'Just don't know how to give up': Puebloan reflects on cancer battle ahead of Relay for Life
A Pueblo native who's been on “a roller coaster” ride battling stage 4 cancer for a year and a half is finally getting results and paying forward her positive attitude to give strength to others going through the fight.
Kisi (pronounced kissy) Thompson said she was taken by surprise when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the lungs and colon last February. She didn’t feel sick and was really just experiencing some tiredness.
“I was working full time, I was healthy, so it was kind of a shock all the way around,” she said.
“Half of me is semi-angry with the COVID (pandemic) setup because it was hard to get into a doctor for regular checkups. So my three-year checkup ended up being a five-year checkup,” Thompson explained.
“By then it was stage 4 instead of, maybe it would have been stage 1 or maybe stage 2. Who knows? You can guess and ‘what if’ yourself to death and drive yourself bonkers,” she said.
This week, the 59-year-old fighter finished her 27th chemotherapy treatment. She also has endured eight weeks of radiation.
“In my last CAT scan, last week, we think we are finally starting to see progress. So after a year and a half of all that BS we think we are finally getting results," Thompson said.
“It's cool. It is kind of a weird goal just to be living, but we are working on it and we are winning at this point,” she said with a laugh.
Thompson opens up about physical, emotional struggles of cancer fight
After each chemotherapy treatment, Thompson said she was, “so tired and crummy feeling” she could hardly move and would sleep for two or three days. It was during those downtimes she struggled.
“The exhaustion really surprised me. It was super hard because I went from working with and being around 30 to 60 people a day,” at her job as an electric program teacher at IntelliTec College, to not working or being around people.
At the same time, friends and family worried about her because she "wasn’t communicating well,” she said. So, Thompson created a blog on caringbridge.org, which she described as a private social media platform for sick people.
How a social media blog helped her cope
“Talking to friends online made a difference for me and what struck me was how can anyone go through this on their own — how do you do it alone? It sparked a fire in my heart,” she said.
On the webpage, Thompson shares resources available to cancer patients through the American Cancer Society such as how to navigate insurance paperwork or get rides to medical appointments. The group members also share pictures and vent about their emotions.
“It is amazing encouragement you get and I found it super helpful,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who have made it five years or 18 or 20 years,” after their diagnosis.
“Others are still in treatment and we talk about wearing hats or gluing-on our hair. It’s the benefit of togetherness, the people-ness, that has really hit home for me,” she said. “There are resources, there is help and once you make the connection you are not alone."
When asked by others how she remains so positive, Thompson refers to her Slovenian descent.
“I’m Bojon, so I just don’t know how to give up," she tells them. "I just have to feel very fortunate and very blessed when I beat another day and I am here."
Thompson named 'Survivor of the Year' at upcoming Pueblo Relay for Life
Thompson's optimism and energy attracted the attention of 20-year cancer survivor Ginger Flickinger, who asked her if she would serve as Pueblo's Survivor of the Year for the American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life.
“Finally, I could do something physical,” to help others, she said. So far, she has already raised over $1,000 to help fund cancer research.
The 26th Relay for Life of Pueblo is set to run from 5-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at Runyon Field Sports Complex, 400 Stanton Ave.
“We are excited to be back to our relay basics, having the event outdoors during the evening with the survivor and team lap, fun, games and a luminaria ceremony at dusk,” said Judy Shill, one of the event organizers. “You can join the event by forming a team, becoming a sponsor or registering as a survivor or caregiver.”
The success of the event is dependent on early registration of participants. Go online to relayforlife.org/puebloco to register or donate. Questions about the event can be sent to relayforlifepueblo@yahoo.com.
For Thompson, the hardest part of her diagnosis was telling her mom Clover Stayskal, 88, about her prognosis.
“She said, ‘I’ll race you to heaven,’ and I just broke down. My goal is to beat my diagnosis, be here for my family (husband Kent Thompson, three boys and five grandchildren who range in age from 2 to 16) and outlive my mom,” Thompson said.
“I’ve gotta hang around."
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Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo native reflects on fight against cancer ahead of Relay for Life
