Life was pretty good for Mikenzie Helphenstine in the summer of 2011. She had been an outstanding field hockey player at Ocean City High School (Mikenzie Custer) in the late 1990s, went on to play at Towson University and then coached a year at Johns Hopkins while obtaining her Master?s Degree.
She returned to her alma mater, teaching at the Intermediate School, coaching that school?s girls basketball team and getting involved as an assistant with the OCHS field hockey team.
Then she made a discovery. A visit to the doctor confirmed her worst concerns. She had breast cancer.
?I found out in August,? Helphenstine said, ?and had my surgery on Oct. 10. I was young and it happened so fast. I didn?t really have much time to think. I tried very hard to stay busy. It was what kept me going.?
Helphenstine didn?t talk to many people about her situation. Just family and close friends. ?That was the deal,? she said, ?I just didn?t talk about it. There was somebody in every school who knew what was happening and they would tell those who were interested. I just didn?t want to have to repeat the same story again and again.?
She obviously had this well organized.
?It was important that things remained as normal as possible,? she said, ?for my benefit as well as my family and the players on our hockey and basketball teams. My daughter, Andi, did the pink hair with the hockey team. I wore a pink necklace with ?Strength? on it. My son, Kyle, would point to it and I?d ask him, ?who gives me strength?? He would say, ?I do?.? Helphenstine?s husband, Clint, an Ocean City police officer, has been a major source of support.
In the 14 months since Helphenstine discovered she had cancer, she has only missed four or five weeks. Even on the days she received chemotherapy, she worked half a day.
?The school system was just great,? she said. ?The help I received was an example of the advantages of living in a small town. I was never alone. When I had chemo on Fridays we would make it Fun Friday for Andi and Kyle. People would call me up and volunteer to take them somewhere, do something with them, make their dinner, whatever. It was amazing.?
According to government statistics, breast cancer is the second most frequent cancer, just slightly behind prostate cancer. Both are very treatable if caught early through regular examinations. Breast cancer results in the third most deaths by cancer, well behind lung cancer and colon-rectal cancer.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and sports teams in Ocean City and throughout the country, from high schools right through the professional ranks, offer their support with fund raising and the wearing of pink. Some of Ocean City High School?s teams have already begun wearing pink and playing on fields decorated with pink ribbons. On Friday night, during its homecoming game, OCHS players and cheerleaders will wear some pink and Mike Lenhardt, the man responsible for the fields and recreation facilities in Ocean City, will paint some ribbons and pink lines on the field. Lenhardt lost his first wife, Gina, to breast cancer and has been a strong advocate to get Ocean City to support the cause.
?As I went through this,? Helphenstine said, ?I noticed that the kids were amazing. The teachers and parents were concerned and asked how I was feeling. The kids just treated me like they always did. When I lost my hair during chemo, the kids didn?t say a word. I think they were just happy to have their teacher or their coach back with them.?
Obviously, these displays of pink have a deeper effect on Helphenstine than the average person who has not had her experience.
?Actually, I lost a friend to bone cancer,? she said, ?and I have always participated in walks and other fund raisers as a tribute. Some of the kids on my freshmen field hockey team were also on the Intermediate school basketball team last year when I was going through everything. They went through it with me. When we started wearing pink at the beginning of the month, some of them would tear up around me.
?The support system in Ocean City was beyond my expectations. My sister?s godmother is a nun and she asked me to name some of the positive things about all this. It was surprisingly easy. You learn how strong you are. You learn how strong your friendships are. And you find new friends who become a permanent part of your life.
?I?m more than willing to share my story, to encourage people to get regular exams and report anything unusual. I want people to learn about the disease and get involved fighting for a cure. But there is one thing I feel very strongly about. Breast cancer was part of me but it does not define me.????? ?????
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