Patient Testimonial - "I'm Not Strong, I'm Just Not Good At Losing"

NOVEMBER 2019: Rita DeJong, now age 66, has always been good about getting her annual health checks, including being diligent with her yearly routine mammogram screening for more than 15 years. So, it was a surprise when she received a call the afternoon after her last mammogram telling her based on the results, they need to check out more. Rita had a breast biopsy and was told it “was worrisome.” In December 2018 Rita was diagnosed with Triple Positive Breast Ductal Cancer.

“I felt very comfortable from the start of my diagnosis in choosing the June E. Nylen Cancer Center,” said Rita. “My treatment was going to be a year-long and I needed the convenience of a local facility. I’m thankful they did not make me feel like a number.”

Rita’s treatment plan included a lumpectomy by Dr. Welander at Midlands Clinic and then starting chemotherapy treatments in February 2019 that would be every 3 weeks for a year. This past June she also had 18 sessions of radiation. Rita diligently calendars and color codes all her cancer appointments, as well as counts her chemotherapy sessions. She knows she recently had her #13 chemo session and has each future round planned through the end of January.

“Having cancer is another full-time job and we are fortunate to have great physicians and the June E. Nylen Cancer Center right here in Siouxland. Every day you are doing something related to your cancer,” stresses Rita. She counted a recent month where she had 14 different appointments all related to her treatment.

“The coordinated team with all the different specialists around breast cancer makes a stronger plan for me. Everyone has been on MY team! I greatly appreciate how caring the Cancer Center staff are – they use my name and are interested in me beyond my tumor. They know me as a person and what is important to me.” Rita shared the example of her medical oncologist, Dr. Abu, pushing back her first treatment by a week because he knew Rita was going on a trip to visit and celebrate her granddaughter’s first birthday.

Rita, a former Sioux City teacher and principal for more than 35 years, appreciates how JENCC tries to work with her schedule because she is still working through her entire treatment.

Rita is Program Director for Bridging and Overcoming Obstacles Through Service Training (BOOST), a Department of Labor grant managed by Siouxland Human Investment Partnership (SHIP). She credits how supportive her current boss, family, friends, work team and others in her life are. That is something she has learned through her cancer journey. “I have a vast support system that I did not expect. So many people have been there for me.”

Rita has been married for more than 46 years to her husband, Daniel, also a teacher and former coach. They have two grown children and now two grandchildren.

When asked what gives her strength, Rita said, “I’m not sure I’m strong, I’m just not good at losing. And I have decided I am going to be around for my grandchildren."

Rita and Daniel enjoy spending time with their grandchildren, ages 3 1/2 and 1 1/2.