MOTHER OF THREE UNDERGOES TRANSPLANT; FUNDRAISING DRIVE UNDER WAY

When Linda Douglass visited her doctor to undergo a mammogram and physical exams last September, the possibility of cancer was ruled out.

But just three months later, Douglass was told she was suffering from severe inflammatory breast cancer, which had progressed to a near-fatal stage. She is now depending upon a costly bone marrow transplant procedure to save her life.

She will travel to Barnes Hospital in St. Louis today for the procedure. The St. Louis hospital is the only facility in the state able to perform the bone marrow transplant. Doctors will remove her bone marrow, administer massive doses of chemotherapy, and replace her old marrow with new bone marrow. Patients in her condition typically spend six weeks in the hospital, she said.

Douglass, a Jackson resident and K-12 librarian for Kelly Public Schools in Benton, Mo., began experiencing pain in her right breast after she stopped nursing her third child last August. When the pain became more severe, she sought medical attention.

"I did go to the doctor early," Douglass said, "just like we're always warned to do, but this kind of cancer is very rare and hard to detect. They always tell women to get mammograms, and I did, but they didn't find anything."

Her doctor initially suspected fibrocystic disease, which is a common nonmalignant condition found in women. However, when patches of her skin took on an orange peel-like appearance, Douglass was diagnosed with cancer.

"By the time they diagnosed the cancer, I was living on pain pills," she said.

Douglass began chemotherapy treatments in January and had a mastectomy in May.

"There is no detectable cancer in my body now," Douglass said, "but my doctors are sure that there is residual cancer. Inflammatory cancer is very aggressive, and it's almost certain to recur in other parts of my body."

Without the transplant, Douglass said she faces a 90 percent chance of death within two years. But she was told in July that her insurance company has refused to cover the procedure, which is expected to cost between $110,000 and $250,000.

She said, "The insurance company's argument is that this is an experimental procedure, which it would be if I had regular breast cancer. But I have inflammatory breast cancer.

"The doctor says the bone marrow transplant is my only option. Without it I will probably die."

Douglass' hopes for affording the procedure are not yet exhausted, however. Members of the Dayspring Missionary Baptist Church, which she attends, have launched a fundraising campaign through which they hope to pay for the procedure.

Church members sent out letters last week soliciting donations from all Missouri Missionary Baptist Association churches, and to other churches in Cape Girardeau. Douglass said they also hope to promote the campaign through word of mouth.

"We don't have a large church maybe 35 to 40 people," said Jean Pennington, a close friend and fellow church member of Douglass, "but almost everyone has taken part in raising the money."

Donations to offset the hospital costs will be collected at Mercantile Bank in Cape Girardeau. Assistant vice president Betty Sims, who is overseeing the collection, said a savings account has been set up for the donations, and five checks had been received as of Tuesday.

Douglass said Barnes Hospital has already agreed to complete the transplant. She and her husband, Vic, have made a $16,000 downpayment by signing over Vic's life insurance and retirement plan.

"We will have to sign for a monthly payment until the bill is paid off," Douglass said. "If we had to pay the bill ourselves, I don't know how we'd do it."

Douglass said her chance of survival will reach 70 percent after the transplant. The primary danger of complication, she said, comes from infections that sometimes occur as a result of invasive procedures such as hers.

According to Pennington, Douglass has maintained a positive outlook throughout her ordeal.

"She is one of the bravest ladies I know," Pennington said. "If her spirits are down, she sure doesn't show it; she's a real fighter. And she's still always there for everyone else."

Douglass said she has encountered tremendous support from her husband and others. "Vic has been very supportive, and I've received several letters from strangers who have had bone marrow transplants and were successful," she said.

She said her three children, ages 1, 6 and 9, also have adjusted well and have been a source of comfort. In fact, she partially attributes the fact that she is alive today to her baby.

"The cancer is estrogen-positive," she explained, "so it is definitely linked to my pregnancy. The cancer progressed rapidly because of my pregnancy, but if I hadn't been pregnant, the cancer would have cropped up in other parts of my body and would have progressed much slower.

"By the time it would have been detected, it would have been too late. Basically, my baby saved my life."

Anyone interested in contributing to the Douglass fund should send checks to Mercantile Bank of Cape Girardeau, 325 N. Kingshighway (or P.O. Box 1030), Cape Girardeau, 63701, attention to Betty Sims.