From the Archives: The Wounded Healer

Chicago Tribune Northwest Spotlight

Crusader Janet Trever Proudly Bears The Scars Of Cancer Battles That Began Almost 50 Years Ago

August 17, 1997|By Kelly Womer. Special to the Tribune.

Janet Trever calls it her beautiful burden. She wears it prominently on her face, and she faces it nearly every day. Trever has survived three unrelated bouts of cancer that have left her with facial disfigurements, emotional scars and an even stronger will to make the most of each moment.

She has learned to overcome cancer, without it overcoming her. She is reminded of her struggles and triumphs every morning when she puts on one of her 400 fashion eye patches that she personally makes to cover the right eye that was removed when she was only 5.

"I can't leave behind my facial differences," said Trever, 53, of Arlington Heights. "Everyone has aspects in life that make them different. Every individual has a beautiful burden. I want to teach others about reframing things into the positive. I can give an incredible experience of survival."

She is sharing her stories of blessings and burdens with audiences around the suburbs and the country as head of the Yul Brynner Head and Neck Cancer Foundation, which is based at Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines.

"I have been surviving cancer since 1949," she said. "I'm a wounded healer."


The foundation, which bears the name of the famous actor from "The King and I" who died in 1985 of complications from cancer, was founded 15 years ago to fund research for those with head and neck cancer and train doctors in this area. Today the foundation's focus has shifted toward advocacy and education to capitalize on Trever's personal experiences and coping techniques, which range from creative writing to nutrition to humor.

"I want to do no harm and leave things better than when I found them," she said. "That's what being around is all about."

The foundation is a clearinghouse of information, with Trever linking patients and professionals with support groups and resources. "I'm like a spider weaving its web out of its own essence," she said. "I'm tapping into what I know and have experienced."

When most young children were settling into their school classrooms for the first time, Trever was tackling her first bout of cancer in which her right eye was removed. Doctors predicted there was a 90 percent chance her cancer was terminal. But she survived the odds with the surgery and follow-up radiation that left her face radically altered.

My original of the article found online.