Cave Spring resident finding strength in face of cancer

CAVE SPRING-Kim Dickerson has one goal: to watch her youngest child graduate from high school in June 2011.

Dickerson has a hard fight ahead of her, since the Cave Spring resident is suffering from late-stage breast cancer.

Dickerson’s battle started in December 2005, when she thought she had the flu. She finally went to the doctor, and found that fluid on her heart and lungs contained cancerous cells.

Christopher Blankenship, left, and Lindsey Blankenship, right stand with their mother Kim Dickerson.

“My cancer was already so far gone, I was not even a candidate for a mastectomy or radiation,” Dickerson said. “It was so widespread and [my doctor] told me, it will always be there, our goal was to put the cells in a dormant state to give me more time.”

Her doctor, William Fintel, has been with her every step of the way.

“Dr. Fintel has never sugar-coated anything for me and I knew it would be a difficult fight. From day one, he was very realistic about what I could really expect,” Dickerson said. “I do not feel defeated, but blessed by every additional day I do get.”

Fintel, recommended by a friend, has formed a partnership with Dickerson. 

“It takes a special doctor to know that you will not cure many of your patients, and be able to stick by them through everything,” Dickerson said. “He is that man.”

While her treatments are taxing, Dickerson is finding solace in her teaching career. She has taught for seven years, all of them at Lincoln Terrace Elementary School. She is so good at her job that Roanoke City hired her to coach other teachers to become master instructors like herself.

Dickerson is so enthusiastic about her job that Lincoln Terrace principal Freida Hines often has to insist that she take a break.

“Kim Dickerson is a dedicated teacher, who has pushed herself beyond belief,” Hines said. “On many occasions I have had to insist that she go home and rest. I recall getting e-mails while she was out recuperating from chemo.”

Dickerson has received much support from her colleagues, as well as her students. She encourages her students to ask questions, and they have.

“Kids want to be trusted with information,” Dickerson said. “I found early on in teaching that as honest as we can be with our students about anything, the harder they will work for us. Not out of pity, but out of trust.”

Dickerson respects her students’ needs to ask questions.

“They need to ask, does it hurt? Can I catch it? Will you lose body parts?” Dickerson said. “Many people would say, ‘Oh, let’s not think about that,’ but kids are not foolish…they need the truth.”

With all of the support from her family, friends, and colleagues, Dickerson has found her life even more blessed than before.

“I have always said, I would never wish a terminal illness on anyone, but everyone deserves to know how much they are loved, valued, and appreciated,” Dickerson said.

No one is more loving, however, than her husband of four years.

“My husband Jerry is simply a hero,” Dickerson said. “He married me, not knowing how things would turn out. We just celebrated our fourth anniversary, and neither of us really expected to see that.” 

The two had only been dating only a short time when she was diagnosed. He proposed to her with an insurance card when she was worried about not being able to work, and he has stuck by her ever since.

“He is strong for me when I feel so beaten down that I cannot stand it,” Dickerson said.

Her children are also strong for her. Christopher and Lindsey Blankenship were young teenagers when she was first diagnosed, and they were scared to death at the thought that they would be left to fend for themselves.

“I was a single parent at the time, and they felt helpless, not knowing what would happen to them if they lost the only parent caring for them at the time,” Dickerson said.  

They have since grown stronger, however.

“I am glad to see both my children learning to work through trials and claim God’s grace as their stronghold,” Dickerson said.

For now, Dickerson is participating in events such as Relay For Life, and hoping for a cure.

“I would love a cure, but if I live this way until I die, that is ok too,” Dickerson said.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 7:39 am and is filed under Cave Spring Connection, FEATURES. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.