The weakest point in Melissa Bates’ battle against colon cancer struck her as she was interviewed for a TV news special in January.
Zoned out, focused on not breaking down, she answered the questions with a shaky voice. She wanted to participate in the program because she felt she could help other people.
Diagnosed with colorectal cancer Oct. 2, 2008, Melissa was followed by a film crew. The WQAD program discussed the cancer community’s Gilda’s Club and its location in Davenport, Iowa.
Colorectal cancer is typically found in adults over 50, but Melissa, diagnosed at 20, was about to finish her first round of chemotherapy.
A Iowa State University junior in animal science, Melissa reluctantly left school in November 2008 to live at home in rural Kewanee while being treated in Galesburg, and at the University of Iowa in Iowa City - a move that forfeited her scholarship money.
“I didn’t want to quit . . . it was a sense of normalcy for me,” she said.
Upon returning to ISU, she immediately approached her professors and lecturers to explain her condition. She warned that she would have to miss Friday classes to receive chemotherapy and worked with her professors to create a make-up plan.
Her literary journalism professor, Erin Wilgenbusch, understood what Melissa was in for - Wilgenbusch previously worked with had a student who had cancer, and her own father is a two-time colon cancer survivor.
“I’ve seen chemotherapy, I understand the toll it takes,” Wilgenbusch said. “Students sometimes say outrageous things to get out of work, but not that they have cancer.”
For the rest of this lengthy story about Melissa Bates, see the Dec. 24 Galva News.
