Jean Finch: Happiest, Healthiest Person Living with Cancer

    As a volunteer with Seniors Around Town (SAT) I’ve previously written about how much I enjoy my encounters with the seniors I drive, how much I learn from them and how my own life is enhanced by hearing about theirs.
    These seniors, many of whom are part of “The Greatest Generation,” exude a refreshing sense of gratitude and hope amid the doom and gloom of the daily news. Recently I drove a new senior who was the perfect example of this kind of optimistic attitude.
    When I pick up seniors for a ride, they often move a little slowly, cautiously, sometimes with a walker or cane.
    That was not Jean Finch!
    Spry, thin, tanned and elegantly casual in skinny blue jeans, a white rattan cowboy hat and dangly gold earrings, she practically sprinted toward my car as I drove into her immense driveway.
    Her house was stately with a lovely yard. As I greeted her, I complimented her beautiful home and asked how long she had lived there. “Fifty-five years!” she exclaimed.
    I made the obvious lame joke that she must have moved there when she was a toddler. We both chuckled a little and she proudly told me she was 88.
    “Wow! You look amazing!” was my spontaneous response.
    I asked what her secret was and we proceeded to get into a fascinating conversation about nutrition, lifestyles and 
attitudes.
    It was only then that she told me she had been diagnosed with cancer last December.
    Up until that moment, Finch had been living a vibrant life – playing tennis, hiking, gardening and more. Then one day while walking her usual path in the hills around her house, she felt short of breath. The doctors found cancer and placed Finch into hospice.
    Yet now, six months later, Finch is out of hospice and back to her normal routine.
    I sat down with Finch for a brief conversation. Tom, her husband of 67 years, was present and chimed in when I explained how I hoped this story would impart life lessons to our readers.
    Tom piped up, “A good lesson she can tell you about is to marry well!”
    Clearly, a sense of humor is part of a healthy lifestyle.

Things changed significantly with your health last December. Tell us about that experience.
    I went from being really healthy and nothing wrong to a freefall. One night, after a hike I had been doing for years, I was huffing and puffing and I couldn’t catch my breath. I told my children and they took me to the doctor and I was sent to the emergency room. It turned out I had a collapsed lung. They did surgery and found lung cancer.

You chose not to undergo treatment. Was that their advice or your own decision?
    I decided against treatment. I had been running around with a lot of doctors’ appointments and I just thought, I don’t want to go to any more appointments. I just want to rest now. So I refused the treatment.

The doctors put you in hospice. Then what happened?
    I was very sick and I think they looked at me and thought [since] I was 88 years old, and [just] put me in hospice. They didn’t know anything about my lifestyle. But after a little while, I started bouncing back – feeling better even though I do still have cancer.

Do you attribute your well-being to your healthy lifestyle?
    I definitely do. I think I recovered well from surgery when I was quite ill. We thought I was at death’s door. Now I’m cooking and doing almost all the things I did before.
    I am so blessed to have fairly good health now. It’s like I have a second chance. And I’m not going to miss out on it. Every day is really fun. Our weather is so beautiful here and Orinda is such a beautiful place to live. So I’ve got to enjoy it.

What are your aspirations in life? What are you prioritizing nowadays?
    I have found that just through talking to people, I’ve affected them without even knowing it. It’s really gratifying to find out that people are noticing what you’re doing and interested in what you’re doing for your health.
    I think with all the problems we have in the world, instead of focusing on that, we really have to spend time getting out and meeting people in our neighborhoods. Being friends and loving each other! It’s so important.

Do you have any regrets or fears?
    I don’t think so. I’m really focused on looking at the positive side of things.
    I’m living with cancer. And that’s the way it is. I’m going to be the happiest and healthiest person living with cancer.

Anything you would like to add?
    I think the Seniors Around Town program is magnificent. It’s so full of love and I was just blown away when I heard about it. It’s such a wonderful thing, I wish I would’ve known about it sooner so I could have volunteered.