \u201cIT.\u201d Her writing became an outlet for anger and frustration, it helped her maintain a positive attitude with everyone in her life. One of the hardest parts was being immune-compromised and unable to spend time with her grandchildren.<\/p>\n
The tumor is now gone.<\/p>\n
Today, Deborah is walking outside again, going to the gym, and adjusting to eating on one side of her mouth. She remains grateful to the entire UConn Health team. \u201cEvery time I had a question, they were there. I can\u2019t express enough how appreciative I am. They saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
She still undergoes regular visits and scans and feels anxious each time. \u201cIt\u2019s always on my mind,\u201d she admits. Her care team affectionately called her a \u201crockstar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my eyes,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019ll only be a rockstar if I never have to go through this journey again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deborah believes that sharing her story can offer hope and guidance to others facing cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During National Cancer Survivor Month, we celebrate the extraordinary strength and resilience of those who have faced cancer head-on and won. For Deborah, what began as a nagging pain in her mouth became a life-altering journey marked by faith, determination, and the unwavering support of her care team at UConn Health. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":232190,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2230,1868,179],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2209],"class_list":["post-232189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","category-meds","category-uconn-health"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 03:43:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232189"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232319,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232189\/revisions\/232319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/232190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232189"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=232189"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=232189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}