With chemo, each day has its challenges
For breast cancer patients, each day has its challenges.
Every three weeks, Butler resident Kelly Kramlich heads to Butler Health System Radiation Oncology for her appointment.
“For the first two weeks after chemo, I don't get that far away from the bathroom, honestly,” she said. “For probably the four or five days before I get to go back again, I'm the most normal. It's every three weeks because it takes your body that long to recoup before going again.”
Kramlich was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2020, and is being treated with chemotherapy every 21 days.
Before May 2020, Kramlich kept her days busy with the activities she loved best: spending time with her family, taking care of her two rescue Belgian Malinois dogs, riding motorcycles with her husband, Jeffrey, and serving as secretary of Summit Township Sportsman's Club.
Today, Kramlich still spends time with her family and her dogs, but at a slower pace as she rests and recovers from her chemotherapy.
She credits the support of her family, her doctors, her coworkers and friends with getting her through the ordeal of treatment and recovery.
Kramlich grew up in Butler, and lives close to her parents and her two grown children, Christopher and Ashley. She says that her whole family has been instrumental in helping her through her journey.“I'm lucky,” she said. “I live next door to my parents, my brother lives in Butler, and my sister is an RN who lives down in Virginia. (My sister) has been to all my appointments with me through Google Duo. My kids are in Butler and Evans City. I'm kind of surrounded by family.”She said that she mostly avoids going out in public for reasons other than medical appointments, as her immune system is still vulnerable and her white blood cell count can fluctuate.“The white cells drop every time that chemo comes around. Even a regular flu, or a little cut, if it's at a time that my white cells are down, could literally kill me,” she said. “I just try and stay away, and not take a chance.”Out of caution, Kramlich has missed family milestones because she is immunocompromised and hasn't been able to get a COVID-19 vaccine.“I have had nieces and nephews who have had birthdays, and I have sent presents, but I just don't go because there's other cousins and friends in school, and I'm just not taking the chance,” she said.Kramlich said that after chemotherapy sessions, she sometimes experiences what she calls “chemo brain.”“It's forgetting stuff, and it's stupid things,” she said. “Right after chemo, someone asked me my birth date, and I had to stop and think for a minute.”
Kramlich's dogs, named Lonie and Nazareth (or Naz, for short), are her constant companions, but going outside to play with them is sometimes a big deal.“If we're gone for a couple hours, my dad will come and make sure they have water and take them out,” she said.Lonie is a retired Army working dog, and Naz was rescued after being found in the desert in Mexico. Lonie was matched with the Kramlich family through a program that pairs retired Army dogs with veterans, such as Kramlich's husband, who served in Afghanistan. Naz was adopted through American Belgian Malinois Rescue.“When I got blood work this morning, within two minutes of me walking in the door (to the house) their noses were in the crook of my arm,” she said. “They don't miss anything, and they always have to go sniff it out and make sure Mom is OK.”
Kramlich said that she is still waiting to find out whether she will need a mastectomy as part of her treatment.“I can tell that it has shrunk since I was diagnosed, but there's not going to be (an answer) until they do another PET scan to get a definite size and see if it's shrunk (enough),” she said.In the meantime, she says that the support of her family and community has been a big help. Friends from work and from the motorcycle community in Butler regularly text, call and check in.“I get cards a couple times a week that say 'Get well, thinking of you,' and they've really meant a lot to me,” she said. “I'm still getting them, and I have them all sitting beside me. I'm keeping them because this will remind me down the line how much everybody was behind me.”Before her diagnosis, Kramlich and her husband participated in the Riding for the Cure motorcycle fundraiser. The charity has helped her a lot through the process and even helped her get a wig after she started chemotherapy.“This wig was $500, and it was handed to me at no cost,” she said. “Until this started, I never knew everything that benefit does. I had no idea, and we did this ride every year. I knew it helped individuals, but until it was me, I had no idea everything that they did.”When Kramlich thinks about life after treatment, she envisions being able to participate in her favorite pastimes and activities again.“I'd be able to go to our club meetings again, and I could maybe have the strength to go out on the bike again, take the dog outside, go shooting, go out to dinner,” she said. “I would not have to think about, 'If I do this, how could it hurt me?' Because that's the biggest thing right now — is that you second guess.”
