Melinda Wolford
“ Every time I think of her my heart is warm.” Melinda Wolford felt an immediate connection with Dr. Annie Tan when she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2013. Her diagnosis initially left her shocked and overwhelmed, as she had gone to the doctor for a routine screening and some bleeding concerns. Melinda was feeling...
Laura Orfield-Skrivseth
Independence Day is typically a day of celebration including fireworks, barbecues, and spending time with loved ones. But when 39-year-old Laura Orfield-Skrivseth found a lump on her breast on the morning of July 4, 2015, the celebration was severely dampened. Just two months prior, she had her annual physical including a mammogram, and the results had been clear. Finding a...
Bruce Mayer
In April 2003, Bruce Mayer was diagnosed with Stage 2 Bladder Cancer. Bruce underwent surgery to completely remove his bladder to be replaced with a Neobladder. This process of removing his cancerous bladder was a success and left him cancer-free. However three years later in July of 2006, Bruce learned that his cancer had returned and had metastasized into a lymph node...
Hope in Motion Survivor Story: Kris West
Valentine’s Day is typically associated with deliveries of roses or chocolates, but on February 14, 2013, Kris West was given something no one wants: a cancer diagnosis. Before her diagnosis, she had been anemic and tired, but there were no lumps or bumps evident in her breasts. Regular mammograms had not shown any areas of concern. But an MRI...
Hope in Motion Survivor Story: DeAnna Wichmann
DeAnna Wichmann credits the Sage program with saving her life. Sage is a breast and cervical cancer screening program in Minnesota. For eligible women, Sage provides free office visits for breast and cervical exams, as well as a screening mammogram and Pap tests. In 2010, Wichmann read about a Sage screening in her church bulletin. Because she was not working...
Hope in Motion Survivor Story: Kimmie Kemberling
When Kimmie Kemberling was 14 years old, she started seeking glamour by using tanning beds. “There was a lot of peer pressure and comments about my being so pale,” she says. “There were no sunless tanning lotions back then either.” For the next 11 years, she continued to seek bronze skin from tanning beds, even using &ldquo...
Hope in Motion Survivor Story: Michael Timm
In March 1996, Michael Timm rode a roller coaster in Las Vegas. That night, he couldn’t sleep due to back pain. He eventually went to see a doctor when the pain didn’t go away, and he was treated for whiplash for a few months. The pain was persistent, and Timm eventually went to see a chiropractor. In...
Hope in Motion Survivor Story: Angie Keiser
July 2014 marks the one-year celebration of survivorship for Angie Keiser of Jordan, Minnesota. On July 8, 2013, at 43 years old, Keiser was diagnosed with breast cancer. She attributes starting a running program to helping her discover the lump in her breast. “On April 6, 2013, my son turned 13,” says the mother of five. “I was overweight and didn’t...
