Heidi Myers wills her way through a semester with cancer.
Heidi Myers took 15 hours of classes plus a lab during the spring semester of her sophomore year at the University of Mississippi. No big deal, right? The impressive part is she did it while undergoing chemotherapy, and she ended up with all As.
The senior from Arlington, Tennessee, who is majoring in political science and psychology with a minor in Spanish, is on track to graduate in May. Her cancer treatment occurred in spring 2021, after she was diagnosed with stage II germ cell ovarian cancer.
“It’s a rarer form of ovarian cancer, but it’s also the most common type for women my age,” Myers said. “Fortunately, it’s a very curable form of cancer.”
Most of Myers’ classes in spring 2021 were online or remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One class was in person, but Myers’ professor let her do her assignments virtually.
“My professors were really lenient and understanding of what I was going through, but it was still hard to get all of my work done because of how exhausted I was,” she said.
During treatment, she lived with her mom in Ripley, Tennessee, and traveled an hour and a half each way to do four rounds of chemotherapy over 10 weeks at the West Cancer Center in Germantown, Tennessee. Every three weeks, she had chemo infusions five days a week for about four hours a day.
She did a lot of her class assignments during chemo, sitting in a recliner, hooked up to an IV, trying to ignore the beeps and rolling wheels of medical equipment and chatter of patients and caregivers around her, all the while experiencing such side effects as nausea and fatigue.
“Nausea was the worst symptom at the end of my treatment, and nothing we tried seemed to work. My nurses advocated for me though, and I’m so grateful for them.”
Myers said all the support she received helped her persevere through those tough weeks. Her mom went with her to all her appointments, and her friends and family buoyed her.
“So many people were there for me and helped me,” she said. “They would help me by making care packages, praying for me, making meals and even teaching me about wigs when I lost my hair.”
She also found a lot of support at Chi Alpha Campus Ministries at Ole Miss during and after treatment. She had joined the group as a freshman and became close with some of the members, including her mentor, Kaitlin Wilkerson (BBA 20).
“Heidi is probably the most determined individual I’ve ever met. I’ve met few people who are so admirable in their determination to live and grow to be the best person they can be.”
— Kaitlin Wilkerson (BBA 20), mentor
“Heidi is probably the most determined individual I’ve ever met,” Wilkerson said. “She was always studious in regard to school, but that determination followed her into so many other parts of her life. She likes to learn, to be knowledgeable about all her interests and the world around her.
“She would join our small group over video on a weekly basis when she was at home during chemotherapy treatments, often when she was tired or in pain. She has never shied away from hard work or new ideas, and I believe that is going to continue to set her apart. I’ve met few people who are so admirable in their determination to live and grow to be the best person they can be.”
Besides Chi Alpha, Myers is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology and Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society.
She has also worked in video services for the Ole Miss Department of Intercollegiate Athletics since she was a freshman. Her main job was to run a camera during football practices and games. She would often shoot the required angles needed for the coaches to review game and practice footage, and travel with the football team to SEC games.
“Heidi is a co-worker’s dream,” said Matthew Engelbert, coordinator of video services for athletics. “When given a task, she would do it and be able to help her fellow staff members without getting myself or the assistant involved. Heidi is one you would do anything for.
“When she came back to the staff after her cancer treatments, she didn’t want to be treated differently from the other staffers. Heidi wanted to be treated like she was prior to leaving us – carrying the heavier cameras, running around the field following the different drills with the camera and meeting the expectations we set for every member of the video staff.”
Fast-forward to the present, Myers has two great reasons to celebrate: She will graduate from Ole Miss summa cum laude and will have been cancer-free for two years as of May 21, a week after graduation.
She plans to continue her education at Ole Miss, pursuing a master’s degree in social work. Her experience with cancer has inspired her to want to work with cancer patients, as well as others. Her volunteer work with Cancer Hope Network, a one-on-one peer support program that matches individuals who have had cancer with someone who has been recently diagnosed, influenced her career decision.
“Volunteering has shown me that I’m at a point where I’m able to have conversations about cancer, even though I wouldn’t have been able to two years ago,” she said.
“It’s been difficult, but now that it’s almost been two years, I can see the good that I’ve gotten out of going through this. I want to work as a clinical social worker, and I know I can use my experience to help others.”
By Benita Whitehorn, University Marketing & Communications
