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There are two very distinct yet related chapters to Billie Stockl’s story.
It’s a story about the impact cancer has had on her life, as well as that of her late husband’s. And it’s a story about Billie’s crusade for the terminally ill.
Billie was diagnosed with breast cancer on Oct. 13, 2006, the date of her 59th birthday. After discussing treatment options with Dr. Jody Jenkins at Cochise Surgical Care, she decided to have a lumpectomy — surgical removal of the cancerous tumor — as opposed to a mastectomy, a much more invasive approach that involves total breast removal. Billie’s lumpectomy was followed by a fairly new form of internal radiation treatment called MammoSite Radiation Therapy System, a procedure offered at Sierra Vista Cancer Center.
 Billie Stockl was diagnosed with breast cancer on her birthday, Oct. 13, 2006, and is undergoing a special treatment at the cancer center in Sierra Vista. Stockl lost her husband, Ludwig "Lu" Stockl on Jan. 4, 2003, to leiomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review) |
She is the center’s first patient to undergo MammoSite therapy.
In addition to a five-day regiment of radiation, which she has completed, Billie’s treatment is augmented with chemotherapy.
“My cancer is highly malignant, a grade three of three, which means it’s most likely to metastasize,” Billie solemnly said. “I’m going to have chemotherapy every three weeks for a total of eight treatments. A PET scan showed that I have some residual cancer cells surrounding my surgical site, so hopefully the chemotherapy will kill those cells. I’ll be getting another PET scan in a couple of weeks.”
Billie is now using her battle against cancer as a platform to help others.
“I want women to know how important early detection is,” she said. “Women need to pay attention to their annual mammograms and their well women checks. Breast cancer treatment has really progressed through the years and it’s much less invasive now than it used to be. If I have to have cancer, this is a good time to have it.”
MammoSite is an excellent treatment option for women with breast cancer, Bille said.
“And it’s right here in Sierra Vista,” she added. “My treatment has been a walk in the park compared to what my husband went through.”
Dr. Shahid Latif, a radiation oncologist, and Dr. Sanjeev Gopal, a medical oncologist, are the two doctors overseeing Billie’s treatments at the cancer center.
With MammoSite therapy, the patient receives radiation twice a day for five days, delivered to the area of the breast where it is needed most. The alternative treatment for breast cancer requires 31 days of radiation and more healthy tissue is irradiated, not just the cancerous area. A tiny balloon is attached to a tube called a catheter, placed inside the surgical cavity where the cancerous lump has been removed. The balloon is inflated with a saline solution, which allows it to fit snugly in the cavity.
A portion of the MammoSite catheter is left outside of the woman’s breast so it can be attached to a computer-controlled machine during radiation treatments. A radioactive source, called a seed, travels from the machine through the catheter, allowing radiation to be delivered to the site. The seed, which remains in the balloon for 10 minutes, is drawn back into the machine at the end of the treatment session.
After five days of treatment, the balloon is deflated and removed from the woman’s breast.
While an appealing treatment option for breast cancer patients, Joseph Rodriguez, the chief therapist at Sierra Vista Cancer Center, said not all women are candidates for MammoSite therapy.
“The lump has to meet specific size limitations, the surgical site must have clean margins and there should not be positive lymph nodes,” he said. “When positive lymph nodes are found, it means the tumor is not limited to the breast itself.”
Though Billie’s outcome looms as an unknown, she manages to maintain a positive attitude. She’s grateful that her treatments are in Sierra Vista, that the Cancer Center offers an option such as MammoSite radiation and that she is handling the chemotherapy with minimal problems.
“After watching what my husband went through and seeing how much he suffered before he died, my treatments are nothing,” she said.
Billie’s husband, Ludwig Stockl, died in 2003 from a rare form of soft tissue cancer, called leiomyosarcoma.
“Three years from the time he was diagnosed, he died a horrible and painful death, one that most people would never even begin to imagine,” she tearfully recalled. “We weren’t given the option of treatment in Sierra Vista and traveled to Tucson for six weeks. Lu was weak and in such awful pain. Those trips to Tucson were very hard on him. He died a horrific death.”
Convinced the terminally ill should not have to suffer, Billy has been on a crusade since her husband’s death, pushing for legislation similar to Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. As president of a local organization called Compassion & Choices and vice president of the organization’s state chapter, Billie’s goal is to educate the public about end-of-life options, including living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders and medical and mental power of attorney instructions.
Compassion & Choices has a champion in the Arizona House of Representatives in Rep. Linda Lopez, D-District 29, who supports legislative changes for the terminally ill. For five consecutive years, Lopez has sponsored a bill that would allow terminally ill patients the right to end their lives in a peaceful and humane manner.
On Jan. 24, 2006, Billie was part of the Million Geezer March at the state Capitol, where she spoke about her husband’s illness and how he suffered.
“In October I found out that I have breast cancer. I’ve had surgery, finished radiation and continue on with chemotherapy. Compared to what my husband went through, it’s a walk in the park. I hope that Representative Lopez’s bill is passed should I ever become terminally ill,” she said. “Please don’t wait until your loved ones die a horrible death to get involved. Let your legislators know that you want this bill passed. We need this legislation now.”
Billie said living with her diagnosis has been frightening. The unknown is frightening. But her work with Compassion & Choices, along with the friends and contacts she has made through the organization, have helped her deal with her illness.
“And I can’t say enough for all the support I’ve had at the Cancer Center, as well as my doctors there. I’m grateful for the compassion and care I’ve received. If nothing else comes out of this, I hope women see this story and follow through with their annual appointments. I hope Arizona passes end-of-life legislation for the terminally ill and that it happens soon.”
shuni wrote on Apr 18, 2008 12:11 AM: