Deepa Salvi, Laura Mangone, Anne Woodrick, Cheryl Punzo, Hallie Fasanella and Jane Fasanella walk the Hair of the Dog 5K at Working Dog Winery May 17, 2015. Woodrick, a Robbinsville resident and Pond Road Middle School teacher, suffers from pancreatic cancer. She completed the 5K course with the aid of her friends, who wore shirts that said “See You at the Finish Line.” Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.
By Amy Macintyre
When Anne Woodrick received her diagnosis in May 2014, she wasn’t going to let cancer keep her from running a 10k race later that week. But three days before the Broad Street Run in Philadelphia, her symptoms caught up with her, and despite her tenacity, she begrudgingly complied with her oncologist’s orders.
A life-long athlete, Woodrick had an envious energy level. When she wasn’t teaching 5th grade students at Pond Road School, the mother of three was coaching girls’ lacrosse and field hockey at Robbinsville High School, playing tennis or walking Riggins, her black lab. Often, she would top off the evening with an 8-mile night run through her Robbinsville neighborhood with her headlamp guiding the way.
Since being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her physical limitations have been one of the biggest adjustments. Chemotherapy has wreaked havoc on her body, but over the last year, it’s been her love for her family and friends, the support of her community, and the compassion of a 5th grade class that keeps her going.
“The happiness I get from people being so generous just helps push me forward,” Woodrick said. “I have to live for these people because they’re being so kind.”
Last May, Woodrick scheduled what she thought would be a routine exam with her doctor. She was training for her upcoming race, and something just wasn’t right. She wasn’t in pain and she didn’t feel sick, there was just something about her body that felt “off,” she said.
Initially, her general practitioner, Dr. Tracey Moreno of Princeton, diagnosed Woodrick with GERD, but referred her to additional testing. Woodrick didn’t want to miss any work to get the diagnostic imaging, but Moreno insisted she call out of work the following Monday.
A week and a half later, Woodrick was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer occurs when a malignant tumor forms in the pancreas, which produces hormones and aids in digestion. Because symptoms rarely present themselves in the early stages, a diagnosis is usually made in late stages of the disease after the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body, according to the National Cancer Institute.
“She saved my life,” Woodrick said of Dr. Moreno, explaining that if not for her, she may have accepted the GERD diagnosis until something drastic and life threatening occurred. “She and my attitude prolonged my life.”
“I was shocked,” Rose McGlew said as she remembered first hearing the news. McGlew has worked alongside Woodrick for 12 years at Pond Road School and has always known her friend as healthy and active. The fact that she had stage three cancer was unbelievable.
“I needed to do something,” she said, “something tangible, to help her.” McGlew’s grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer shortly before her death, so she knew the expenses related to Woodrick’s care and treatment would begin to accumulate.
She sprung into action and started an account with youcaring.com, a free fundraising website. After batting around names, she landed on Anne’s Allies— a fitting name for the community that soon rallied to her cause. McGlew also had purple t-shirts printed with “see you at the finish line” emblazoned in white across the front and began selling them for a suggested donation of $10.
As Woodrick began her first round of chemotherapy, donations began to show up on the fundraiser website and cards from current and former students piled up in her mailbox at school. She went to see the fireworks display and a group of Sharon Elementary School students, whom she says she has never seen before, were proudly sporting their purple Anne’s Allies t-shirts.
“I never expected the community to rally in the way that they did,” Woodrick said. She doesn’t think the level of support or generosity she’s been given could happen anywhere but in Robbinsville. “I feel so lucky I live here.”
As word spread, more and more people wanted to help. Students she never taught, parents she never met, and complete strangers were pitching in any way they could. High school athletic teams dedicated games to her, clubs raised money for her, and there was even a blood drive organized in her honor.
“It was inspiring,” McGlew said. “It really made her feel important and supported.”
