Life hasn't been easy for Karen Albaum. The Thousand Oaks woman and her husband had cancer in their lives for decades.
"My husband, David, had thyroid cancer 30 years ago," said Albaum. "He had surgery, and had his thyroid removed, and he was very good about getting his checkups when he was supposed to. Every six months, he went in for a scan of his thyroid area, and they did find some tissue, and he had two more surgeries. Years went by, and he was perfectly fine. Once you have thyroid surgery, you take a drug every day, and you are fine. You don't miss it, nothing's happening, it's not bad, it's very contained."
But a decade ago, a routine checkup led to some shattering news for the couple.
"One of his doctors said that it had been a while since he had a full body scan, and let's just for fun do your whole body," said Albaum. They scanned his whole body and found that pancreatic cancer had spread to his liver. "Pancreatic cancer is something that generally has no symptoms, and he had no symptoms. Because it had spread to his liver, it was already Stage 4. It meant there was nothing you could do, except hope. It's not a good outcome."
Albaum said her husband tried to ask the doctor a painful question.
"The doctor said it's not like TV. We don't give people 'You have six months, you have two years.' We don't say that. What we do say is 'Get your affairs in order, and start treatment in two days.' That's what we did."
She said the one thing they had to be grateful for was that her husband’s chemotherapy treatments went well, not only giving him more time, but also a good quality of life. Albaum said he wasn't in pain and was on chemo for the last two years of his life.
While this was going on, Albaum realized she was overwhelmed. She discovered a Westlake Village-based nonprofit organization, the Cancer Support Community for the Valley/Ventura/Santa Barbara.
"I called them and asked what they did," said Albaum. "They said if I wanted to come in, they were having a meeting on Monday, and see what we are all about. It was a support group. They offer support for caregivers, they offer support once your person has passed, and there are all different kinds of groups. There are groups for the children of patients, and they have groups for the patients as well. I was in the caregiver group for the two years when my husband was sick, "said Albaum. "I took a little time off, and then I went back for the survivor group, the grief group."
The Cancer Support Community has helped tens of thousands of people over the years. The Westlake Village-based nonprofit is celebrating its 35th anniversary.
It offers cancer support groups, educational workshops, cancer counseling sessions, and healthy lifestyle classes. It works with adults, teens, and families in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, as well as the Western San Fernando Valley.
On Saturday (June 6), the organization is holding its annual Hope Walk fundraiser. Hundreds of people are signed up for the event, which is from 9 to 11 Saturday morning, at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.
As for support group member Karen Albaum?
"I was grieving. I was grieving for two years. The first year after he was gone was pretty horrible. And, it's not only his death, but the future we were supposed to have together that I don't get anymore. It's different. It's very, very different."
