Orrville woman fighting cancer appreciates daily blessings

For Karen Wayt, a seven-year-long battle with colon cancer has led her to find a measure of inner peace and an appreciation for life’s day-to-day blessings.

In January 2017, Wayt of Orrville was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer with metastasis in her liver. Like many who are diagnosed with colon cancer, she didn’t display many symptoms.

“I had been having some minor/intermittent abdominal pain for about five months and fatigue for over a year,” she said. “We attributed this to a busy work and fitness teaching schedule and chasing after three very busy (then) elementary school-age boys. I noticed a tiny amount of blood in my stool in December 2016, which prompted another doctor visit and a referral to a gastroenterologist.”

At that point even her doctor, who knew she was a healthy fitness and yoga teacher, didn’t suspect cancer. Wayt asked her doctor if she should be worried about colon cancer. The doctor ordered a colonoscopy, never suspecting it would show cancer.

When Wayt awoke from her colonoscopy, her husband Matthew was the first face she saw.

“I could tell from his eyes that the news wasn’t good,” she said. “We did a whirlwind week of tests and scans and lab work, and it confirmed the mass seen during my colonoscopy was cancerous.”

At that point Wayt went to work researching her diagnosis and possible treatments.

“Life felt so out of control, and educating myself was something it seemed I could do to gain back some control,” she said. “I had decided that I would lean into a more natural, holistic treatment after my intestinal surgery, instead of following a standard protocol. Once I learned of the liver metastasis and was stage 4 and after my conversations with family and friends, I decided on an integrative approach.”

Wayt decided to modify her already healthy diet to focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and veganism. She had never eaten much processed food but went even further to focus on eating in a way that would sustain her body and mind through bouts of chemotherapy and radiation.

Over the last seven years, she has modified her veganism to include certain cheeses, free-range eggs and certain fish. She also grows her own microgreens while making sure to emphasize she is not endorsing this as a cure for cancer. “I am not a doctor or a nutritionist, and this (diet) is tailored to what I have recognized my body needs to have and to avoid,” she said.

Wayt has now undergone over 100 rounds of chemotherapy, six major surgeries, 11 rounds of radiation and dozens of immunotherapy infusions. She has been to four cancer hospitals including MD Anderson, University Hospital, University of Michigan Hospital Rogel Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City.

At this point in time, she is off any standard protocol for colon cancer or metastatic liver treatment. About six months ago, she asked her oncologist what the next step for her is and was told, “There isn’t a standard of care for you anymore.”

“Although that was a bit scary to hear,” she said, “it reminded me of how fortunate I am to still be here.”

But the real story of her journey isn’t just the fact she is still here, surviving and battling on. The real story is how she has coped with a devastating diagnosis and years of continuous cancer treatment. She hasn’t just survived the stress of living each day in the shadow of cancer; she has learned how to thrive and savor each moment.

Part of what she has learned is how to be lifted up and loved by others.

“In the early days of my diagnosis, my family and I were enveloped with so much love and support it was overwhelming,” she said. “Days after my biopsy report came back, I remember looking out my window at a group of guys that had gathered to help chop up a giant tree that had fallen in our front yard. More and more people kept showing up to help. I was crying tears of gratitude that my children were seeing what being in community meant. This show of generosity has been continued time and again through things like meal trains, travel assistance, grocery deliveries, handmade blankets, little notes of encouragement and giant home-improvement projects.”

Wayt also talked about a photo shoot she did with photographer Chrissy Utt, who does photo empowerment sessions for women. Wayt was nominated by a friend and then won a session.

In one photo she laid bare the scars of her cancer journey on her body.

“I am beautiful because of my scars, not despite them,” she said. “And although I wasn’t sure I’d share that journey with anyone else, I know it’s too important of a message to keep to myself. Because it’s true of you, whoever you are reading this: You are beautiful because of the entirety of your journey and your being — heart, mind, soul and body.”

Somehow, Wayt has been able to move past the trauma, the anger and the “why me’s” that come with any cancer diagnosis. Her husband; her friends; her three sons Kaleb, Karter and Kellen; and her community have all contributed to her knowing she isn’t alone through the journey.

“I get through the fears about the future and the traumas from the past by knowing I only have this very day to live anyways. I can’t live yesterday over. I can’t live tomorrow right now,” she said. “I can only live the day I’m in, and I’ve decided to live that moment as full and intentional and positive and full of love and life as I can.”