Dennis Wimmert was 46 when he was diagnosed with non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I went through a series of treatments and never went into remission, so in August 2005, I had a bone marrow transplant using my sister’s stem cells,” Wimmert said. Following the transplant, Wimmert waited six months until he was considered “in the clear” and cancer free.
Wimmert, a father of five, Procter and Gamble employee and cancer advocate, will share his story – “Worry in the Life of a Cancer Survivor” on Monday, Oct. 17 during the Cancer Support Group at Rapides Regional Medical Center. The meeting is open to cancer patients, survivors, family, friends and members of the community.
“For me, I found that trying to live as much of a normal life as I could was the best therapy,” Wimmert said. “I believe that attitude has a lot to do with treatment success.”
But Wimmert admits, once you get a clean bill of health, the worry doesn’t stop automatically. “I found that once you get a clean bill of health, every time you go back to the doctor, every time to go back for tests, you expect the worst.” From this meeting, Wimmert hopes to share with other cancer patients and cancer survivors how to deal with that anxiety in a spiritual and emotional way.
“Worry doesn’t change anything,” Wimmert said. “It actually takes away from life. By the time you worry leading up to an appointment and worry in the weeks afterwards waiting on results, you’ve let three weeks of life slip away. And when you’ve had cancer, every day is a gift.”
Please join us for this special support group. The meeting begins at noon in the Cascade Room at Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital. A light lunch will be served, so pre-registration is required by calling 769-7200 or 769-7258.