No one would begrudge Kathy Oliver if, even for a moment, she felt a little sorry for herself.  But self-pity and pessimism just aren’t part of her character.

“You’ve got to have a positive attitude, and you’ve got to have faith to be able to survive,” Kathy said.  She should know.  She’s survived a lot.

At age 19, just two and a half months after getting married, Kathy’s husband was accidentally electrocuted.  Kathy didn’t know it at the time of his death, but she was pregnant.  She raised her daughter as a single mother until she remarried.  Only six months later, her young stepson was killed in a car crash.  More recently, her husband Billy suffered a stroke and later was involved in an automobile accident that left him seriously injured.  In the years between those family tragedies, Kathy battled cancer – not once or even twice, but three times.

“Even at my lowest point, I never gave into the cancer.  I didn’t dwell in it or think what it might do.  There were times when I was so weak I couldn’t even walk, but I never gave into it,” she said.

Kathy’s cancer journey began in 2014 when a visit to a dermatologist to remove a cyst in her head led to a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that begins in the lymphatic system and can cause tumors throughout the body.  She underwent grueling chemotherapy treatments at the Phoebe Cancer Center not far from her home in Worth County.

“The Cancer Center people were really great.  I couldn’t have asked for them to be any nicer,” Kathy said.  “I was unable to finish my last two treatments because my blood count dropped so low, but the doctor believed the treatments had done their job, so that was okay.”

Four years after Kathy’s first cancer diagnosis, a CT scan during an ER visit to check out severe chest congestion revealed a mass on her left breast.  A biopsy confirmed breast cancer, and Kathy returned to Phoebe for two surgeries, chemo and radiation.

In 2022, she was sick again and blood work during another ER visit showed she had acute myeloid leukemia.  She returned to the Phoebe Cancer Center for chemotherapy.  This time she also needed a stem cell transplant which required hospitalization at Emory University Hospital.

“I spent 100 days in Atlanta.  I had to have several bone marrow biopsies.  They did all sorts of genetic testing and used the donor bank.  Thankfully, they found a perfect match from a college student in Germany and used her stem cells for me,” Kathy said.  “I appreciate what she did for me.  God was with her and sent her as a blessing to me.”

Throughout all three cancer battles, Kathy’s family, friends and fellow church members at Bethel Baptist Church have been by her side.  “I have had overwhelming support.  I’ve been on prayer lists, not just in Worth County, but people I don’t even know all over the country and even in the Philippines where one of my brother’s lives.  It’s a great feeling to know that you have people that really care for you and are there for you.”

That community support is why Kathy agreed to be the 2024 Phoebe Worth Lights of Love tree lighter.  “It’s a great way to thank the community for their support,” she said.

Kathy will speak at the Lights of Love Ceremony at Phoebe Worth on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.  Over more than 40 years, Lights of Love has raised more than $1 million to support programs and services at the Phoebe Cancer Center that directly benefit patients like Kathy.  You can “purchase” a light on the Phoebe Worth Lights of Love Tree in honor or memory of a loved one by making a donation at www.lights-of-love.org.

Kathy is honored to be part of a program that helps other cancer patients and supports the outstanding team at the Phoebe Cancer Center.  Kathy said, “I don’t know if God has put special people in cancer centers or what, but the people at Phoebe are just amazing.”