Michelle Hynek is a 46-year-old production executive and mother of two living in Los Angeles, California. She was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer in October 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States five months later, things became a lot more complicated for Hynek, who is—now no longer allowed to have anybody by her side when she goes to the hospital for treatment.
Originally, they couldn't even figure out what my primary [cancer location] was, they just said I had. I couldn't even spell it. I had to have a doctor spell it for me on the phone. My production skills came in very handy because I was relentless [about getting information and scheduling tests]. If I would have just gone off of what the doctors were saying, you know,"Oh, we'll see you next week; we'll do this the following...
It was a big lesson in life about trusting your instincts when the person in the lab coat isn't addressing what you're feeling in your body. We used to have a family calendar, where my mom, stepmom, sister, niece, friends, aunts, cousins, etc. would pick a week to fly out and help me on the chemo week, take care of me, and take care of the kids. [My husband and I] needed to keep working as much as we could because cancer is not cheap. So that family member would also drive me [to the hospital] and take me home.
My doctor would always wear a lab coat and be sharply dressed in a suit and tie. The first time I went to see him after [COVID-19] all started, he was completely covered in scrubs and a face mask. He will no longer do a physical examination on me weekly unless there's something wrong. He won't touch me unless I'm having an issue. And where everybody was allowed to bring one or two people to their chemo, now we have nobody.
I wasn't afraid of COVID then, and I'm not afraid of it now. It's very strange. I have a friend that I text with who's also a stage four cancer patient. I texted her [when the virus was declared a pandemic] and I was like,. She said to me that she feels like the whole world feels the way she felt when she got cancer—all of the unknowns, the questions, the wondering if things are going to be okay or not, the wondering how much you're going to suffer.