Cancer battle puts alumna in spotlight
Lisa Handke: Muleskinner
Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: Homecoming 2009
| |
| |
|
Raised a Christian churchgoer, Burgess kept incessant faith through her cancer treatments and went on to leave her job in the corporate world in order to cofound a church in Independence, Mo., and "live a missionary life."
In her biography on "The Colon Club" Web site, Burgess wrote that having cancer was "one of the best and worst things that could have happened" to her. Diagnosed with colorectal cancer for the first time at age 17, Burgess looks back at that time in her life.
"I really started examining my faith from a different standpoint then. I really started living it and understanding it," Burgess said.
She told her youth pastor, Nick Kendall, that she wanted the cancer to help her "share Jesus with more people."
Church-planting
That's what she's doing today as a ministry leader and director of communications and community at The Avenue, the church she helped form. Burgess left a job with Kuhn & Wittenborn Advertising in Kansas City to establish, or "plant," the church. She said she was happy with her job at the advertising agency, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was "created for something more."
Burgess was hired at Kuhn & Wittenborn after graduating from Central with a public relations degree in December 2005. At that time, she and husband Mike Burgess were members of Lee's Summit Community Church, and after visiting some friends who had moved to Los Angeles, the couple felt called to do church-planting work there.
They seriously considered moving to California, but it just didn't feel right, Burgess said. Then, a few weeks later, the couple learned that Lee's Summit Community Church wanted to form a new church in Independence. The couple took that as a sign that they were to church-plant in the Kansas City area, closer to home. So, after two years at the advertising agency, Burgess quit her job to cofound The Avenue with Kendall, the same youth pastor who had helped her through her first cancer diagnosis. Kendall is now lead pastor at The Avenue, which opened this past October.
"In hindsight, it all just worked," Burgess said.
Problems resurface
It wouldn't be long before Burgess discovered that her battles with cancer were not over. She was glad to be living in the Kansas City area when she found out she had cancer again, and that she has a rare genetic cellular disposition to grow polyps in her large intestine.
Burgess' first cancer diagnosis had been sort of rare in itself. She had a tumor that was located between her colon and rectum, so she was technically diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a new realm of cancer that in 2001 was just beginning to be researched.
Her cancer was in Stage III at the time of diagnosis, which is serious and calls for aggressive treatment. Burgess had to be treated as if she had both colon and rectal cancer, which meant she had to go through both chemotherapy and radiation.
The chemotherapy and radiation were successful, and just seven months after her diagnosis, Burgess was declared to be in remission. She showed no signs of disease for about seven years, during which time she graduated from high school and earned her degree at Central.
This past December, a routine colonoscopy showed she had four polyps in her colon, one of which looked pre-cancerous. Rounds of medical testing determined that Burgess had a cellular disorder that randomly produced such polyps. Her doctor ordered a preventative colectomy to remove all but 18 inches of her large intestine.
Burgess had the surgery in June. One of the polyps turned out to be cancerous, so she basically had Stage I colon cancer again, but it wasn't discovered until it had already been removed in the surgery. The colectomy cuts her risk of getting cancer again, since it will be easier to find new polyps and remove them before they become cancerous.
'Colander' girl
Today, Burgess has a clean bill of health and is getting back to normal after the invasive procedure.
October is a big month for Burgess, as The Avenue will show a documentary about her health struggles at the church Oct. 18. She will also be seen showing off her surgical scar in "The Colon Club" annual calendar, the "Colondar."
"It's my one month of glory!" she said gleefully. "It might be weird, though, walking into my friends' houses and saying, 'Oh, I'm on your fridge.' "
Burgess became familiar with "The Colon Club"-an educational and psychological support hub for people under the age of 50 affected by colorectal cancer-while researching things she could eat during her first cancer treatments. She saw the "Colondar" project on the club's Web site, and applied to be a model for it.
"I had to send in a biography and a picture of my scar so they would know I would be willing to show it for the photo shoot if I was chosen," Burgess said.
She was chosen, so she was flown to Lake George, N.Y., and taken by limousine to the location of the shoot with 11 other models.
"The whole experience was so fun," Burgess said.
She became fast friends with the other models, who were able to keep in touch and act as a support group for one another. Burgess even found out what to expect for her upcoming colectomy from Mr. February, as he had already undergone the procedure.
The calendar is on sale on "The Colon Club" Web site, as well as at various "Colon Club" functions around the nation. Burgess and the rest of the models all got some calendars to sell to their friends and families, as well.
Supporting others
Longtime friend Leah LoChiano, who has known Burgess since high school and now goes to church with her at The Avenue, has one of the calendars. LoChiano said she thinks it's fitting that her daughter will be celebrating her first birthday during Burgess' calendar month, because she is so close to LoChiano's family. LoChiano told of how giving and positive Burgess is to her friends and everyone at The Avenue.
"So many people go to her for encouragement, when she's had to go through all this stuff, herself," LoChiano said.
The encouragement that Burgess provides reaches farther than just The Avenue. Burgess is a symbol of hope for area young people battling cancer, like 9-year-old Ashleigh Horn, daughter of UCM communication professors Adam Horn and Tricia Hansen-Horn.
"My daughter looks up to Danielle and sees her as a promise that she'll get to grow up, too," Hansen-Horn said.
Hansen-Horn taught Burgess in classes at Central, which is how Burgess and Ashleigh came to know each other. They still keep in touch today.
"I love how Danielle embraces life to the fullest, and without any bitterness or resentment," Hansen-Horn said. She remembers Burgess as "someone who always paid attention to what God was calling her to do," in both school and in the job hunt her senior year.
Her job at The Avenue allows Burgess to join her public relations background with her faith. She is in charge of producing all the communication materials for the church, such as bulletins, press releases, brochures, marketing materials, e-mails and social media profiles. She also plans special events and community outreach activities, in addition to helping lead the worship and ministry.
Today, Burgess seems happy with her life, her health and her job, and is focusing on "reaching out as a missionary to today's culture" at The Avenue. Burgess said she wants to continue sharing the story of what she's been through with cancer and use it to inspire people to keep faith, no matter what life brings.
Be the first to comment on this story