The Phenomenal Teacher

Irene Woolman

Story told by Irene Woolman

The phone rang, and I reluctantly stopped rushing around and answered it. It was the nurse at my doctor's office. "Irene, it is time for your mammogram; call and schedule it this week." I don't have time for this, I thought. We were getting ready for a wonderful vacation. "All right, I'll call now," I answered. Lee and I were leaving Saturday for the northern states. We would travel in our motor home and my parents would travel with their trailer rig. I had planned every detail of the trip, and I was as excited as a kid going to camp for the first time. Tuesday morning I had the mammogram, and that same afternoon the doctor called and said something looked suspicious and that I needed a biopsy.

"Can I wait until we get back from our vacation?" I asked. "You at least have to see the surgeon before you go." He said those fateful words no one wants to hear. Friday afternoon I saw the surgeon. He showed me the spot on my left breast that they were concerned about. He agreed that a biopsy was necessary. "Can I wait three weeks to have it done?" I said, hoping to go on our scheduled trip. After some thought, he said, "You can have three weeks, but you can't have a month."

I should have begun to take this seriously when he said that. I'm sure, but I was too busy thinking about our trip.

Before I got home from the doctor's office, his nurse called once more, this time with the surgery schedule.

We had a wonderful time on our family trip, and I had the biopsy soon after we got home. Yes, it was positive. I elected to have a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy. Many of my family members were surprised, but I felt if this procedure didn't work, I could always have the mastectomy later. Eight lymph nodes were involved. The cancer was small, but very aggressive. This was the last week in August and school started the day after Labor Day. I teach Junior High. I wasn't sure how I was going to have my room all set up and ready for the first day of school. I still had the drainage tube from the operation. On Labor Day weekend, my husband, my daughters, a son-in-law and grandchildren all showed up and turned my classroom into a work of art. Those of us who have supportive families are so blessed.

In early September, I saw the oncologist. He said I should start chemotherapy the next day. I said that it was "Back to School Night" and that I needed to be there. The oncologist turned to my husband and said, "She's facing a life threatening disease, and she's worried about "Back to School Night!" I decided then and there that this was something serious.

I continued to teach for a year and the students were wonderful. One day I dozed off during silent reading time. When I woke, I said, "Oh, I fell asleep for a couple of minutes." The students replied, "Mrs. Woolman, you have been asleep for 15 minutes, and we decided just to let you sleep." Not many 8th grade classes could do that. They appointed themselves my "water monitors." On chemo days I was supposed to drink lots of water. If I was not drinking enough to satisfy my students, one of them would simply get up, set my water in front of me and return to her seat.

A friend of mine offered to get me marijuana to help me with the pain from the treatment. I said, "No thank you." I am a teacher, and I can't imagine trying to justify that to students. What kind of an example would that be for my students? I don't mean to make light of something as serious as cancer. I did everything the doctors told me to do. I had three months of chemotherapy, 6 and a half weeks of radiation, and then another three months of chemo. I prayed regularly, and I allowed my family and friends to love and care for me. I rarely allowed myself to think about the "what if's." This cancer was simply something that happened and needed to be taken care of.

I will be forever grateful to my doctor who insisted that I get the mammogram on time. I know I would not have had it that very busy week, and as rapidly as the cancer was growing, this could have been a different story.

I just had the five year anniversary, and we have every reason to believe that I have had a complete cure. Today, I am on a soap box whenever I can say, "GET THAT MAMMOGRAM, AND GET IT ON TIME!"

Editorial P.S. by Brandi Bard.

I've known Irene Woolman ever since we were both in high school in the '50's. I've always known her to be a very courageous lady and a strong determined woman. Not only is Irene a school teacher, she is also a mother of 6 and a grandmother of 6 with another on the way, as well as a computer whiz who taught me and several of our staff dinosaurs to use this extremely confusing machine - since we did not learn to befriend these machines at a young age. Irene's husband Lee, who is our web master and graphics man, puts us on the web each month and also creates beautiful and clever graphics for many of our advertisers, as well. See All Time Partners Inc. on page 5.

Both of these wonderful folks are on our board of directors too. We often look to them for much needed ideas, and they are always there for us with the very information we need. Please listen to Irene Woolman's advice and have your mammograms when your doctor says it is.