Viki Zarkin said that she was told to get her affairs in order after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. But more than a decade later, she’s still fighting - both the cancer, and for others in her position.
“I was 44, I had two small children at home, and I went to get my regular mammogram,” Zarkin said. “Bear in mind, I had at that point been getting mammograms since my mid-20s because of a benign issue that I had. I knew exactly what was going on in my body. So, I was totally shocked that one year I’m fine, and then the next year, it’s everywhere.”
That routine mammogram led to Zarkin traveling from Harrisburg to Johns Hopkins Hospital for several weeks of tests, before she was finally diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic cancer, which had spread to several places in her body.
At first, Zarkin said, she didn’t comprehend what the doctor was telling her, saying “it was like my ears were buzzing, you know? I just didn’t hear. And he was going on and on like in the Peanuts cartoon, the teacher. You know, wah wah wah wah wah.”
But when the words began to sink in, she said, “the old Viki that walked into the room that day, died immediately, and the Viki that you’re speaking to today appeared.”
“I heard him say ‘there’s nothing I can do for you, go home and get your affairs in order,’” she said. “So when I heard that, I literally like lunged across the room, grabbed him by his shirt color and pulled him in really close - because he wasn’t looking at me, he didn’t see me for a person. He was so robotic. I pulled him in close and I said, ‘you talk about how you’ve consulted with all of these doctors, but you didn’t consult me. And I’m going to be the one I’m going to make it.’”
Following that dramatic pronouncement, Zarkin insisted on pursuing aggressive treatment plans. After struggling with insurers and the hospital, she found a doctor willing to take on a more radical radiation treatment, using proton radiation - a more targeted approach - rather than photon radiation.
“[Proton radiation is] usually used for brain cancer patients, or prostate, and those are very small areas,” Zarkin said. “In order for me to do it, it took them over 200 man hours just to map how they were going to handle me. Then you go out there and they do all these plaster of Paris molds of you, over your face, your chest, everywhere.”
Adding to the difficulty was the small number of locations for proton radiation treatment, which requires much more space than other radiation treatments. But after finding a center in Indiana, and committing to the painstaking initial process, Zarkin said that she now maintains with once-a-month chemotherapy, and has survived for 11 years so far following that initial terminal diagnosis.
Over a decade later, Zarkin is still working to raise awareness for patients to advocate for their own care. She has written a book about her experience, titled “I Am the One,” and works as a motivational speaker and advocate for patients facing similar diagnoses.
“They need to tap into their instincts and follow their gut,” she said. “And let me tell you, it’s not always easy to follow your gut when there’s people far smarter than you in the room.”
Zarkin was quick to add that her message is not to doubt modern science and medicine, or the doctors or other professionals in the health care industry. Instead, she said, it was important to discuss treatment options and make sure that a patient’s voice is heard.
“First of all, I had that doctor that from the beginning that changed his mind and took a chance on me,” she said. “I had the doctor that took a chance on me for this radiation treatment that had never been done before. So, you know, I had some really cool doctors. I also had some that weren’t so cool. So you have to stick with your own instincts.”
For details on Zarkin’s book or work as a speaker, visit her official website here.
Ad Choices