Janet’s journey to beat breast cancer
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Written for the Chrisman Leader by Janet Hoult
Mark and Janet Hoult with Trooper
My name is Janet Hoult and I would like to share my journey with you about battling breast cancer to give hope to those who are battling any kind of cancer. I live here in our wonderful community of Chrisman. I previously lived in Westville and worked at McLane Midwest in Danville where I met and married my husband, Mark Hoult in 2008. Mark and I love taking trips to Destin, Florida, where we enjoy spending time at the beach.
One of my most cherished joys in my life are my two grown children and their families, which includes six grandchildren and one more on the way. I enjoy spending time with all of my family and it gives me hope and encouragement to keep fighting.
Another joy in my life is my Maltese lap dog, Trooper, who gives me great comfort.
After marrying Mark, I moved to Chrisman and worked in Georgetown at what is now the Longview Bank and Trust. That’s when our lives changed with just one phone call.
In 2012, after a mammogram and ultrasound, the doctors saw something abnormal in my left breast. A biopsy was performed and I was diagnosed with Estrogen Driven Breast Cancer. I had a lumpectomy and while in surgery the sentinel lymph node and the one next to it were removed. The cancer was in two out of the three lymph nodes, so they removed all three. I went through radiation and was put on a chemo pill.
In 2017, while working for the City of Chrisman, my breast cancer returned and was detected in the fourth lymph node. They found out it was in the fourth through seventh lymph nodes, so I had surgery to remove all thirteen lymph nodes from my left arm. I was given more radiation treatments, along with having a port put in for IV chemo infusions. I was then put on a different chemo pill. Due to the effects of my breast cancer and the treatment I was receiving, I had to leave my job at the City of Chrisman.
Then in 2019, I was two years clear of cancer, I had my port removed, but still continued with the chemo pill. In January of 2021, the breast cancer returned and a scan showed that it had spread to my chest wall and right lung. A biopsy was performed and both tumors tested positive for Triple Metastatic Breast Cancer. The doctors put my port back in and started me on a chemo and immunotherapy cocktail. The chemo cocktail killed both of the tumors.
However, a recent scan showed a tumor that sprouted off of the necrotic one in my lung. A special kind of blood test was performed and the new tumor tested positive for
Triple Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer. The doctors think that it formed at the end of my chemo and that is why it wasn’t killed along with the other tumors.
I just finished thirteen high dose radiation treatments to hopefully shrink or kill this new tumor.
Next week, I have another PET scan to find out if the tumor did shrink or was killed by those treatments.
If it just shrunk the new tumor, I will once again have another round of chemo and radiation. We are hoping the radiation totally killed the new tumor and that I will be cancer free.
Meanwhile, my wonderful family is planning a fundraiser to help with my medical expenses. It will be held on the same date as the “Christmas in Chrisman” celebration, which is Wednesday, December 1, 2021. A Spaghetti Lunch, which includes spaghetti, meatballs, salad, roll, cupcake, and drink will be held from 11am – 1pm, for a free-will donation at the Chrisman First Baptist Church, 308 E. Madison, Ave.
There will be a choice of dine-in or carry-out. Many nice items will be raffled off, including a Ruger PC9 Carbine Rifle, a 7-Night Resort Getaway, a Blackstone 28″ Griddle, a Lifetime Cruze 100 Kayak, and much more. A 50/50 drawing will also be held. Flyers and donation boxes have been placed in Chrisman, Hume, Newman, Paris, Ridgefarm, Georgetown, and Westville.
You can contact my sister-in-law, Beth Hoult at 217 (251)-0304 for more information or to purchase tickets. May God bless everyone who has helped me along this 10 year battle with breast cancer.
