Cancer survivor talks involvement in Dr. Phillips Relay for Life

DR. PHILLIPS  Four years ago, Teresa Wardingley was battling intense coughing fits and difficulty breathing, the symptoms of what she thought was a stubborn cold. However, after multiple rounds of antibiotics failed, the diagnosis took a different turn: Wardingley learned she had hairy-cell leukemia.

“I thought I had a cold that wouldn’t go away,” said Wardingley, director of southeast materials acquisition center for Lockheed Martin. “I was diagnosed with having an extremely low red blood-cell count and was diagnosed with a rare but treatable form of leukemia.” 

At the time of her diagnosis, Wardingley was more or less in respiratory failure. Doctors discovered she had double pneumonia of both lungs, which they then realized was a result of the leukemia. She was immediately admitted to the hospital, where she received chemotherapy virtually 24/7 for 10 consecutive days.

Although chemotherapy usually makes cancer patients feel miserable, Wardingley said her rounds of treatment actually made her feel better, because it allowed her to start breathing normally again. In fact, she had been put on oxygen when she was admitted, but as the chemo progressed, she was fully taken off of the oxygen.

“I went home for two to three days and got high fevers from chemo, so I was admitted again for another five to six days,” she said. “My doctor described (how I would feel) as, ‘You’ll be so tired you won’t be able to even watch TV.’ That was for a month or so.”

Although intense, the treatment was quick, and so were the results: Wardingley was diagnosed in November 2013 and was considered in remission on Dec. 21, 2013. 

After being out of work for a short period of time, she was able to return and for a while she went back each month to have her blood checked. Now, she gets her blood checked every six months.

Because of her experience with fighting and beating leukemia, the Lockheed Martin community asked if she would participate in Relay for Life in 2014, which she did. She participated as a survivor and completed the survivors’ lap around the track that year, and in 2015, she served as the Survivor Lead.

“Lockheed Martin has been very supportive of Relay for Life, and they are one of the sponsors of the dinner,” she said. “We have (more than) 60 volunteers for the dinner just from Lockheed Martin, and they are doing other things throughout the event.”

Now, in her second year as Survivor Lead, she is responsible for reaching out to cancer survivors in the Dr. Phillips area. Relay for Life honors survivors and caregivers by hosting a special dinner for them. Both groups will walk a lap around the track at Dr. Phillips High School in celebration of the survivors before the dinner begins.

“We try to get as many as possible to attend because the event is there in honor of them and memory of those who have passed due to cancer,” Wardingley said.

The event not is only a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society’s cancer research but also allows funding to help those battling cancer through ACS’ Road to Recovery, a service that “provides transportation to and from treatment for people with cancer who do not have a ride or are unable to drive themselves,” according to its website.

As Survivor Lead, Wardingley is most looking forward to being able to see the families, survivors, volunteers and caregivers all come together to fight the disease and raise funds toward finding a cure.

“For all of those survivors or who have lost someone to cancer, it’s (Relay for Life) a time for the whole community to get together and celebrate the battle they’ve fought and won,” Wardingley said.

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].