Cancer survivor marks two decades of health

By Susan Larson | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, July 23, 2007

When Teanna Nelson pulled up to her aunt’s home on Jewett Lake on Sunday, she thought she was going to an anniversary party. It turned out to be a surprise thanksgiving celebration in her honor.

About 50 friends and family members gathered to celebrate the 23-year-old Erhard native’s two cancer-free decades. The party was staged by her sister Carissa, 21.

“I just wanted to do something for Teanna, to celebrate her cancer-free status and having her in our lives,” she said. “I’m just glad she’s here.”

There was a time when Tehanna’s future didn’t look so bright.

It was Labor Day weekend 1987 and 3-year-old Teanna wasn’t feeling well. Her parents, Shirley and Bruce Nelson, Erhard, initially thought she had eaten something that didn’t agree with her, or that she had appendicitis. They took her to the doctor and learned theirdaughter had a Wilms Tumor, a rare type of kidney cancer that affects children.

“It was almost like the world stopped for a few minutes,” Shirley said.

“I kind of collapsed,” Bruce said.

A cancerous mass was discovered on one kidney and a small portion of Teanna’s liver. Her lungs were filled with cancerous masses. She was immediately taken to the University of Minnesota Hospital, where doctors removed the kidney the next day. Treatment followed to dissipate the cancerous cells in her lungs. She later endured radiation, which burned her, and a year of chemotherapy, which made her sick. The hospital’s pediatric oncology ward became her home for six weeks.

At such a young age, Teanna didn’t know she had cancer.

“I just knew I was sick,” she said. A tube in her side after surgery made it hard to move and, “there were lots of needles. I remember some of the procedures. My mom was always there and people were always visiting. A lot of the time they’d bring me stuffed animals.”

Teanna had a second surgery in April 1988. She took her final chemotherapy treatment that October. At 15, she stopped having to make regular visits to the University Hospital, as long as she visits a doctor once a year. While the thought that the cancer could come back is never far from her mind, she doesn’t dwell on it — there’s too much life to live for that.

Nor did cancer prevent Teanna from having as normal a childhood as possible.

“It was just part of my life. When you’re a kid, you just focus on playing. You don’t think of dying as much. What concerned me more than anything was not being able to always do what the other kids did. I had a younger sister (Carissa) and I wanted to keep up with her … I knew I was different when other kids saw my scars. I knew I was different then because they made such a big deal about them because they were so big.”

Cancer did play a role in deciding Teanna’s career path. A 2002 Pelican Rapids High School graduate, this year she earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from the College of St. Catherine’s in St. Paul.

“I want to work with kids,” she said. “Some day I want to work in a neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital or with kids with cancer. With occupational therapy, I can help kids with cancer do what they want to do during the day. If a kid can’t play because they’re so tired from getting dressed, I want to figure out a different way for them to dress themselves so they’re not so tired. I’ve always wanted to help people. That’s what it comes down to.”

Teanna lives in St. Paul, where she is job-hunting. She comes home as often as she can to spend as much time as she can with friends and family. He illness instilled in her a deep appreciation of loved ones.

Teanna’s family, the Nelsons and Brieses, will participate in the Relay for Life Aug. 3-4.

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