Published: May 21, 2008 11:15 am         

Survivor story: Sheriff beats cancer with stem cell transplant

The following survivor story is the first in a series leading up to Attala County’s Relay for Life on June 6.

It’s been nearly eight years since Attala County Sheriff William Lee was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell, and with the help of chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant, he is a cancer survivor today.

He remembers how he found the cancer very well.

We were on a call at the Big Black River Swamp looking for a mother and son that were lost, Lee said.

“I slipped . . . and had a terrible pain in my back and I was treated for a pulled muscle,” he said.

A few days later it wasn’t any better and off he went to Jackson to University Medical Center, where he underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and it was then that something was found.

“It’s like a tumor that comes up by or near your bones,” Lee said.

A biopsy was conducted and within a week of the diagnosis, Lee began radiation treatments for what he calls “the Big C.”

“When you go to the doctor to see about your health and when they tell you what your problem is – most of time it’s something that they can fix pretty easily but, when they tell you that you have the ‘Big C’ it does concern you and it makes you think about a lot of things.

“I was told at that time I needed to consider a stem cell transplant,” he said.

As time went on he waited and waited and another tumor did appear.

More than three years ago, Lee said he decided to have the transplant.

First, there was chemotherapy treatments to be taken.

“I would go down there (UMC in Jackson) on Monday and come home on Saturday,” Lee said. “But when I would come home after my treatment, I would go back to work.”

With his health under attack and his wife, Linda, constantly by his side, he said he was in constant contact with his department.

Armed with his cell phone, a pager and the hospital phone, Lee said it probably wasn’t two hours that passed before they heard from him at the department.

Chief Deputy Tim Nail said if the sheriff could have had a radio down there that worked, he would have.

“I was amazed how he juggled all the stuff,” Nail said. “He was still concerned about the people of Attala County.”

Once the chemotherapy was complete, radiation treatments followed as the sheriff continued to work and even take night calls.

“Then, the process was ready for me to do the stem cell transplant,” Lee said. “They took my blood and separated the good cells from the bad cells. They gave me my good cells back.”

Lee said the biggest thing that helped him was the advancement in cancer research.

“Hopefully, one day there is going to be a cure for all of it,” Lee said.

Medicine helped him but there were two more things that pulled him through – faith and his family.

“I think one of the biggest things is first you turn it over to God and then you do exactly what your doctors tell you to do,” Lee said.

It (cancer) is something that scares a lot of people, he said, but you have to keep a positive attitude.

Throughout his treatments and transplant, Lee said his wife never left his side.

“She was very supportive,” he said. “ It is very good to have a support system. That means a lot to have family support.”

There was more support that the sheriff was unaware of.

Lee said there were prayer chains lifting him up as well as prayers from churches across several counties that he didn’t know about at the time.

“I go ever so often to get a check up and once a year I go and have a body scan,” Lee said. “I had one in January and it showed everything is good. “

Lee recommends a yearly check up for everyone.

“The sooner you catch it, the better the odds are,” he said. “By the grace of God, I’m still doing good.”

Lee said he has spent some time talking to others seeking advice about stem cell transplants.

“Even now, if someone is unsure about it, I will be glad to talk to them about it.” Lee said. “So far it’s proved to be good with me.

When Lee is not out protecting the residents in Attala County, riding his horses or bailing hay, he said he likes to help those diagnosed with cancer through fundraisers where he takes on the role of auctioneer along side his friend, Kempe Hodges.