For the love of Peanut
How Cancer and a girl named Peanut Shaped a Life ’ s Journey
By Tina Withrow
Our premier picture together came at Little Long Lake near Angola , Indiana . I was a preemie and my big sister was not only like a second mom , she assumed the role of caretaker of our family of 9 , even before our mother became sick . My father had special names for everyone . Some of those names were not the kind that you could repeat because that ’ s just how my dad was . Peanut ’ s name stuck and that ’ s what everyone called her .
Back in the day when families took care of each other and a village meant your neighbor , your church , your Auntie ’ s and Uncle ’ s , Miss Peanut could always be counted on to be the worker bee making all feel important and welcome . She married young and raised a loving family . She was never the one at the front of the crowd . No , she was one doing the work , blending in among the group , making sure all was well in your world . If it wasn ’ t , she went into short order cook mode to whip up all those feel good kind of foods . She was June Cleaver in a pair of jeans .
Cancer struck her when we least expected it . Throat cancer that would leave her with a much altered voice and a tracheostomy for the rest of her life . So many in my family have had cancer , we call it the family business . Recovery was hard , but she was determined . Watching her place her finger over her trachea to talk , watching how people stared at her , and watching her grace during it all changed me , inspired me and made me madder than hell . This led me to a life ’ s work of helping people with cancer , running a cancer center , raising a crazy amount of money for cancer , and I never slowed down trying to figure out what to do about my sweet sister getting cancer . Truth is , when your loved one gets cancer , you need to get quiet and listen . My answer was to work , work , work so that I didn ’ t have to get quiet . I finally got quiet and listened to my heart ’ s desire to make something happen to those affected TODAY and beyond with thyroid , head & neck cancer .
Heads Up Dallas Fort Worth ! A new cancer foundation is here , and we are dedicated to changing and impacting lives . We believe advocacy equals action and we must act now !
The DFW Thyroid , Head and Neck Cancer Foundation is a grass roots effort to help those affected TODAY with thyroid , head and neck cancer . One hundred percent of all donations will get into the hands of cancer survivors to defray costs and help advocate for those with no voice .
You can help ! Go to the website , buy a shirt , make a change , make a difference . Peanut would be proud , and if you by chance happen to know a bazillionaire , tell them to call me . o
Tina Withrow is an independent cancer navigator and patient advocate at Health-Sync . If you or someone you know needs help navigating a health-care crisis or cancer , contact Tina at 214-546-2215 or email her at twithrow @ health-sync . net .
32 DALLAS COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017