How do You Beat Cancer Three Times?

           By OLIVIA KEARNS

 Micheline Corsi is a 64-year-old woman who has encountered three different kinds of cancer in her lifetime, and is working towards beating cancer once again. 

             “The first time I was diagnosed with cancer it was brain cancer, and I was 45,” she said Corsi, who prefers to be called Mickey.

Mickey discussed her encounter with a stage four glioblastoma, better known as brain cancer, which has the lowest survival rate among any type of cancer.

       “When they said it was stage four, when I knew I had such a small chance of living, at that point I felt done right there. Like I could quit then, but I also couldn’t, “she said. 

At the time, Mickey’s daughter, Danielle, was in her senior year of college. 

            “My mom told me at dinner. It was the quietest dinner I’ll ever probably have in my life. I didn’t have words for her. I remember crying a lot though,” said Danielle.

 “I remember telling Danielle. My husband, Ralph, had to convince me. I felt like if I tried hard enough, I could just hide it from her forever,” said Mickey. 

            Mickey underwent brain surgery in 2003 and recovered successfully. “I was the most upset about my hair then. They had to shave it all for the surgery. I was hellbent on keeping my hair,” she said. 

            Mickey described a recovery period that took two years of rehab after the surgery. “I was lucky enough to recover after the surgery. I had to relearn so much,” she said. 

            “The second time I got diagnosed I had lung cancer. I smoked when I was young. I felt nothing but regret,” she said. Lung cancer is also an extremely aggressive type of cancer, and is known for its mortality rates. 

            Mickey was diagnosed with stage two lung cancer, which is considered an early-stage form of lung cancer. She went through five treatments of radiation before being declared cancer free once again. 

            Mickey’s family expressed feelings of surprise, and even deeper feelings of grief and anger as her second diagnosis had occurred.

            Her husband Ralph spoke about the shock of the second diagnosis. 

“I don’t think I was more nervous the first time. I think the second diagnosis was worse. I worried about losing her once and going through it again felt like I was just reliving it but I wouldn’t know the results this time,” said Ralph. 

            “The worst part every time was the thought of leaving everyone behind,” she said. Mickey welcomed her first and only grandchild, Santino, in 2011.

            “He’s the best thing to happen to any of us. I take him to school, pick him up, and we’re always spending days together at the beach during the summer,” she said. 

            Mickey was diagnosed with lymphoma in August of this year, and doctors believe that it was caught on time. Lymphoma attacks the blood cells within the body it is occupying. 

            “I’ve had the same doctor since my first diagnosis. When he told me I was sick again, I thought it could be a joke, but I was grateful. He has monitored me closely since my first diagnosis, which is why we were able to catch this time so early,” she said. 

            Mickey has yet to tell her grandson, Santino, who will be ten in October. “I’m not ready yet, to expose him to something so difficult,” she said. 

Mickey completed her last round of chemotherapy during the first week of October 2021. “I have a test next week, and I’m hoping to get a result that will allow me to say I’ve beat cancer three times. Until then I’m leaning a lot on God and luck,” she said.