When Sherrie Wood found out the cancer she thought she had beat had come back days after returning to work as the mass media and communication department assistant, she knew it was going to be a trying time.
However, members of the Baker University community have joined efforts to lessen the financial burden.
Within a week of her discovery, Wood left for Philadelphia to seek treatment Sept. 5 at the Kimmel Cancer Center, returning Sept. 10 to recover.
“I’ve gone once so far, and it was such a quick thing. It’s pretty pricy,” Wood said.
Wood said she fell into remission with metastatic ocular melanoma, which according to Medical News Today, is when melanoma of the eye spreads to a person’s liver. She said she was diagnosed when she went to the doctor for her four-year checkup after having one eye removed due to a cancerous growth that was too large for chemotherapy.
Professor of Mass Media and Communication Susan Emel said the department found out about Wood’s departure Aug. 25.
“We’re waiting to see how the treatments go,” Emel said. “She will come back whenever she can, as soon as she can.”
Wood said she was originally scheduled to receive a chemoembolization, but plans changed when she arrived. The morning of Sept. 7, Wood was given a blood test and determined to have too weak of a liver to go through with the treatment, which would require a stop of blood flow.
Instead, the doctor, who is the only one to specialize nationwide in this kind of cancer, determined a chemo-infusion was necessary. She has also been prescribed cutting-edge medications for her type of cancer, she said.
“It’s such a blessing that that’s where we went,” Wood said. “He didn’t miss a beat.”
Wood is scheduled to return to Philadelphia Oct. 19 for further treatment. She said the doctors told her she might be able to receive the embolization, which was the original plan, based on her progress. If she is well enough to switch treatments, Wood said she will be able to receive subsequent treatment at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., reducing her expenses.
Emel said efforts are being made to help Wood’s cause.
Members of Baker’s faculty and staff opened an account at Baldwin State Bank where students, staff or community members can make donations to help lessen the cost of her medical expenses. Donations can be taken to the Baldwin State Bank and deposited into the Sherrie Wood Fund, or they can be taken to Gwyn Mellinger, associate professor of mass media and communication, or Academic Records Assistant Leisha Petersen.
Dominique Adkins, station manager of KNBU-FM, said the station is in the beginning stages of planning a concert to help contribute to Wood’s medical expenses. The event would be in late October or early November and would possibly be held on campus.
“She has to travel back and forth, and it’s never going to be enough, but we’re going to do all that we can,” Adkins said.
Emel said Baker University Student Senate voted to donate $500 to the Sherrie Wood Fund, while people in the mass media and communication department are helping provide meals for her husband and two sons, ages 18 and 13.
“We have asked the human resources office to consider making a policy that would allow workers at Baker to donate their sick leave or vacation days to Sherrie,” Emel said.
Wood has been working for the department since 2004 and has been making a difference in numerous ways, Emel said.
“First of all, she is very efficient, and she can keep up with a department that has a lot of diverse areas and student activities, and last but not least, she is the most positive person on the face of the earth. She’s just fun,” Emel said.
Joe Watson, assistant professor of mass media and communication, said the department has been a little lost in Wood’s absence because she usually does so much work. He said the department is missing her personality, too.
Watson said since he started working at Baker last January, Wood quickly became one of his favorite co-workers.
“The fact that she hasn’t been here to crack jokes and have fun with us has been hard to deal with, as well,” Watson said.
Wood said the experience has made her realize that she really is loved.
“That’s just amazing to me. It’s just such an overwhelming thing when you’re going through something like this. It’s just so unexpected, and then when I heard that this is being done, I guess you go along in your everyday life and know that you have friends,” Wood said.
She said her appreciation is immeasurable.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I’m so thankful that I live in a place like Baldwin and work at a place like Baker where people care about each other,” Wood said. “I am pretty sure that I am the most blessed woman in the world.”