As Woodrick continued to fight her cancer with chemotherapy, she credits teaching as her motivation when getting up in the morning and keeping her positive. In particular, it was a class of 5th grade students at the Pond Road School.
It was halfway through the school year when Carol Hotchkiss informed her students that Woodrick would be joining her as another teacher in the classroom for the rest of the year. The students jumped at the opportunity to make her feel welcome.
Hotchkiss said the children led a campaign to find her a desk, and once they had it, they adorned it with pencils, tissues, hand sanitizer and Lysol. Aware of Woodrick’s compromised immune system, they bickered over who got to disinfect her desk and made sure no one with a cough got too close to her.
None of it was to curry favor with the new teacher, according to Hotchkiss. “They wanted to support her on her journey,” she said.
“They acted like I wasn’t even sick,” Woodrick said. She explained that sometimes, she gets pity from her peers, but the students had nothing but empathy and compassion. “They just embraced me like I was another teacher in the room.”
When the weather changed and it was too uncomfortable to wear a wig, they didn’t bat an eye. Woodrick says the girls would compliment her on her bright and colorful headbands.
Any opportunity to surprise her, they jumped on it. On Valentines Day, they gave her cards. On her birthday, they decorated her desk with balloons. On Mother’s Day, they wrote her a book. If she was absent for a few days, they would wear their Anne’s Allies T-shirts and whatever purple they could to welcome her back to class.
“I think the thing is not only did she support them academically, but the life lessons—they learn to persevere even if things don’t go their way,” Hotchkiss said. “Looking at her fight this battle makes them realize you don’t throw in the towel.”
Fifteen months since her initial diagnosis, Woodrick continues to fight. The chemotherapy she was receiving eventually stopped working. Currently, she is enrolled in a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She was to learn how she’s responding to the treatment July 20.
Twice a week, she takes the train to New York City and then hops in a cab to the center. The days are long and when she’s not receiving a treatment or getting a test or scan, she’s waiting for hours on end. The twelve-hour days leave her exhausted. It’s a side effect of the drug she is potentially getting, but also a symptom of the cancer.
She has always been thin, but the physical toll of the cancer and the treatments is visible. At 5-foot-5, she said she has always maintained a slender build and a steady weight of around 120 lbs, but now she is down to 88 lbs and struggling to gain back the weight. The implantable port from chemotherapy is visible under her skin just below her right clavicle, and there’s a bandage on her thin left arm from a shots she received the day before.
Even so, her blue eyes are bright and vivacious. Her hair is about an inch long, full and growing back since her last bout of chemo. She wears patterned headscarves just around her hairline. Her skin is a golden tan after a recent trip to the family’s vacation home on an island off the coast of Maine.
She speaks about her diagnosis with remarkable candor. “It wasn’t something I did to myself, it’s not something that I want to have and I think people should be educated about it,” she said.
“It’s not a secret,” she continued. “Why do I have to hide something that’s been burdened on me that can’t control?”
She says that by speaking out about her cancer, she hopes to inspire people to be more aware of their bodies. If they think something is wrong, she doesn’t want them to shy away from advocating for themselves.
She admits to having some low points, but says they’re few and far between. She has three children, all adults and living in New York City, who she wants to see get married and have children. For a moment, the tears fill her eyes, but she shakes her arms out, wipes her eyes and sits up straight. “I don’t want to leave my children; that’s the part the really keeps me strong.”
Her two daughters and one son, Kelly, Mollie and Ryan Welsh, will be running the New York Marathon in her honor as part of Fred’s Team, a charity that supports cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. She looks forward to cheering them on.
She’s also looking forward to running a marathon herself one day. She has no doubt that she will run again.
“Now my goal is to get better,” she said, “and prove that pancreatic cancer can be cured and you can outlive the odds.”
To make a donation to Anne’s Allies, visit youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/anne-s-allies/178613. A limited amount of T-shirts are available by emailing Rose McGlew at rosemcglew@yahoo.com.
,
