Four-time survivor calls cancer ‘a blessing’

By Carrie A. Mizell

If God did not have a bigger purpose for her life on earth, Trinette Sellers has no doubt He would have called her home long before now.
A four-time cancer survivor, Sellers is just 39-years-old.
“I know this is hard to believe, but cancer has been a blessing for me,” Sellers said. “Having cancer has made me more aware of my own purpose. If someone’s relationship with the Lord has begun or been strengthened through my battles with cancer, then I’ll give up a kidney gladly.”

The children at Kathy’s All Things Daycare, where Trinette Sellers works,
keep her smiling each and every day.

Sellers said she did not know how many people were watching her and gauging her reactions to struggles that came into her life until she was diagnosed with cancer. After the birth of their son, Trinette and her husband Patrick tried for a second child for four and a half years before she got pregnant with their daughter. Just one month into her pregnancy in 2001, Trinette learned she had cancerous nodules on her thyroid.
“I had no signs or symptoms,” Sellers explained. “And my family doesn’t have a history of cancer.”
The High Springs native was working at Shands Hospital at the time of her diagnosis, when an unplanned ultrasound showed the nodules. Doctors waited until Sellers was almost six months along in her pregnancy before removing the tumor on her thyroid. The Sellers’ “miracle baby” was delivered at eight and a half months perfectly healthy. She was able to nurse her new baby for three months before she had to undergo radioactive iodine treatments, which forced her to be quarantined from her family for two weeks.
“I wasn’t able to hold my baby for a solid month,” Sellers said. “The pill I had to take was given to me by doctors wearing gloves, body suits and masks … At least the pills were orange and blue; that made them a little easier to swallow.”
For the next seven years, Sellers remained cancer free. Then, in April 2007 she suffered a gallbladder attack, at which time doctors found a Stage 3 cancerous mass on her left kidney.
“The mass was actually larger than my kidney,” Sellers said.
Her gallbladder had to be removed immediately, followed by her kidney six weeks later. Sellers explained that she and her husband, along with their two children had gotten into karate prior to her finding out she had a cancerous mass; and her doctors told her that if she would have gotten kicked in the spot where the mass was, it could have possibly ruptured and killed her. Six months after her left kidney was removed, Sellers’ doctor found cancer the size of a dime on her right kidney, so a portion of her right kidney also had to be removed.
“Today I have really good kidney function,” Sellers explained.
The fact that the wife and mother of two, who underwent four surgeries in a year and a half, does not need to be on dialysis is a miracle in and of itself.
Just eight days after losing her grandfather, Sellers learned that she had cancer a fourth time on July 9, 2008. On July 30 she underwent a radical neck dissection, which involved doctors removing 39 lymph nodes from her neck.
“We are firm believers in the power of prayer,” Sellers said. “Life is just too short! Regardless of whether or not you have cancer, you have to be positive.”
When asked how her children cope with hearing that their mother has cancer, Sellers said that her son, who is now 13, always says that God can take care of it like he did all the times before.
“I have never been concerned for myself,” Sellers said. “All I have ever wanted to be is a mom, so I have been concerned for my kids, but Psalm 91 has been very helpful. It says that God’s got my back.”
While working at Kathy’s All Things Daycare in Bell, Sellers explained that her days are consumed by the 27 children in her class.
“You do not have time to not feel well,” Sellers said. “I can’t let an ounce of negativity into my world and I have to stay focused on God, or else it can get overwhelming.”
In spite of having cancer four times and undergoing various treatments, Sellers maintains a sense of humor, especially when she talks about the fact that she has never lost her hair.
“I say that God must have a sense of humor,” Sellers said with a smile. “He knows I won’t look good bald.”
After all she has been through, Sellers said she chooses to be an advocate. As captain of the daycare’s Relay For Life team, aptly named “Faith, Hope and Love,” Sellers said she hopes the local Relay For Life will raise funds, as well as awareness within the community.
“Purple being my favorite color is just a bonus!” Sellers said.
The theme of this year’s American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is “Celebrate More Birthdays,” an initiative Sellers wholeheartedly supports.
“I just want the blue hair that smells like moth balls,” Sellers said. “I will be 40 years old this year, so bring on the over the hill! I’m here to take that downward slide.”