Employee returns to work after cancer battle

By U.S. ArmyApril 3, 2013

Ernie Dixon
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

What makes it better is

that he is healthier and

doing well, which wasn't

the case in 2011 when Dixon was

diagnosed with cancer. When he left,

his responsibilities were distributed

among his co-workers and Dixon

focused on his health. After two

years of battling head and neck

cancer of the soft palate, Dixon

returned to ACC-APG in February.

"I'm happy to be back," said

Dixon. "I feel great and I'm truly

blessed to have a job doing what I

love."

The Army veteran recalled the day

he was informed of his diagnosis.

"I was at work when I received

the phone call from my doctor and

he told me that I had an extremely

rare cancer. Less than 400 cases of

it had been reported across the U.S.

and Europe in the last 30 years," he

said. "Nothing could have prepared

me for that phone call. I felt like I

was just issued a death sentence. I

was perplexed as to the cause since

I had never been a smoker, dipped

or chewed tobacco products. I was

devastated and had no idea what I

was facing."

Dixon first discovered the cancer

himself when he noticed a lesion in

his mouth. Not certain what it was,

Dixon went for medical testing and

the initial tests were negative. With

follow-up analysis it was clear that

he had a cancerous tumor within the

fleshy soft palate in the top of his

mouth.

"My surgery to remove the

tumor was scheduled for May 2011,"

said Dixon. "While I waited for my

surgery date, the tumor grew and

it became difficult to breathe, talk

or eat. The tumor felt like

the consistency of spaghetti

in my mouth and it would

fall back into my airway

making it impossible to sleep.

Concerned, my wife notified

the doctor and the surgery was

completed a month early."

With the baseball-sized tumor

removed, Dixon began radiation and

chemotherapy treatments at the

University of North Carolina Chapel

Hill's Cancer Center.

"The treatments were difficult,"

recalled the father of five. "I couldn't

talk very well due to the atrophy and

burning from the radiation."

Dixon's radiation treatments

ended in July 2011 and were

followed by chemotherapy in

October. He also had to endure a

feeding tube from April 2011 until

December 2012. In the process

he lost a significant amount of

weight, starting at 240 pounds and

leveling off at 180 pounds when the

treatment was over.

Dixon said the radiation and

chemo caused immune system

suppression to the point that his

red and white blood cell counts

were extremely impaired, making

his ability to fight infections a

challenge. Through numerous blood

transfusions, multiple emergency

room visits and a few trips to the

intensive care unit due to infections,

Dixon held on.

On the path to recovery, Dixon

had some setbacks. "I was prescribed

some powerful medication to help

me through the pain," he pointed

out. "As I recovered, I had to wean

myself from the narcotics to detoxify

my body. It was difficult and now I

have a new appreciation for people

with drug addictions. I suffered

withdrawal symptoms such as

cramps, sweats and delirium tremens

for more than seven months and was

just extremely uncomfortable."

During an emergency room visit,

doctors misdiagnosed a problem

with his appendix. Two days after

the visit, the appendix ruptured,

which required emergency surgery

and a nine-day hospital stay.

Dixon acknowledges "the

perfection of God's timing. If this

had happened when my immune

system was so suppressed, we would

not be having this discussion right

now."

Throughout his entire treatment,

Dixon believed that the support

of his family, friends, faith and coworkers

was instrumental to his

recovery. When he left his duties

with the RTP Division, he initially

took a medical leave of absence

which exhausted all of his sick and

annual leave. Dixon was approved

for the Voluntary Leave Transfer

Program, which gave government

employees the ability to donate leave

to support his medical emergency.

After approximately six months on

medical leave, Dixon resigned his

position.

"I hated leaving my job but felt

truly blessed by the donations of

leave," Dixon recalled. "My utmost

concern was taking care of my family

and the donated leave helped ease

some of this stress. I personally sent

thank you email messages to each of

the donors to express my gratitude for

their generosity."

Dixon is currently in remission and

in December, he was given clearance

to return to work.

"I wanted to return to work and

was grateful for my chance to contribute.

I applied for a procurement

analyst position with ACC-APG and I

feel fortunate to be back. I wanted so

much to return to the RTP Division

that I would have accepted a position

sweeping floors," Dixon concluded.

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