Leiomyosarcoma Direct Research Foundation

A special thanks to the Montrose Daily Press in Colorado,
to writer Erica Lewis Kennedy,
and to Leiomyosarcoma survivor Valerie Bogdan,
for their generosity in allowing us to reprint this story.

Mother, daughter share special bond of survival

Printed July, 2006 — Valerie Bogdan is no stranger to putting up the good fight, and on Aug. 2, she will have all kinds of reasons to celebrate.

Bogdan, a Montrose resident, is just 13 days shy of her 10-year anniversary of being cancer free. At 29, she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer occurring in the body’s soft tissues. According to the National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation, the disease affects four in one million people.

Bogdan first discovered a cancerous lump in her neck when she was three months pregnant. At that time she was living in Grand Junction and working for the VA Hospital.

“I was in shock,” she said.

When most expectant mothers start picking out baby names and decorating the nursery, Bogdan underwent a five and a half hour surgery to have the malignant tumor removed from her neck. Then she had six weeks of radiation treatment.

“I don’t know how I did it, I just did,” she said.

Chemotherapy was not an option because she was pregnant. Bogdan and her husband, Gerry, relied heavily on the emotional support of friends and co-workers to get them through the tough times.

“I kept working part-time,” Bogdan said. “If I hadn’t, I would have gone nuts. My husband was working out of town and we just pulled together. If it weren’t for my family, friends, husband and co-workers, we never would have made it.”

Bogdan’s radiation treatment was different from others, she said. She was always the last patient of the day and hospital staff constructed a bed of lead for her to lie on.

“They had to set up special for me,” she said. “They made this box lined in lead and slid it over my belly. It housed the baby and protected her from the radiation.”

Bogdan’s baby girl was breech, so in the fall of 1996, she was delivered via C-section.

After nine months of uncertanity, Raymie Bogdan was born.

Unlike most pregnancies, Bogdan underwent two major surgeries and radiation therapy, but the outcome for her was “fantastic.”

Despite the difficult circumstances of the pregnancy, doctors assured Bogdan her daughter was going to be OK. The family got second opinions on Raymie’s health at Scottsdale’s Mayo Clinic and the diagnosis came back clear.

Bogdan and her family have since moved back to Montrose, where she was born and raised. Raymie said she couldn’t be happier.

“She thinks I’m special,” Raymie said.

She will be entering the fourth grade at Cottonwood Elementary this fall. Looking at the mother and daughter duo, one might never suspectthe medical ordeal they had to go through.

Bogdan said at first her cancer was hard to deal with.

“The first few months I was just trying to get through it,” she said. “After two to three years we started living a normal life.”

With her 10-year mark just around the corner, Bogdan decided this was the year she would talk about her disease and, more importantly, her recovery. To celebrate she formed a Relay for Life team, which will participate in this weekend’s American Cancer Society event at Montrose High School.

Linda Riba, Relay for Life event chairman said between 15 and 20 teams comprised of eight to 15 people are expected to participate in the overnight walk. The walk will take place on the Montrose High School track with team camps and other events such as a pajama fashion show and a pie-eating contest. Activities will start at 6 p.m. Friday and conclude Saturday morning at 10 a.m. All monies raised from the event go to the American Cancer Society for advocacy, education, research and patient services.

Bogdan’s team, sponsored by Vectra Bank and her current employer, Casa de Mehas, is comprised of friends and family members. Her camp theme will be based on the television show “Friends,” and like the popular show, a little coffee may be involved.

Raymie is one of Bogdan’s team members and said she is excited about the event.

“I am not going to walk, I am going to run,” Raymie said. “My mom had cancer but she is OK now.”

The rest of the family also maintains a positive attitude.

“I don’t take anything for granted now. There is no point in anger or fighting — it’s just not worth it,” Valerie Bogdan said. “Positive thinking, that’s the key —
keeping the negative thoughts away.”

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Last Edited - 22 July 2006 00:07 am