Finding gratitude within uncertainty: Meet @cindysummit

TERESA: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect?

@cindysummit: When I received my diagnosis of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (a rare type of kidney cancer that forms in the cells lining the small tubules in the kidney), I was thrown into a whole new world and was looking for support and to gain knowledge. Mayo Clinic Connect was one of the resources given to me. Before my diagnosis, I had used Mayo Clinic’s website to search out different illnesses to help me with my aging parents. I trusted Mayo Clinic.

TERESA: What motivates you to take part in Mayo Clinic Connect?

@cindysummit: My participation is motivated by my need to learn more about cancer from other patients and to gain access to additional resources. I like to get to know others and, although I intentionally avoid giving medical advice, I do like to hear about the experiences other people are having as they live with cancer.

TERESA: What about Mayo Clinic Connect makes you feel comfortable to share and to be open with the community?

@cindysummit: Hearing from others helps me to share my life and seek answers to my many questions. It is nice to know that we are not alone. When things are closed, when the world is quiet, we can chat on the site.

TERESA: What support groups do you participate in?

@cindysummit: My main support groups on Mayo Clinic Connect include:

• Aging Well
• Blood Cancers & Disorders
• Cancer
• Digestive Health
• Just Want to Talk
• Kidney Cancer
• Neuropathy
• Sleep Health

I am also involved in advocacy work with the Kidney Cancer Association.  

TERESA: Tell us about a meaningful moment on Mayo Clinic Connect.

@cindysummit: I am grateful for the moderators. Their kind and hopeful responses from the moment I joined the group have been helpful. I appreciate the individualized touch that they offer members. I appreciate many members too, like @jenatsky, who has taken the time to send me meaningful messages.

TERESA: What surprised you the most about Mayo Clinic Connect?

@cindysummit: I don’t go to a major hospital for treatment. I don’t travel to see a doctor. I go to a medical facility that my family has used all our lives. I wanted my life to be as “normal” as possible with this diagnosis. I still work and I am still active. None of that has changed. My parents are no longer here, so being in a familiar place was important to me—if for nothing else but my own comfort level. Others have traveled all over the country for their treatment. We all have sought help differently and that is okay. We can still be in community.

The other thing that surprises me is that many of us are dealing with more than one illness. It saddens me when I read all the different health issues that seem to come with cancer. I, too, deal with other health issues.

TERESA: What energizes you, or how do you find balance in your life?

@cindysummit: I have really learned how to balance my work and life. I have learned that I do not have to get everything done in a day….or even in a week. I will finish what I need to finish. I have my priorities set in a way that reflects my values and those things that are most important to me.

I have accepted that I now live with a greater uncertainty. I am in remission…today. I don’t know if my cancer will return. The dishes can wait and so can the vacuuming.

I am grateful for each day. What really energizes me is responding to my life with gratitude. I have much to be thankful for and spend time with this each morning. My prayer life anchors me and is equally important. Gratitude does not change my situation or health issues. It doesn’t make me well or “cure” me. But it does guide me to look at life through hopeful and grateful eyes.

I can manage being in traffic without getting annoyed, even finding something good in this time. I can smile when the person in front of me in the grocery line is taking a long time! Expressing gratitude not only changes my view and outlook; it also grows my heart.

I am beyond grateful for my doctors who caught this cancer early. I am grateful for my primary care doctor who listened to me and who ordered the very first scan. I am grateful for the radiology technicians whose kindness helped me get through my first MRI. (I was nervous!) I am grateful for the radiologist who read the scans quickly yet with such care.

And I am here today, in remission, because a urologist and an Interventional radiologist knew exactly what to do when they received the scan results.

It would be remiss of me if I did not share with you the vital role cancer research plays in all our lives. I have benefitted from such research. Cryoablation is now an option and a successful one! The more patients and family members I meet in these groups, the more I come to appreciate and understand the need for continued cancer research funding. I am now a patient advocate for cancer research.

TERESA: Tell us about your favorite pastime or activity.

@cindysummit: Walking was something I always loved. I hope to be able to return to this activity after some physical therapy. I love reading and writing. Mostly, though, on a different level, I love the contentment that simplicity brings to my life.

I love being with my family. We live relatively close to each other. It is always a gift to be with my sister, Wendy, my nephew, his brother and his family that includes his wife and son.

TERESA: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?

@cindysummit: I have a few.

• It is okay to move a little slower on some days. It is okay and necessary to be still sometimes.
• My health will never define me. I am so much more than my diagnosis.
• The little things in life are not so little.

And these words from author and doctor Ira Byock, MD. Dr. Byock is a doctor who specializes in palliative care. He authored a book called The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living. In his book, he argues that saying these words are the things that matter most:

• Please forgive me.
• I forgive you.
• Thank you.
• I love you.

TERESA: What do you love about where you live or vacation?

@cindysummit: I have not been there in a long while, but I love the beach. I love standing on the sand, looking out over the horizon. I feel small in the good kind of way. Sometimes, it is good to feel a little small.

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