You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”

Maya Angelou

This week I was looking over the COVID count numbers for the county, as I normally do. (We are down to 4 cases, as of last report of April 9.)  

Then, I saw a Facebook post by John Carney that made me realize that even though the coronavirus was miserable for the community, there’s still another evil presence among us. It’s called breast cancer.  

John’s column was about how the community has lost a beautiful soul with Vickie Hull’s passing this week.  

Many may remember her as a loan officer at First Community Bank while others may have been privileged to know her through her community service.  

But, no doubt, heaven has gained another angel. If you ever had the privilege to meet her, you likely will agree.  

I had the privilege of writing a story about Vickie last year in honor of our October Breast Cancer awareness tab. She was truly an inspiration in her fight with cancer and her positive outlook for life.  

I’ve decided to reprint portions of Vickie’s T-G story, simply because I know she would want us to be reminded to continue to fight the fight over Metastatic Breast Cancer. 

 Vickie’s story:  

‘I still wear pink and will always be a pink supporter, but I also want to spread the word that there is a different layer to breast cancer when it has become stage IV and that awareness and research funds are so desperately needed for Metastatic Breast Cancer.’  

Vickie Hull, breast cancer patient  

“The first time I was told I had breast cancer was in 2008. It was discovered on a routine mammogram. We had just moved into a new home. My oldest daughter had just graduated high school and had just left for college; my youngest daughter was starting kindergarten.”  

“It felt like someone had punched me. It took a few minutes to even process what they were saying. I was by myself in the room, with my mother waiting in the car.”  

She had experienced cysts before, she said, so she naturally assumed that condition had returned.  

“Realizing that I now had to tell my family was worse then the initial shock of finding out myself.” 

Vickie grew up right in this county; she calls this home. She’s been married to her husband, Danny for 24 years; they have three “beautiful” daughters, Meghan, Anna Claire and Tori. Meghan is married to Brad Brown; they have two “most adorable children in the world,” Amory and Waylon.  

Vickie knows routine checkups are vital. That may include a mammogram and depending on age, every couple of years.  

“I have been having routine mammograms since I was 30, due to a cyst that I found during a self examination. I always performed self examinations monthly. Once the breast cancer was diagnosed, I had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction and four founds of chemo to make sure that it did not come back.”  

She was in Stage 1 and her lymph nodes were clear, but she wanted to do as much as possible, she said, to make sure there was no cancer left.  

“I was told that I had a 98 percent cure rate for 5 years. What I did not pay attention to was the timeline. I was told by many that once you hit the 5-year mark, you were home free.”  

Vickie said she found out that was not always the case.  

“In 2017, after 9 years of being cancer-free, I felt a twinge in my left breast and during a self-examination, discovered a small lump. I called my oncologist the next morning and she got me in that day. I had surgery to remove the lump and it came back that it was cancer, but was localized and had not spread anywhere else.”  

“I had 33 rounds of radiation and again, I thought I was good.”  

In January of 2019, after having some back pain for about a month, Vickie visited a clinic and had an MRI.  

“When I went for the results . . . just thinking I had maybe a bulging disc. I was told my L3 had compressed and that he was sure that my cancer had returned in this area and I had spots on several other vertebrae.”  

Vickie said she still considers herself, despite her condition, “a very happy person” and she tries not to get depressed about her health.  

“I am blessed and try to live my life to the fullest and plan on being here for many years to come. You just try to get as long as you can from each treatment, before you have to switch to something else, because the cancer has found a way to become resistant to the treatment. There are new treatments that are being developed and for that, I am truly grateful, but more research is needed.”  

“I wore lots of pink during the month of October for years, when I thought I had beat it. There is a Metastatic Breast Cancer ribbon that was developed by Metavivor and is green, teal and pink.”  

She explains the green represents the triumph of spring over winter, life over death and symbolizes renewal, hope and immortality.  

Teal symbolizes healing and spirituality. The pink ribbon overlay signifies that the cancer originated in the breast.  

Thank you, Vickie. You will be greatly missed. We will continue to champion and help others overcome Metastatic Breast Cancer. You will serve as our inspiration.