Paulette Young has a philosophy that few, if any, others in her shoes would likely ever share.
“I’m thankful for the gift of cancer,” Young said.
The reason?
“It’s because I can help a lot of other people with cancer, I hope,” the 63-year-old Schererville resident said.
Young’s diagnosis in 2007 hit her like a ton of bricks.
“I was having symptoms and went online to Google, because we all go to Dr. Google,” Young said, half jokingly.
Her research told her she had a dropped uterus. Testing through her gynecologist, however, revealed something much more insidious.
“My doctor said, ‘You have ovarian cancer.’” Young said. “I was like, ‘I have what?’”
Her next response was, “Okay, what do I have to do now?”
It’s a question she knows other cancer patients ask every day.
“That,” she said, “was the beginning of my journey. I remember when I went in for my surgery, as I was going into the elevator I said, ‘Okay, God, I’ll either see you shortly or let’s not waste this.’”
Young feels God answered her prayer.
“I’ve been very blessed because people know to call me when they have cancer or know someone with cancer, and when you walk through it yourself you’re able to walk with people,” she said.
It’s been six years since her last chemo treatment. In that time Young has learned that 82 percent of women with ovarian cancer die within the first couple of years of diagnosis because by the time symptoms show up, it’s usually too late.
“I was blessed enough to catch it at stage 1,” said Young, who is not only marketing manager for Riverdale Body Shop, where she’s worked for 14 years, but also a licensed insurance agent who teaches certification education classes to other agents at Riverdale.
“I had my surgery on Friday and went back to work on Wednesday,” Young said, crediting Riverdale with helping her get through the ordeal.
Young has learned what works and what doesn’t for a number of cancer-related issues, and shares her information with anyone who needs it.
“I don’t work with any program, people just know to get a hold of me because I’ve been verbal about the cancer,” Young said. “They’ll say, ‘My brother has this or I have a friend who has it, would you call him?’ Or they’ll call me.
“The pain you go through with chemo is beyond any pain I’ve ever felt in my whole life,” said Young, “I had my little bald head going, which was horrid. Unless you’ve walked through cancer you don’t understand the pain you go with the chemo, the hair loss.”
Young offers new cancer patients tried-and-true tips on what to do for pain, places to get wigs, makeup and anything cancer related.
“The scariest part when you’re done with your chemo is that now you’re on your own,” Young said. “What’s going to fight the cancer? You have all those fears.”
For women, losing their hair to chemotherapy and having to throw out all their makeup because the chemo has broken down their immune systems can be traumatic, Young said. But high-end cosmetic companies donate makeup to those who have suffered with cancer, and Young offers to accompany chemo patients on their first visit. She also helps them learn to correctly tie a scarf to hide their hair loss and the best places to find good quality, reasonably priced wigs.
“I’ve even had clients say to me, who didn’t know I had cancer, ‘Your hair’s cute, but I really liked it the other way, and I’m thinking, ‘It’s in my closet if you want it. I hope I never need again,’” Young joked.
Young was no stranger to volunteerism even before she had cancer. She volunteered with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts when her kids Jodie, John and Troy were growing up. She’s a member of the Lion’s Club. She’s been a member of the Schererville Chamber off and on for the last 20 years, is a past president and currently sits on the board. She is on Schererville’s Civic Fund and the town’s 9-ll Memorial committees.
But having cancer changed Young’s perspective.
“You learn to pick your battles; what’s important, and cancer made me look at what I was going to give my time at, where I thought I could help the most,” she said. “Helping people with cancer is my heart. That and hospice.”
She began volunteering for hospice a year-and-a-half ago.
“It’s beautiful to be with the people and to help them on their journey,” Young said.
Her first hospice patient was an elderly lady who loved lilacs. Young would put lilac-scented lotion on her hands and brought her lilacs from her yard. She read magazines to her and talked fashion with her and invited her to talk about her childhood.
“I asked her, ‘What do you want to do before you go?’” Young said.
The woman wanted to thank people.
“’Well, let’s get thank-you cards,’” Young said. “’I’ll write them out and they’ll be mailed by your daughter when you’re gone.’ It made her feel good to say stuff. We cried together, but we did it.”
For Young, helping others when she can has brought her to the right place in her own cancer journey.
“This is just where I belong now,” she said.