Rude awakening

PALMER — In August, 22-year-old Laurel Carlsen left the warmth of the Mojave Dessert in search of work and family life in Palmer. Having just graduated from college in Santa Cruz eight months prior and not doing a whole lot with her new degree, Carlsen was finally ready to do and become something.

Upon arriving in the Mat-Su Valley, Carlsen was less worried about getting a job as she was about the lump growing on her collar bone.

“I wasn’t a very good patient before getting here,” Carlsen confessed.

In December, the small growth under Carlsen’s collar bone had grew to the size of a soft ball. Carlsen, who had just found two part-time jobs, was financially reluctant to see a doctor. Uninsured and unable to qualify for Medicare, Carlsen gave in and went to the Mat-Su Public Health Clinic.

“They discovered that my supradavicular nodes were infected,” she said.

Carlsen underwent several blood tests and had CT scan before doctors called her in for the diagnosis. Worried, she brought her sister with her for support.

After a lengthy discussion about what the lumps in Carlsen’s chest were, she was told she had Hotchkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of lymph tissue found in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and bone marrow.

“I knew it was bad because the Tech at the hospital showed me the scans and I could see the mass in my neck,” Carlsen said.

Through a biopsy, Carlsen had three tumors removed, one the size of an egg, two more the size of grapes.

Carlsen called over at Alaska Family Services (AFS), where she had just begun working two-months prior, and told them she wouldn’t be coming into work, she had just been diagnosed with cancer.

Kelly Marre, a fellow employee at AFS, heard Carlsen’s news. Memories came rushing back.

Marre is familiar with the devastating news of cancer. Her grandfather had died from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her 11-year-old son had passed away in 1998 suffering with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Since her son’s death, Marre has been involved in several cancer awareness events, including the Light The Night Walk, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s nationwide evening Walk to build awareness of blood cancers and raise funds for cures. Walkers carry illuminated balloons-white for survivors and red for supporters-to celebrate and commemorate lives touched by cancer.

“The first time I met [Carlsen] I really liked her,” Marre said. “My heart went out when I heard her diagnosis. I’ve been down this road before. But, she had no insurance or assistance with the medical expenses. The fact that she didn’t qualify for assistance because she’s single, it just broke my heart. Everyone feels the same way. People who don’t even know her now want to help her.”

Marre decided something had to be done for her coworker. Treatment for Hotchkin’s lymphoma ran into the five digits, so Marre took Carlsen down to the Wells Fargo in Palmer and opened up a donation account. A company wide e-mail to help Carlsen soon followed.

Carlsen was overwhelmed, to say the least.

“They’ve been so awesome to me, people who barely know me” she said. “They’ve been really supportive. Now I’m starting to get my wits back.”

“The first few weeks I was really in shock,” she said. “All of my co-workers were just wonderful, trying to help me find resources. Kelly offered to set up this account and I was is awe of the generosity.”

Unsure of the toll cancer has taken on her, Carlsen recently was scheduled for a PET scan at an imaging service in Anchorage to determine what parts of her body are infected. Last week, she received a call from a woman working at the center saying she needed insurance or money up front to proceed. Carlsen was devastated.

“It’s a $4,000 test,” she said. “So I got put on a waiting list to see if I can get it done for free. Problem is, it could be one week to one month and in order to get the procedure, you have to fast for a month. The woman was very compassionate, it was there protocol.”

Persistently, Carlsen’s oncologist called the imaging service and ordered the test, immediately. Carlsen is now set to receive the crucial scanning procedure on Jan. 9 and begin a series of chemotherapy treatments a week later, with no way to pay for any of it.

“She’s a sweet girl, so it just made sense to jump in,” Marre said. “To be diagnosed at 22 with cancer is just dreadful. I just wanted to help as much as I could.”

Although Carlsen is considered young in terms of cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is most common among people 15- to 35- and 50 -to 70- years old.

As Carlsen begins a long journey of recovery in 2008, she considers herself lucky.

“I think cancer is more sociably acceptable than other illnesses,” she said. “It’s people living with diseases, like HIV for instance, that hold a social stigma that I feel for.”

Carlsen said through her diagnosis and early treatments, her sister has been her biggest supporter, having stuck by her to find humor in a relatively tragic discovery.

“I would be sulking if it weren’t for her. She makes me laugh, with her rude cancer jokes. Humor plays a part of my recovery, for sure.”

Carlsen said she will endure six to eight months of chemotherapy, a long road ahead that her doctor said she should get ready to buckle up for.

“He said that I don’t need to put myself in any compromising situations, that 2008 is going to suck,” she said. “But by this time next year, all should be well. We’ll see.”

To make a contribution to the Laurel Carlsen’s donation fund, visit Wells Fargo in Palmer and provide the account number : 6247487934.

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife-@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.