Worthington nurse navigates cancer

WORTHINGTON — For Lynn Dierks, the path to ringing the bell at Sanford Worthington Cancer Center — the one that signifies a patient has completed cancer treatment — started when she noticed a strange fullness under her arms in August.

She went to her health care provider, who ordered a diagnostic mammogram, which showed three spots that required a closer look, so Dierks was referred to Edith Sanford Breast Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Through the ultrasound and diagnostic imaging work done there on Sept. 26, 2022, Dierks, a registered nurse from Worthington, learned she had breast cancer.

“I figured that I did,” she said. “Still, you get that heart-sinking-into-your-stomach feeling. And for most of us, it’s a matter of when — most of us are touched by cancer in one way or another.”

She had a biopsy and consulted with a surgeon, Dr. Paula Denevan, who told Dierks she would need some kind of surgical procedure in order to remove the cancer. That could either mean a mastectomy, the full removal of a breast, or a lumpectomy, the removal of the cancerous tissue itself, along with a course of radiation.

Though Dierks had previously thought she’d choose to have a mastectomy under those circumstances, Denevan explained that the chances of the cancer returning was, in her specific case, exactly the same.

Kari Lucin / The Globe

Dierks spoke with her husband, Michael, and she decided on the lumpectomy, followed by radiation. It’s a decision that every individual with breast cancer must make themselves, she emphasized.

“It’s very personal, for each person and there’s no right or wrong answer,” she said. “It’s your body. It’s your decision.”

Dierks’ surgery went well, and after a four-week recovery, she started radiation treatment, not in Sioux Falls, but in Worthington, which is staffed by the same doctors as the Edith Center.

“For me it went very well. I didn’t notice any side effects,” she said, apart from a minor “sunburn” on the affected area.

She had 20 radiation sessions, one per weekday for four weeks, which sounds daunting, but treatments lasted just 15 minutes from entering to exiting the building, and were performed in Worthington, meaning daily drives to Sioux Falls weren’t required.

Sanford Worthington Cancer Center, which opened in July 2007, offers radiation and chemotherapy treatments locally, and even got a new linear accelerator in 2020, offering advanced imaging and pinpoint treatment, said Amber Frisch, supervisor of radiation therapy.

“On the radiation side of things, we have over 200 radiation treatments a month, on average,” Frisch said. “With the new linear accelerator we have, it really has opened the door to new possibilities for treatment options in Worthington, and we’re really able to help provide quality cancer care close to home.”

Dierks finished her treatment Jan. 5, and rang the bell, cancer-free.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a deal,” Dierks said. Many of her family members were there for her, though. “It was very special.”

Dierks emphasized the importance of catching cancer early, and that people should pay attention to their bodies and get issues checked sooner rather than later. Dierks discovered her cancer at stage 1, and is now considered cured. She will be on medication for another five or 10 years, and will also need to see an oncologist twice a year.

Dierks advised anyone going through cancer to write down their questions prior to speaking with doctors and health care workers, so nothing is forgotten.

She praised the Sanford team for their efforts in treating her.

“They’re excellent. They’re caring and kind, and you have a very trusting relationship with them. You feel in good hands and confident in their care,” Dierks said. “That medical team is your second family.”

Her first family, including her husband, a prostate cancer survivor, as well as her children, Mikaela Penaredondo, Andrew Dierks and Kristen Gruis, have also been extremely supportive, she said.

“It changes your perspective or your outlook,” Dierks said of her experience with cancer. “Sometimes you feel lucky. Life has come and hit you, and said ‘Hey, you’re not going to live forever.’”

As a result of her own experience, Dierks decided she wanted to give back to others experiencing the difficulties of cancer, beyond her own nursing work. As such, she’s been making ornate bouquets of paper flowers for chemotherapy patients who ring the bell at Sanford Worthington Cancer Center, meticulously folding and curling cut paper petals by hand.

“I want to pay it forward,” she said. “We’re not guaranteed anything in life, so when you ring that bell, it just gives you that sense of ‘I did it,’ — that hope.”