5 years later, Franklin Township woman now giving back to cancer community through music therapy
BUTLER TWP — Nothing was normal when Corrie Nye, of Franklin Township, received her cancer diagnosis. Her job was completed while wearing masks, her children did not go to activities and she put on her pajamas in the early evening.
But Nye said if not for the COVID-19 protocols put into place in March 2020, she very well may have missed the lump on her chest that led her to be diagnosed with breast cancer on April 21, 2020. She said the slowed pace of life during the beginning of the pandemic allowed her to pay more attention to the little things. She felt the lump when changing clothes one night.
“The fact that I was diagnosed so quickly, and I was able to get treated so quickly, it was a blessing,” Nye said. “’It’s aggressive,’ I just remember that coming over and over and over in my head. My husband was with me when they called, and we looked at each other and said, ‘OK, it’s go time. We have to do this.’”
On Thursday, Oct. 2, Nye returned to Benbrook Medical Center, where she received treatment for her cancer, as well as support from the staff members, namely oncology patient navigator Stacy Meyer. Nye credited Meyer for keeping her and her family’s spirits up throughout her treatment.
Nye said she has no family history of cancer and being on the low end of the breast cancer susceptibility scale, it was the last thing she expected. It was the last thing she expected. She was found to be in Stage 2 of breast cancer, so she got treatment once a week.
Nye’s daughters were 10 and 11 years old at the time, and her son was 5. After having her children shave her head, Nye went to get a wig from Meyer’s makeup and hair program at Benbrook Medical Center. She was not the only one who left with a wig that day.
“I wanted her girls to feel comfortable because it’s such a scary time, and her girls were young,” Meyer said. “I made it fun.”
Nye said she had help from Meyer and her family and friends, who acted as her support system throughout her treatment. She has now been in remission for five years, but is still more than wary about changes in her body. It’s one of the biggest aspects of her life changed by cancer.
“Any time you have any issues with numbness or tingling, it immediately sends a red flag and all those feelings come back again,” Nye said. “Once you’re in those trenches, you’re there for life.”
Nye has also not stopped returning to Benbrook Medical Center or Butler Memorial Hospital for another reason. Because all the time she was going through cancer treatment, Nye was studying music therapy for a master’s degree program — an endeavor that helped keep her mind off of some of the darker parts of cancer treatment, she said.
Even though she was accepted into the music therapy program a few weeks before being diagnosed with cancer, Nye’s idea of how she would use the degree solidified as she was going through her treatments.
“I would sit in my chemo chair and read my books,” Nye said. “I would be the talker in the waiting room ... I would start gabbing to people and I thought, ‘Wouldn‘t it be great if I could come back someday and do this.’”
Meyer said the music sessions Nye has hosted in her office have been well received, and she had noticed changes in people’s demeanor as they sat in the waiting room waiting to be called for treatment.
Meyer emphasized that cancer changes people’s lives in myriad ways, as evidenced by Nye’s career path, which took on a bit of a new route after she went through treatment.
“This is forever,” Meyer said of people who have had a cancer diagnosis. “This is for life.”
Nye said her best advice for people who have gotten a cancer diagnosis is to take the process one step at a time. Some aspects of life might be put on hold during the journey, but she said it’s almost necessary to keep from getting overwhelmed.
“You have to compartmentalize,” Nye said, “and set those healthy boundaries to where you have to prioritize yourself first before you can step in and help others.”
