A Survivor's Story with Tammy Tindle Dixon

Tammy Tindle Dixon (Alpha Upsilon Chapter, Oklahoma State University)
Assistant Director for Missouri State University Counseling Center
Tammy Dixon offers insight on early detection, interacting with those diagnosed and how she has come full circle with Zetawinks.

What’s a Zetawink? Tammy created the term—adapted from Godwink (a coincidence often seen as the sign of an answered prayer). “It involves research that ZTA probably has paid for,” Tammy says. “So I call them Zetawinks.”

12 difficult months. In March 2018, Tammy’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, went through two months of chemotherapy and ultimately passed in May. Soon after the funeral, Tammy went in for her annual physical and her first mammogram at age 42. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August.

“My lump was really small—I couldn’t even feel it,” says Tammy. “I had been doing self-exams because of the Zeta shower cards that we passed out when I was a collegian. They found it only through the mammogram. I had a lumpectomy in October. I thought I would just do the double mastectomy and get it over with. But the more I talked to the surgeon, I just did the lumpectomy. And then I thought we were done. But I had an appointment with an oncologist and I fell right in the middle of the results of the Onco testing (Oncotype Dx^®). I call it a Zetawink because women that had been diagnosed five years earlier didn’t have that option. But what they do is test your tumor to determine if chemotherapy is the right course of treatment for you. I had to decide—it wasn’t a determined thing. And that kind of sucked because of watching mom go through what she did. So I asked my oncologist point blank: ‘What would you do?’ and she said, ‘If I were you I’d do it, because if it comes back it’s coming back aggressive.’ And I said OK.”

Tammy went through four rounds of chemotherapy. “And then I had to do radiation because I did the lumpectomy—if I had done the mastectomy I wouldn’t have had to do radiation. I finished treatment in March of 2019.” Because her cancer was estrogen- and progesterone-positive, “I’m on a hormone-blocker that blocks all the estrogen in my body, so I’ll be on that five to 10 years. Recently they’ve come out with a new test that can tell me if I need to be on it for more years. So that’s another Zetawink in my eyes.”

Early detection. “If it weren’t for my mom, I wouldn’t have found it as early as I did,” says Tammy. “I feel like she was with me, because if I hadn’t found it…” She stops for a few beats. “That’s my whole message: early detection. I was only 42 and I didn’t know they had changed the guidelines for screenings for mammograms from 45 to 40 at that time. I’m all about getting in as soon as you can, especially if you have a family history. I’ve recently heard of a few people who have passed from breast cancer. But in my head at that time, I was like: ‘No, this is one of the easiest ones to cure. You don’t die from breast cancer.’ That’s where I went to protect myself. Early detection is so important.”

The word survivor. “I do use the term survivor, but my story began with my mom’s story. My mom unfortunately had rheumatoid arthritis for 40 years, so when she started chemo, chemo is what kind of led to her death. She just didn’t have the immune system. But my mom was the strongest person I know. When it comes to ‘survivor’ I feel like she didn’t survive this journey, but she definitely was a ‘fighter’ for many years and her strength was admirable.”

Interaction advice. “All survivors are different,” says Tammy. “I was talking to my friend yesterday who’s going through chemo. And she’s like, ‘I’m just so angry. Everybody’s walking around living their life.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, absolutely. But the next moment you’re going to be grateful because you are walking around.’” She advises, “Ask what the other person needs in that moment, because it’s going to be changing a lot. Don’t assume that people are in that mode of wanting empathy all the time. Some people just don’t want to talk about it. I was so excited when I talked to people and I didn’t have to explain things.”

Signature moment. “The first time I walked as a survivor,” says Tammy. “When I got that carnation from a Zeta collegian, that was a huge moment for me. Because it went from the work that we do as Zetas to the actual significance of the work we do as Zetas.”

Support. “I am a stepmother and have two grandchildren as well,” says Tammy. “I love to spend time with my family and friends. It’s very important to me that I have those connections.” Her father passed less than two years ago and she talks about his support, as well as that of her brother. “My husband was amazing through it all. If we’d go out, he would know when I was done. OK, Tammy’s done talking. Or people went up to him and would say, ‘Well, how is she really?’ And he’d always send them back to me because he knew I didn’t want people talking about it behind my back. So he would be: ‘You need to ask her.’ My mom, from day one of me being a Zeta, would always send me pink stuff even as a collegian. That’s kind of a cool thing that I get to continue on and she gets to be a part of my story.”

Tammy served as Junior League president throughout her treatment. “Those were the women that said, ‘Take your wig off, get comfortable.’ It was important for me to feel as normal as possible when I was going through treatment. I turned to Zeta sisters who had experienced breast cancer for guidance before making decisions. That is the power of the alumnae world in my opinion!”

Post-treatment. “As a therapist, I was surprised at how much the mental and emotional difficulties came aftertreatment. When you’re going through treatment, especially as a woman, you’re taught: You do what you need to do, you take the actions, you fight during that time. But it’s afterward that I looked back and went, ‘Oh, gosh. I had cancer.’ That’s huge. During, it didn’t feel that way to me. For me, all my emotional toll came afterwards. In a way, (breast cancer) is very much a part of my life, but it doesn’t define who I am.”

Who is Tammy Dixon? “I tend to be a pretty empathetic, serious, loyal person,” she says. What would her husband say? “I think he was surprised at the strength I showed (during treatment). I think he was expecting me to fall apart and I didn’t, going through all that grief with Mom. He would constantly have to remind me that I needed to take care of me and not other people. I think he would tell you that I handled that pretty gracefully.”

Volunteer roles.
ZTA: Province President 17-B six years, Area Housing Coordinator during her treatment. Current member of Springfield, MO Alumnae and national facilitator for relationship violence prevention. Cancer-focused: Planning committee for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® in Springfield, was a Portrait of Hope, volunteers for American Cancer Society, as well as Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks and gives annual talks on campus.

What do you want Zetas to know about you? “I’m here if they ever need anything,” says Tammy. “I want to help in any way I can when sisters are going through a hard time. I don’t know anything really profound to say except that I’m a proud member of Zeta Tau Alpha and will probably always continue to give in any way I can to our organization. Because I believe in our values and I believe in our philanthropic efforts, and I couldn’t be any prouder to be part of this group.” Follow Tammy at: facebook.com/tammy.tindle