Barker Looks Ahead in Cancer Battle

By Allison Canter

Recently, Fleetwood resident Patty Barker was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery on Jan. 26. The fundraiser held to help with her medical expenses was deemed a success. Now, Barker looks to the future and God as she plans for her medical treatments and expenses.

Barker said her surgery went okay on January 26, except that it took a little longer than she anticipated.

At her follow-up appointment, Barker's doctor also shared the pathology results with her.

"She said that while the comprehensive pathology report is still being completed, she was told that there are more lymph nodes that tested positive for the melanoma," said Barker.

Due to those results, Barker has been referred to an oncologist in Boone and has now scheduled four very costly, but necessary, tests to determine if the cancer is present elsewhere in her body.

Barker has talked to the business office at Watauga Medical Center and will qualify for some financial assistance; however, her medical expenses are growing exponentially. As of last Wednesday, Barker's hospital bill alone was over $17,000 and doesn't reflect the charges for the additional scans that have been ordered. Barker said she had not received the bills yet from pathology or anesthesiology. The surgeon's bill is now just under $5,000.

Despite the test results and the mountain bills, Barker has kept a positive outlook and given the credit to God for helping her stay strong.

"One thing I do know for certain is that God has certainly smiled on me throughout this entire experience," said Barker. "When I first learned I had cancer, my mind began to question my faith. Had I not been as grounded in Christ as I am and had the support of my friends, church, and family that I had, I would have fallen for sure. But then, when the community came out to support me, strangers even called to make donations and offer encouragement - it was then that I fully realized the extent of God's love for me. It has all been so amazing and hard to put into words, the extreme love and compassion that I have felt through this experience.
"I feel that not only has God wrapped His arms around me spiritually, but he has extended His arms through the people that He is using to encourage and support me through this," Barker continued.

"The love I have felt through this is just so overwhelming at times. I foresee that when this battle is done, I will look back and view this time as a high point in my life and not the low point that is associated with the word cancer."

Barker said she was so thankful to those who have made contributions, to those who have offered prayer and encouragement, for those that offered help in her personal life, and for "all the people God has placed in my life for such a time as this."

Barker said she is also thankful for the opportunity to share her experience with others that they might be touched by the way "God is moving in my life."

Anyone interested in assisting Barker or making a donation can do so through an account set up at Yadkin Valley Bank, across from Wal-Mart. For more information, call (336) 877-3382.