A survivor's journey

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

Bessemer - Cheryl Taivalmaa, of Bessemer, was living in Phoenix when she learned her mother had cancer in 1985. It changed everything.

"I quit my job and came home because I wanted to be close," she said, explaining that she took jobs in Ishpeming first and then in Marshfield, Wis., so it would be easier to drive here to provide support.

Taivalmaa said the experience of her mother, Helmi Taivalmaa, went as follows:

-She realized she had a lump in her breast, but delayed seeing a doctor for several months because she was waiting to get on Medicare.

-When she finally saw a doctor for another condition, she mentioned the lump "in passing."

-The doctor then made the lump his priority, arranging for surgery and radiation.

-Despite every possible measure being taken, there was not much reprieve and not many "good weeks" in the next couple years before Helmi Taivalmaa died at 67.

"If she had gone (to the doctor) earlier, or had mammograms or regular check-ups," the outcome may have been different, said Taivalmaa. She added that, unfortunately, "A lot of people postpone going to the doctor because of the cost."

Taivalmaa was 33 when her mother died in 1987. "I never really got to know her," she said wistfully. "When you're older, you wish you knew your mom."

Only after her mother died was Taivalmaa able to move to this area when she got a job as a medical technologist in what is now Aspirus Ironwood Hospital.

She said, "I'm more prone to take preventative measures. I used to run, but now, I just walk. I try to walk at least two miles a day." She added she and her co-workers either use their lunch hour to walk or else she walks after work.

Working in a hospital setting also has allowed her to witness the medical struggles other people experience. "It kind of hits home," she said, when you see other people dealing first-hand with disease.

Taivalmaa also gets yearly mammograms. "I've seen it help people in the hospital," she said. "If they get it (the cancer) early, they have a better chance of surviving."

A couple of scares have occurred along the way, said Taivalmaa. About a decade ago, the doctor reviewing her mammogram saw something suspicious and recommended a needle biopsy, which showed no problems. In addition, a second mammogram recommended this year resulted only in showing harmless calcification.

Still, said Taivalmaa, it's better to be cautious. She has had her share of other personal tragedies. Her father, Martin, died in 2002, and several months later, the house she had inherited from him burned down when she was in the midst of remodeling.

Taivalmaa then arranged for a new house to be built and began living there in 2003. Her life began to fall into place until the summer of 2014, when her sudden confusion alerted co-workers that something was wrong. They took her to the emergency room, and she was flown to Minneapolis, where it was discovered she had a brain tumor that, even though benign, required surgery.

Taivalmaa is in a good place now, and she also recalls a sort of silver lining that occurred in the years after her mom's death.

Although she did not get to establish the intimacy she would have liked with her mother, she said the years she spent helping her dad before he died did help her to feel closer to him. During that time, she also was raising her son, Zachary, with whom she said her father had "a pretty strong bond."

Zachary now attends the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, while anticipating a career in computer science. Taivalmaa, meanwhile, is enjoying time with friends and family, and is looking forward to a trip to New York City next year.