BLOOMINGTON - Cancer has been a part of Lori Hamilton's life on and off for 17½ years, since she was a college senior planning her wedding. | FYI: Relay for Life | MyPantagraph: Healthy Living Group

So when the 40-year-old Bloomington wife and mother was told by her oncologist that they could treat her cancer like a chronic disease - meaning she may battle it for the rest of her life - she experienced not despair but "a glimmer of hope."

Lori began her fourth cancer battle last fall. She gets four to five hours of chemotherapy five days a week for three weeks, gets a week off, then begins the process again.

"There is no ending time," Lori said one recent evening on the deck of her Bloomington home, as her husband, Jay, sat beside her and their three children did homework indoors. "It's long-term therapy."

How she remains upbeat after battling breast cancer since age 22 reflects her faith, perspective, support - and creative scheduling.

"You have to learn that you can't panic when you get news. I have strong faith and I use it." The Hamiltons attend First Christian Church in Bloomington.

"One of my goals is to live a normal life. I have such a wonderful life outside of this small piece of it," she said, referring to cancer.

"I go to work," said the business architect for administrative services at State Farm Insurance Cos., which has allowed her to adjust her work hours and do some work from home.

"I'm involved in my children's activities," said the mother of Clayton, 15; Carly, 12; and Casey, 9.

"I feel better when I'm up and moving. For some reason, I tolerate chemo well.

"There are moments of anger, frustration and sadness. But in the end, there is hope that what I'm doing is working."

Focusing on family and work also yields support.

"Jay will do whatever he has to do," she said, referring to the man who married her 17 years ago and several months after her first cancer diagnosis. "The kids have been supportive. I have friends who sit with me at chemo. And work has been great."

Jay said he and Lori lift each other up.

"It's her spirit of 'Can do.' Faith drives her spirit. Most people would be amazed at the little amount of work she's missed in 18 years. She treats chemotherapy like another appointment on the calendar."

"It helps me that he never blinked an eye, even though we were engaged when I was diagnosed," Lori admitted.

"I accept it," he said of their lives with cancer. "In this household, we have many great days."

Clayton admitted, "It's kind of scary at times because we don't know what's going to happen."

Carly nodded. "Some people with cancer don't survive. I'm happy because she did."

Relay for Life helps the children

Participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life of McLean County - which has its 15th annual run June 26-27 at Normal Community West High School - helps the children. Casey asked for money for his mom's relay team instead of gifts for himself for his recent ninth birthday and collected $250.

"Doing the relay makes me feel more supportive," Carly said.

Lori, a Bloomington native, was healthy and beginning her senior year at the University of Illinois in Urbana when she noticed a lump in her right breast in September 1991. A doctor in Urbana told her "You're too young to worry about breast cancer."

"I just forgot about it," she said. "I was busy with school and Jay and I were engaged and working on our wedding plans."

During Thanksgiving break, she noticed the lump was larger and went to her family doctor. After a mammogram, sonogram and biopsy, the diagnosis of breast cancer came in December.

"My first reactions were 'Does this mean I'm going to die?' and 'How can this be possible because I'm 22?'"

She took her final exams, had a mastectomy in January and returned to college three weeks later. "Just moving forward was important," she said.

That semester meant taking classes in Urbana and chemotherapy and planning her wedding in Bloomington-Normal.

She graduated and began working at State Farm in May and got married June 6 - all while continuing chemotherapy.

"Getting married with a wig was not what I expected," she recalled with a laugh.

Chemo ended a month later. She then went several years with no problems. Her three children were born.

"Everything was great. Cancer was a part of my history, which is a good place for it to be."

In June 2003, she found three small lumps in her upper chest. They were removed and again she was told she had breast cancer.

"They don't know why the cancer had recurred," she said. "That was such a shock."

Shock was replaced by sadness, then determination. She had chemotherapy and radiation, then took medicine to intercept the estrogen in her body before the cancer could use it as food to grow.

In 2006, bronchitis and chest pain prompted tests that confirmed she had cancer in her lungs. She received the diagnosis on her cell phone as she was taking her turn walking laps at Relay For Life.

"It was a beautiful night when the phone rang and Dr. (Hwan) Jeong called to say the breast cancer was recurring. I said, 'Great, I'll be there Monday for chemo.'

"They had 'Hope' and 'Cure' spelled out on the bleachers. And I thought, 'I'm here with a lot of other cancer survivors and we're here to raise money for research for new medicine because you never lose hope in finding a cure.'"

Lori began another six months of chemo. Last August, she wasn't feeling well and tests determined that the tumors in her lungs were growing again. She began her current chemo regimen in October.

"The results of the last scan indicated that the therapy is working to control and reduce the size of the cancer in my lungs, so the intent is to stay on this a long time.

"I don't ask about my prognosis. I don't want someone else to tell me how much time I have left. I don't want to live by the numbers. I just want to live."