- AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida
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Most people come into this world by themselves.
I did not.
Unbeknownst to anyone, I was hiding underneath my twin, in my mother’s womb, for 9 months. The doctors never knew I was there. Mom gave birth to my twin first; she wanted to push, and the doctors told her to go ahead— I was born 6 minutes after my twin, weighing about 4 pounds.
And of course, Mom passed out!
Over 60 years later, in March of 2018, I discovered a small white lump on the left side of my tongue. It was surgically removed, and I was told the biopsy was inconclusive for cancer. I was referred to Dr. Magnuson, oncologist and otolaryngologist, for excisional surgery to check that the margins were free of cancer.
Then, in September 2021, after years of cancer surveillance, Dr. Magnuson discovered a small tumor under my tongue on the floor of my mouth; I was diagnosed with Stage III Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Just weeks later, I underwent a partial glossectomy where half of my tongue was removed, replaced with a graft from my left forearm. They also removed 25 lymph nodes; two were positive for metastatic squamous cell carcinoma. After 33 rounds of radiation and 6 rounds of chemotherapy, I’ve been on a total liquid diet and have been in remission for three and a half years. I would not have made it this far without the caring and relentless efforts of my entire oncological and otolaryngolical team at AdventHealth. I will forever be indebted to all of them for saving my life.
Many years before my diagnosis, at the end of my career in the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, I created a program for everyone to tell their stories called “TSD Talks: This Is My Story.” I found that storytelling connected us, not just as employees and teammates, but as human beings. After my retirement, when I entered a leadership position at Rollins’ Crummer Graduate School of Business, I brought "This Is My Story" with me. I invited leaders from the community to tell the origin stories of their business to encourage and inspire students. Stories connect us as human beings and bring us to a place of curiosity first and then empathy, acceptance, and love. If we could each tell our story, we could change the world.
So, when I decided to tell my story this time, I wanted to tell the story that’s in my heart. One that prepared me to accept my diagnosis. I reflected on some of the events in my life that made me stronger and prepared me to face the biggest battle of my life: time and time again, the word courage came to mind.
I am the proud granddaughter of an immigrant from West Bengal, India, who arrived at Ellis Island on April 18, 1908. Without him, I would not be here today. The courage that he showed resides in my DNA. All the memories and experiences of my life, good ones and not so good ones, made me who I am today.
When my twin and I were young, we were bullied by a girl named Shannon every week after our Catholic education classes. When we finally stood up to her—really gave her a taste of her own medicine—she told everyone I was crazy; but she never beat us up again. Then, later in life, I received a C on every English paper I wrote for an English Literature course in college; when I spoke to the professor about what I could do to improve, he told me that he would never give a Black person anything more than a C in his class. But, I stayed, I persevered, and when I finished that class with a C—and then earned my bachelor's degree—that same professor handed me my diploma. I snatched it from his hands and told him that he may have won the battle, but I won the war.
The trajectory of my life caused me to make a choice about how I treat others: I chose forgiveness over unforgiveness, kindness over cruelty, empathy over apathy, and love over hate for all people.
Before my partial glossectomy, Dr. Magnuson told me that there was a good chance that I would not be able to talk again; but, after my trach tube was removed, I spoke my husband’s name out loud—and he nearly fell off his seat when he heard me! The surgery left me with a speech impediment, so I was afraid to speak in public. My Head and Neck Cancer Support Group has given me the courage to speak using my own voice; they encourage me every month to speak in our meetings—that is why I can tell you my story today.
My name is Selina Vik, and I think you know now that cancer does not define me!
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