EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is the 13th in a series on cancer survivors and caregivers in the leadup to Clarendon County Relay for Life, which will be held 6 p.m. to midnight May 6 at Manning High School's Ramsey Stadium.
When she was diagnosed last year with a rare form of gynecological cancer, Stacy Mosier immediately thought, “I don’t have time for this.”
“It’s exactly what I thought: ‘Not me. I don’t have time for this,’” she said.
After her diagnosis on May 18, 2015, she was referred to a Columbia oncologist who was less than reassuring to her or her family.
“It’s at that appointment where I realized the seriousness and that I would have to make the time,” she said. Scheduled for surgery that same day, Mosier was told the process would be “no piece of pie.”
Her daughter, McKinzie Simpson, took responsibility for Mosier’s care, while her other children, Hailey Windham and Mason Miles, packed up her belongings and put them into storage.
Mosier moved in with Simpson and awaited her surgery date, which was one month to the day after her diagnosis at Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia.
“My daughter was my rock at the time, and she could tell the impact this had on me,” Mosier said. “She came to me on June 2, 2015, and said that she wanted me to have a second opinion.”
The hunt for another doctor began, and the family called the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, on June 3, 2015, setting up an appointment for two days later.
“They were great!” Mosier said. “I had an appointed June 5, 2015, with Dr. Robertson, head of the Gynecology/Oncology Department. I had hope.”
The family headed to the clinic that June 5 as a “unified force,” Mosier said.
“I felt that whatever this oncologist said, I would be able to handle because of my support team!” she said. “My support team included my daughter, Kinzie, and my ‘dragonflies,’ Cornelia Jones, Dr. Caetie Rabon and Elaine McElveen!”
As Mosier sat in the lobby with the foursome, she asked herself the question she imagines all cancer patients ask themselves.
“I though, ‘Is life over for me?’” she said. “Will he tell me the same thing (the other doctor did)?”
The new doctor, however, took Mosier’s hand and said, “Stacy, I’m not going to let you die.”
“He explained the type of cancer I had occurred in only 4 percent of women,” Mosier said. “I was also referred to a lymph node oncologist who would also accompany Dr. Robertson in surgery.”
Mosier still had surgery June 18, 2015, one month after her diagnosis in Columbia.
She said cancer and recovery stole her independence.
“I felt like a burden to my family and friends,” she said. “I depended on my girls and mother for everything, something that a 46-year-old, I-do-everything-myself-woman does not want to have to endure.”
Told she was cancer free on Feb. 5, Mosier said her cancer has an 80-90 percent chance of returning.
“Because of this, I require oncology visits every six months and frequently lab workups,” she said. “I am doing much better! I have pain some days and some restless nights with good and bad days. I had amazing surgeons at the Mayo Clinic whose hands I know were guided by God. All of the prayers from family, friends, coworkers and the community are why I’m here today.”
Mosier has channeled her experience into a season as team captain for the Clarendon Health System Relay for Life Team, already raising more than $4,000 for the American Cancer Society.
Through her efforts, the hospital has put on “Flush Cancer,” a purple toilet sent to separate departments. Other departments pay to have the toilet sent, and departments must pay to have it removed. Departments may also, once hit with the toilet, purchase “potty insurance” to keep it from coming back.
The hospital also held a Kiss the Pig contest, which was “won” by Gail Richburg. They also held a drawing for Adirondack chairs and a painting class with Kathy Troutman Cheek, along with a helicopter ride with AirCare and lunch dates with a few of the hospital’s eligible providers.
The team also sold Carnival for a Cure T-shirts and held a carnival for the hospital staff.
“The first website I went to when I was diagnosed was the American Cancer Society, and realizing how much cancer had affected my family and this community, it just made me want to work harder to bring awareness and to help support the ones facing cancer,” she said. “The one word I have said throughout this journey is ‘hope.’ We all need hope.”
Working on Relay, she said, has given her that hope.
“I have met other cancer survivors and we have been able to share our stories and feelings; it’s kept me busy and every time we raise a little more money we are raising awareness,” Mosier said. “I just want a cure so no one has to go through what I went through.”
She also doesn’t want to live in fear that her cancer will return.
“To be a survivor to me means I have a second chance,” she said.
She said she’s grateful to her family and her hospital family for helping her during her time of need and also aiding with Relay.
“I couldn’t have done this without the help of some pretty special people!” she said.
