That’s why she’s determined not to allow anything to prevent her from fulfilling that goal. Not breast cancer or a deadly worldwide pandemic.
During this challenging year, Daytonians have persevered and helped one another out. Throughout the month of December, the Dayton Daily News is telling the stories of individuals who have inspired others, a series called Inspire Dayton.
Thompson, 48, of Kettering and a nationally certified oncology nurse, was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2019. Since then, she’s had three surgeries ― the latest was Monday ― five months of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiation treatment, 12 months of targeted therapy and more than 90 doctor visits. She’s been doing well, and had returned to a somewhat regular work schedule.
She experienced a setback on Wednesday as she and her husband, Tom Thompson, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Tiffany Thompson would have likely had a poor outcome had she been infected a few months ago, as she was in the high risk category for the virus because of her low blood count from her cancer treatment. Right now, she said the virus feels like a bad flu but appears mild so far compared to cases she’s seen at the hospital.
The cancer treatment slowed her down, but it did not stop her momentum. Between doctor and hospital visits, she helped set up three COVID-19 units at Soin.
She also spends time talking to other breast cancer patients, and she’s chaired the regional Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser, the Power of Pink Campaign with the America Cancer Society.
Tiffany Thompson married Tom Thompson when she was 17, with barely a high school education. The couple had their first child a year later, and they struggled financially for several years. After more than a decade of office work, she decided to go back to school to pursue a nursing career. Now she is working on her doctorate in nursing with an emphasis on population health leadership.
“I felt God was calling me to do this,” she said. “So I don’t take it lightly. I have very strong convictions about the work that I do. It gives my life so much purpose and meaning, and it’s so meaningful to my faith journey that it was extremely important for me to continue in whatever capacity I could.”
In 2019, life was going well for Tiffany Thompson and her family after overcoming so many obstacles early on. So she couldn’t understand why God would allow cancer to disrupt her life.
“My feelings were really hurt, I was so hurt at God,” she said. “I didn’t understand why He opened so many doors to place me in my position (at Kettering Health Network) just to endure a cancer diagnosis.”
Given the breast cancer risks, Tom Thompson feared for his wife, but he knew she was a fighter, and she’d make the best of it.
“From the onset of her diagnosis, as a husband I was gravely concerned about losing my person, my best friend,” Tom Thompson said. “Tiff was using this experience as an education, constantly evaluating the system, the processes and the physical and emotional impacts to learn how to better serve those who weren’t as fortunate.”
Tiffany Thompson had a double mastectomy. She then started working a flexible schedule at the hospitals. After each chemotherapy session, she’d take several days to recover. She’d then work from home for a couple of days and return to work for two weeks.
During that time, Tiffany Thompson became neutropenic, meaning her white blood count dropped to extremely low levels, putting her at a high risk for infection. So given the pandemic, there were times when she stayed away from the hospital and worked from home.
Her colleagues have remained supportive of her throughout her ordeal. She’s been an important leader and team member, said Erica Schneider, certified nursing officer and vice president of patient care at Soin and Greene Memorial hospitals.
“Through her journey, Tiffany remained a valuable leader and friend to all of us,” Schneider said. “We have prayed for her each step of the way and cheered for each milestone victory. We are stronger and a better team because of Tiffany.”
As the coronovirus pandemic worsened, Thompson led her team as they stood up three COVID-19 units at Soin. Doing such work virtually at times was challenging.
“I didn’t want to let the cancer stop me from doing what I know that I’ve been called to do,” she said. “It was extremely humbling, because I had to ask for help, which I had never done very well, but I learned a lot through it.”
Tiffany Thompson is grateful to her husband for standing by her side and believing in her when she didn’t believe in herself at times. She’s also grateful to her colleagues for being supportive and flexible.
But most of all, her seven grandchildren inspire her. She feels blessed to have seen all of her children grow up to have kids of their own, and those grandchildren gives her extra strength to keep going.
“When I was going through some of the worst times, and some of my hardest days of chemo, and I was neutropenic and I couldn’t be around the kids, I could just FaceTime them, and it would make all the difference,” she said. “So I said all along that they were the best medicine they could have had and I enjoy every minute I have with them.”
Inspire Dayton
Throughout the month of December, the Dayton Daily News will tell the stories of people who have persevered and inspired others during this challenging year. Read all the stories at DaytonDailyNews.com/inspire-dayton. Tell us who inspired you in 2020 by emailing jordan.laird@coxinc.com.
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