Time has dulled the pain but not the memory of the afternoon that changed her life.
Michelle Smietana remembers it with clarity. She had known about the lump in her abdomen for months. But it was painless, so certainly, she thought, it was nothing. She had only come to the doctor at her father’s incessant urging.
“I mean, who thinks of cancer at 35?” she said. “The thought didn’t even occur to me.”
Smietana’s world changed in an instant. It’s cancer, the doctor said — lymphoma, to be specific. Her knees buckled under the weight of the doctor’s words. She sat to steady herself, a stream of worried thoughts flooding her mind. For the first time she contemplated the label that would dominate her life in the coming months: cancer patient.
Nearly 10 years later, Smietana goes by another title: survivor. And she’s trying to make the most of her renewed life. Nominated for the Utah Woman of the Year award by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, she is competing against other nominees to raise money for cancer research, patient advocacy and public education.
The competition began early this month and runs through May 15th. Every dollar Smietana, who is a fifth-grade teacher at Weilenmann School of Discovery, earns counts as a vote, and the participant with the most votes wins.
“I’m just happy to be alive and healthy to do this,” Smietana said. “I’m fortunate to be able to speak for others who are going through it. It’s an ordeal. And I see this as a chance for me to give back and to do something really powerful and to make a real difference. It’s the reason I accepted the nomination. Even if I don’t win, to me, the only loser is cancer.”
Smietana said she became involved in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society about four years ago. She participated in the Team in Training program, an athletic club where she raised money by competing in marathons and other races. But it didn’t completely prepare her for the rigor of the Woman of the Year competition.
“It’s like a whole other level,” she said. “Team in Training was a good experience, but Woman of the Year is like I’ve set my networking skills on fire. I’m doing everything I can to reach out to people to not just educate them about the cause but to raise money as well.”
Despite the steep challenge of trying to raise enough money to win — Smietana says she has stiff competition — it pales in comparison to her fight with lymphoma. The experience seems distant now, but she remembers the bouts of nausea and fatigue after chemotherapy that forced her to move back in with her parents. Her immune system was weak, and a small cough turned into bronchitis.
Her hair thinned, too. She once wore a wig to school to prepare her students for what she would look like if it fell out completely.
“It seems surreal right now, but living through all the side-effects from the medicine was awful,” she said.
But all of that is over now. Smietana is cancer-free and grateful, and she is raising money so that others can win their battles with the disease and say the same. She hopes she can help children, in particular. If she meets her goal of $50,000, she will get to choose in which sector of cancer research the money will be spent. She has already decided on pediatrics.
“When I pray every morning, I’m thankful for my health and the ability to get up in the morning and do good in the world,” she said. “One of the phrases in Team in Training is ‘I run for people who can’t.’ I feel like I am campaigning for others who can’t. I’m just trying to do the best I can.”
Individuals or businesses that would like to donate to Smietana’s cause can visit mwoy.org/pages/ut/slc15/msmietana. People can make straight donations or also purchase tickets to the Man and Woman of the Year Grand Finale gala, set to be held May 16 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City. Businesses can make donations or become a sponsor of the Grand Finale event.