When Cancer Hits Home

The Story of Two Strong Women, a House, and a Realtor with a Big Heart

Living with cancer is much like running a marathon, long and grueling.  Kathleen Anderson and her daughter Astrid (“Ah-stray”) can attest to this.   Their race with cancer began in 1992 with Kathleen’s diagnosis of liposarcoma, a cancer that takes hold of the fat cells in deep soft tissue.  Three additional cancers later—breast, colon, and another round of liposarcoma—and they are still running the race of surviving in spite of the challenges that have crossed their path. 
Their story begins in Alaska, where as a working mother Kathleen was raising Astrid.  She was doing a good job of providing for her daughter, though limited finances dictated the necessity of making hard choices. Living paycheck to paycheck, Kathleen’s salary could cover the basics, but little else. Things such as health insurance were “luxuries” they simply could not afford. 

In hindsight, it is easy to see the high cost of this particular sacrifice.  For sometime Kathleen had not been feeling well, but trying to avoid the expense of a medical appointment, she decided to tough it out.  Toughing it out, however, was proving to have no end.  In fact, she was getting worse.  Finally, her resistance gave way to the need to find out why.

The outcome of her visit to the doctor would send her reeling:  Kathleen had liposarcoma, a very rare and little understood form of cancer.   The diagnosis indicated that her life was in danger.  The situation was desperate.  She had little savings, no health insurance, and a twelve-year-old daughter that she completely loved to raise—a daughter whose birthday was only two days away.   It seemed that things could not get any worse.

The starting gun of Kathleen and Astrid’s race with cancer had been fired.

At the beginning of this race they focused their energies on finding their bearings and making sound decisions.  Rather quickly, Astrid demonstrated an uncommon capacity for care-giving and an unusual gift for discussing difficult subjects.  Kathleen did not attempt to underplay the severity of her condition to Astrid, neither did she overplay it.  Both mother and daughter, from the outset were able to talk openly with one another, and did.

Among the decisions they made was to move in with Kathleen’s mother  in Washington State, a move that would enable Kathleen to receive the treatments that she needed and Astrid to have another adult in the home who was not ill.  The move would prove to be a life saver: Kathleen’s aggressive treatment plan resulted in her getting better, and eventually their lives were able to return to normalcy.   Kathleen went back to work and Astrid grew up and went off to college. 

 Life was good.   It seemed their race with cancer had come to a happy ending.

It was during these years that Astrid began to run marathons.  She had come across a flyer for a nonprofit running program that supported cancer-related projects.  The idea of running to raise money in support of overcoming cancer appealed to her.  She had never run a marathon before, but the volunteer opportunity seemed perfectly suited to her temperament and spirit.  She decided to sign up, and has been raising money for cancer research, education and patient services by running marathons and triathlons ever since. 

Cancer seemed to be a part of their past, and they were looking ahead into the future.  They decided to buy a home together, and in 2004 found the ideal place in Edmonds.  They made an offer, it was accepted, and they moved in.  Little did Kathleen and Astrid know, but they would have less than a year of carefree joy.

In February of 2005, their lives took an unexpected turn.  Kathleen had gotten what she thought was the stomach flu, but it was lasting for days.  Once again, her strategy was to tough it out; a part of her plan was to avoid telling Astrid how badly she felt.  Astrid was getting ready to move to Texas, and Kathleen wanted her daughter to live her life without being weighed down by concern for her mother.   But try as she may, she could not hide the truth of her condition from Astrid’s perceptive eyes.   Astrid insisted that she seek medical attention.

What they discovered would be devastating:  not only had Kathleen’s liposarcoma returned; she also had colon cancer and nodes on her lungs that were ominous. Rather than completing their race with cancer, as they hoped, they began to see that they had actually only completed its first leg.   There would be more legs to come and all of them seemed to be uphill.  

The move to Texas was abandoned.  Initially, Kathleen was uncomfortable with this.  She felt that her cancer had negatively affected Astrid’s life enough as it was.  She wanted more than this for her daughter.  She wanted her to be happy—but Astrid was determined not be anywhere but by her mom’s side.  She would go to every doctor appointment, help administer medication when needed, attend to Kathleen when she felt nauseas, and serve as a sounding board when it came to discussing diagnoses and treatment options.   In every respect, Astrid would be both care-giver and treatment-partner.  

Her commitment to Kathleen was unyielding, as Kathleen’s was to her. The mother and daughter team simply would not give up.  They would keep running this race together, and with every step strive to break through the dangerous thoughts that could undermine healing.

