A Life-saving Decision: Drema’s Cancer Fight

By Maria Gjolberg

In December of 2023, Drema Thomas suddenly came down with severe stomach issues and back pain. Drema had always considered herself a healthy woman with no need for regular healthcare… even this time, she assumed she simply had a common virus. However, the step Drema took next would end up being a life-saving decision. 

Like many, Drema, a 58-year-old resident of Clay, West Virginia, had avoided regular checkups with a doctor and had never had a primary care physician. Throughout her life, she rarely caught any viruses, leading her to believe that she was perfectly healthy and did not need to attend any doctor’s visits. 

However, due to her sudden stomach and back pains and her inability to eat, Drema reluctantly decided that she should get checked out and made an appointment with Community Care of Clay for an acute visit, purely to fix her immediate problems. While at this checkup, Vicki Dobbins, a nurse practitioner with CCWV, convinced Drema to receive a colonoscopy and mammogram since it was time for her routine screenings, even though this was not Drema’s original intention for visiting Community Care. 

While Drema did listen to Vicki’s advice, she was hesitant to undergo these tests since she had received them in previous years, and everything had come back normal. 

“It was fine before, so it’s okay now,” thought Drema, who at the time worked as the Chief Operator at Clay Water, a job from which she has since retired.

Nevertheless, through Vicki’s recommendations, Drema agreed to the exams, not knowing that this decision would save her life. 

Upon waking from the colonoscopy, Drema received the horrible news from her doctor that she had a tumor blocking her whole colon. They were not even able to complete the procedure, and the doctor was certain the tumor was cancerous. 

After the encouragement and urging of her eldest daughter, Lyndsie, a nurse practitioner, Drema underwent surgery to remove the tumor the following week. For the next eight months, she received chemotherapy treatment almost every other week, courageously fighting her cancer. 

Over this period, Drema was constantly supported by a compassionate network of family, friends, and her now-primary care physician, Vickie, who all assisted her in her health journey.

 “All of my family has been supportive, every single one of them,” Drema remarked about her family, including her husband of 37 years, Doug, and their three children, Lyndsie, Ryan, and Candace. “Vicki is also still involved. She has gotten in touch with me several times to ask how I’m doing, make sure I’m doing okay, and ask if I needed anything.” 

After eight months of chemotherapy, Drema finally had her first follow-up colonoscopy this past April, which thankfully came back clear. 

Through sharing her story, Drema hopes to extend a warning and offer advice to others. “Go get your annual checkups, whether you think you’re sick or not, because you never know,” she said. “I had no symptoms, and I would probably not be here today if I had not gone when I did.” 

Vicki offered her thoughts on the importance of healthcare screenings, as well. “My advice would be for people to understand the reasoning and the importance of getting these screenings,” she said. “We do catch things early; that’s the importance of preventative medicine. When your healthcare provider mentions these tests, there’s a reason for that, not just checking boxes, because we do know that these screenings catch things early and do make a difference in people’s lives.” 

Drema’s story serves as a perfect example of why it’s crucial to make regular checkups with a primary care physician a priority. Although colon cancer is the second-deadliest cancer in the U.S., it is highly preventable with screenings, and it’s highly treatable when caught early. Had Drema continued ignoring her healthcare needs, this deadly disease may never have been caught and treated. However, her decision to be seen by a healthcare provider that day saved her life.

“I am so grateful she went and had the test done,” Vicki said as she remembered back to Drema’s situation. “When you’re from the community and know the people in the community… it would have been terrible for it to have been a bad outcome. She’s a great asset to our community.”   

For more information about CCWV’s primary care services, visit https://www.communitycarewv.org/services/primary-care. To book an appointment, visit https://www.communitycarewv.org/appointment.