Cancer survivors share tips on how to stay resilient during quarantine
Dancing was an escape for Ava Blaser and played a big part in her journey as a two-time cancer survivor.
It's how she coped during weeks of isolation to safeguard her weakened immune system while undergoing chemotherapy.
Ava, 12, of Wheaton, believes her experiences with cancer can help others deal with self-isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She's now is part of an international effort called the Resilience Campaign that's aimed at highlighting the importance of quarantining and promoting coping strategies from lessons learned by cancer survivors.
"I would say to just be thankful that you are here and healthy," Ava said of stay-at-home orders. "I lost two of my best friends to childhood cancer, and they would give anything to be inside. Compared to cancer, this is just a small inconvenience to stay home."
Ava would know. She was diagnosed in 2011 with stage 5 bilateral Wilms tumor in both kidneys. The diagnosis came five days after her first dance recital. She was 3 years old.
After 12 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink multiple tumors, doctors removed Ava's left kidney and part of her right. She then had six rounds of radiation to kill off any remaining cancerous growth and another 15 weeks of chemotherapy.
During all that, Ava and her older siblings missed out on a lot of things - hanging out with friends, birthday parties, and playing in the park.
"I learned your health comes first in that situation no matter how bad you want to see people," Ava said. She realized not being able to do what she wanted "wasn't the worst thing in the world."
She and her siblings enjoyed their time together while being cooped up at home. "We realized the more you follow the rules and stay isolated, the faster it is going to go."
Ava's love of dance - contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, and ballet - helped her glide through the dreariness of quarantine. "I ended up (dancing) the whole time."
She was cleared in January 2012 but the cancer returned six years later, again confining her to home. After additional chemotherapy and surgeries, Ava was declared cancer free in September 2018.
Through two bouts with cancer, she found a positive attitude goes a long way to getting oneself out of a slump, she said. During quarantine, she would find ways to keep busy - FaceTime with friends, doing her makeup, and making YouTube videos.
Ava became a childhood cancer advocate and was featured on "The Ellen Show" for her survival spirit. Her story is now part of Twist Out Cancer's Resilience Campaign, which provides daily doses of hope from cancer survivors who have experienced isolation and loneliness. It features videos of survivors offering tips to help people cope with the COVID-19 lockdown.
"The kind of anxiety and uncertainty that all of us are facing due to COVID-19 is what cancer survivors face all the time," said Jenna Benn Shersher, founder and CEO of Twist Out Cancer. "It's the what-ifs, not knowing when it's going to end, what the future will hold ... questions that all of us are grappling with now."
Shersher, a cancer survivor who grew up in Glencoe, started the international nonprofit to provide psychosocial support to anyone touched by cancer through creative arts programming.
"We have seen incredible stories of resilience, strength and perseverance," Shersher said. "Being able to use the tools and resources that they have acquired over time is really relevant."
The Resilience Campaign's goal is helping people come together to talk about the collective COVID-19 experience. Anyone touched by cancer can submit personal videos at twistoutcancer.org/resilience.
To help cope with social distancing, Twist Out Cancer also is offering free virtual art therapy sessions every Tuesday and survival strategies.
Even when life eventually goes back to normal, many people might have a hard time reintegrating into society, much like recovering cancer patients tiptoeing back into the world.
In that post-COVID-19 era, whether it's returning to full-time work at the office, eating out at restaurants, going to the movies or attending parties, "everyone has to determine their comfort level in how they interact with each other again," Shersher said.
"It's very easy when those decisions are made for us," she said. "The sooner we can accept that life is not going to be the same as it was, the quicker it is going to be to properly cope with this."