When the dust settles, she says the score will be Lisa - 1, cancer - 0.

“I don’t have time for the ‘poor me’ or the ‘why me’ stuff,” says Lisa Mizell, Orangeburg County Clerk of Court. “Also, after spending time at the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina these last couple of weeks and seeing the number of people there, it is more of ‘why not me.’”

It is her, she said, and the diagnosis is cancer.

As a wife and mother of two, 43-year-old Mizell has announced she has cancer.

She has also announced she’s not going to cave in to it. Instead, she plans to grab the disease by the seat of the pants and chuck it out the door.

“Everyone thinks I need a mental evaluation because I seem to be handling this pretty well,” Mizell said. “It was a never a question of ‘if’ but when. If it didn’t happen, great. But if it did, I would be prepared and ready to fight.”

Mizell said her father and three of his siblings all had different types of cancer. His sister had breast cancer. So her ultimate diagnosis, Mizell said, is something she genuinely expected.

It was the first of July when she was diagnosed with cancer in both breasts. A lump was suspected in April or May. Cancer was also found in her left lymph node.

But Mizell was in the middle of campaigning for re-election as clerk of court.

“My current course of treatment will be radiation on my neck, chemo pills, a monthly IV dose of Zometa, which is used to make my bones stronger,” Mizell said.

“May I urge all women not to take the ‘I don’t have time for cancer’ stand,” she added. “It was completely stupid of me, and I feel like a jackass. I really don’t think it made that much of a difference, but there is no way to tell.”

Back in the spring, Mizell was up to her neck in campaigning, which she said took precedence over a nagging pain in her upper shoulders and neck.

“I went to the doctor several times, but this was before I had said anything about the lump,” she said. “I really thought I was dealing with two different issues because the only thing that was bothering me was my neck and the muscle spasms.”

On June 28, Mizell and her husband Barry went to the mountains to celebrate their 24th anniversary. She said her neck and back bothered her the entire weekend. When she returned from the trip, she went back to her doctor in Santee.

“While there, I said, “By the way,’ and had them look at the lump,” Mizell said. “The next day I went to Dr. (Steven) Bull who immediately ordered another mammogram. As we say, the rest is history.”

After the mammograms, she underwent more ultrasounds, MRIs, bone and CAT scans. From this, the doctors learned Mizell’s breast cancer had spread to her bones.

“It is in both breasts, my neck, one rib, one spot in the bones of my back and my pelvis,” she said. “Again, I felt absolutely fine other than the lump in my left breast. I had also had some weight loss but attributed it to the election.”

In spite of the frightening and potentially overwhelming diagnosis, Mizell firmly believes she’ll deal the disease a knockout punch and get on with her life.

In the meantime, the staff Mizell assembled to run the clerk’s office manages the day-to-day operations in her absence.

“Marcia (Brandhorst) and the rest of the guys really have had to deal with a lot during this conversion, especially with me not being there,” Mizell said. “I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. Their reassurances have kept me able to focus on getting better.”

Mizell said during this ordeal, her greatest strength has been God and her family, Barry, Rebecca and Megan.

But, ironically, she said the hardest part isn’t dealing with the cancer; it’s dealing with the kindness.

“At a friend’s suggestion, I started a journal on the Web site called caringbridge.org,” she said.

“Basically, you go in and update everyone on your condition so they can check on you.”

Opened about six weeks ago, her account has already received nearly 13,000 hits and more than 350 posts from family and friends.

“I ask all the readers to continue to keep me uplifted in their prayers,” Mizell said “I have a lot of folks praying for me, and we all know that is a wonderful thing.”

A medical expense fund for Mizell has been set up at Farmers and Merchants Bank of South Carolina in Holly Hill on Old State Road. The contact person is Tammie Rickenbacker. Donations to the fund can be mailed in care of Rickenbacker at P.O. Box 68, Holly Hill, SC 29059.

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.

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