A month after the diagnosis, Kathleen had a surgery that removed the colon cancer and the liposarcoma tumor in her retroperitoneal cavity.   Two months after that, a biopsy of her lung confirmed she had metastatic breast cancer.  More treatment loomed on the horizon, and with it, a need for increased discipline, endurance, and focus—qualities that mark the mindset of successful marathoners.

The next two years were long and arduous.   Gains were made in Kathleen’s colon and breast cancer, but the liposarcoma that gotten a hold of her body refused to release its grip.  In the summer of 2007, Kathleen was becoming increasing ill, and after years of seemingly unsuccessful treatment, her spirit was beginning to break.  She was exhausted and running out of options.   This is a state known well to distance runners.  They call it “hitting the wall.” Her marathon-running daughter saw what was happening and quickly kicked into high gear to help her mom combat the feelings of hopelessness that could be so dangerous.  It did not help matters that Kathleen’s own doctors had given up hope.

How does one keep running the race when the professionals say that it is over?

Kathleen and Astrid headed to Boston and Portland seeking more aggressive treatment plans and second opinions.  These journeys would not be fruitful.  At this dark turning point, mother and daughter sat down and had a candid, heart-to-heart:  given the dire situation, what was their next best step toward life?

The result was a plan.  They would sell their home releasing them from a financial burden that was tapping their resources, and they would pursue an innovative treatment plan in Seattle.  These two decisions renewed their hope and affirmed their resolve to keep going.

At this point, Christina McDonald enters their story.  A Coldwell Banker Bain realtor, Christina had walked into their lives a couple years earlier at Gilda’s Club Seattle, where she and Kathleen had met as volunteers and became fast friends.  A mutual love of helping others was a part of their friendship from the get-to. So, when the time came for Kathleen and Astrid to sell their home, it was Christina to whom they turned:  not only is she a gifted realtor, she is a generous one.   For buyers and sellers who wish it, Christina will donate 10% of her commission on completed transactions to Gilda’s Club Seattle. Over the years, the amount she has donated has become quite significant.   Kathleen and Astrid wanted the sale of their home to become a part of Christina’s generous giving.

Gilda’s Club Seattle is an organization that is hard not to love.  It is dedicated to “providing meeting places where men, women, and children living with cancer and their families and friends join with others to build emotional, social and educational support as supplement to medical care.” Gilda’s Club Seattle is a lively and vibrant community, in spite of the illness that brings people to it.  It is also an abundantly generous  community:  all of its lectures, programming, and workshops are delivered free-of-charge.    It is the kind of place that naturally draws compassionate, generous people like Christina.

“Christina is amazing”—this is what Astrid will tell you.  Her professionalism, compassion, and generosity are legendary.  For Christina to be Christina, her business activity needs to support the community, and specifically, support the members of the community who are experiencing pain and stress.  This is what initially led her to Gilda’s Club Seattle, and what has kept her there.  Christina is determined to help families living with cancer.

In the fall of 2007, Kathleen and Astrid listed their home with her.  The plan, however, was rather quickly interrupted when it became clear that Kathleen could no longer leave the home when prospective buyers came for a tour.  They took the house off the market and waited to see if Kathleen’s health would improve enough for them to resume their effort.  It did, and in April 2008 they sold their home with Christina as their realtor.  It made for a happy day.

Kathleen, Astrid, and Christina are good friends, and together they did something good that will support others whose lives, like theirs, are being distorted by cancer.  Participating in such generous compassion can only leave one feeling good.

The good fruit of this experience continues, even as the marathon of cancer continues, as well.  Kathleen’s health is getting better, and though cautious, she is more hopeful about the future than she has been in a while.  Astrid’s life, too, is on an upswing.  This past fall she enrolled in the Entry-Level Masters Nursing Program at Pacific Lutheran University en route to becoming a licensed Family Nurse Practitioner.  As she studies, she continues to run marathons, most recently the New York City and the Seattle marathons. Christina, as well, continues to live into her gifts, selling homes in ways that support families living with cancer through Gilda’s Club Seattle. 

These three women will tell you that cancer is a race that cannot be run alone.  It is one that we run together.

If you are considering selling or buying a home and you have a heart for families and people living with cancer, consider supporting Gilda’s Club Seattle by enlisting Christina McDonald as your realtor (206-999-3044; christinamcdonald@cbbain.com).   It is a great way to support the families in our community whose lives are hit by cancer.

Thinking about buying or selling your home, or know someone who is?
It can be done while Helping Gilda’s Club Seattle!


Coldwell Banker Bain realtor, Christina McDonald will donate 10% of her commission on completed transactions to Gilda’s Club Seattle.   To learn more, contact Christina:

Phone: 206-999-3044
Email: christingamcdonald@cbbain.com
Web Site: www.christinamcdonald.com