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At age 46, Kim Cirucci has likely spoken millions of words, yet none have given her as much unexpected courage as “I have cancer.” That short sentence, normally a fearful utterance, has guided the former resident of 10th and Carpenter streets for more than two years, with the last month letting her preach positivity to fellow fighters.
With the help of childhood friend Denise Ciliberti-Sosalski, Cirucci hosts “Let’s Talk Cancer,” a 30-minute radio program through which she relates her experiences with bile duct cancer and rallies her audience to be resilient.
“I have one chance to make a difference, and I am hoping to help one life at a time,” the graduate of St. Maria Goretti High School, now Ss. Neumann-Goretti, 1736 S. 10th St., said Friday, one day after her sixth installment on WWDB-AM 860.
Until January 2010, Cirucci had hoped her opportunity to stand out would come as a nurse. With 22 years as a medical transcriptionist, the Washington Township, N.J., resident desired to broaden her prospects by enrolling at Camden’s Our Lady of Lourdes Nursing School. With two semesters elapsed and two remaining, the owner of a perfect grade point average used her knowledge of the liver to diagnose herself with cholangiocarcinoma, an affliction that, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, affects two out of every 100,000 people. Symptoms such as itching, jaundice, loss of appetite and weight loss may spell a battle against the malady, but Cirucci made her estimation after feeling a fullness in her stomach and experiencing slow digestion.
With perfect prior health, she underwent tests that showed elevated calcium levels. Essential for strong bones, calcium can wreak havoc if excessive.
“High calcium means either a problem with the parathyroid or cancer,” she said, adding the examinations revealed fine liver functions.
Confirmation of her suspicion came through a hospital visit that tabbed her the carrier of a 10-centimeter tumor, a demon that occupied her entire left lobe. Returning home, she realized her situation’s gravity when seeing her textbooks.
“I realized I was never going to be a nurse,” she said, noting no self-induced pity has ever marked her days.
She encourages her callers to be similarly vigilant yet possessed gumption long before she and Ciliberti-Sosalski debuted Dec. 1. Her recovery began in earnest six months later when surgery excised three-quarters of her diseased organ. The procedure may not have occurred if not for her sidekick, a Ninth-and-Catharine-streets native who resides in Northeast Philly. Cirucci suffered a blow only four days prior to her slated operation, when her insurance company denied coverage.
“I went on Facebook that day and started Kim’s Krusaders,” Ciliberti-Sosalski said.
The technological tool and other outreach helped Cirucci to have the surgery in late July ’10. She withstood harrowing days in the aftermath yet enjoyed stable health the rest of the year, even attending her classmates’ December graduation, where she received acknowledgment for her resolve.
“I could taste it I was so close,” she said. “Nothing I could control would have kept me from finishing, but God had a different calling for me.”
That vocation, with her broadcast at the center, became clearer last June, as an MRI picked up at least 15 tumors. Her liver had begun to regenerate, and its growth resulted in the deadly cells’ maturation. Accustomed to being a nurturer and caregiver as a mother of Gabrielle, 16, and Gianna, 13, she begrudgingly became a patient again yet has always yearned for as much autonomy as possible. This second conflict against cancer, whose tumors she declared “devils to fight,” has enhanced her independent streak.
“She refuses to quit,” Ciliberti-Sosalski said of her cohort.
Yielding would mark her a victim, whereas Cirucci aims to be a conqueror.
“I have cancer,” she said, taking her own advice to own one’s condition. “However, I have two girls. I can’t be lying in bed. I’m not going anywhere, as I fight this fight for everyone.”
Her constant composure when announcing her state inspired Cirucci as she and Ciliberti-Sosalski pondered a title for their scheduled 13-week analysis of adjusting to cancer’s myriad forms and challenges. Given a maximum of six months to live two years ago, she decided not to sugarcoat her philosophy of persevering and told the station that “cancer” must appear in the show’s name.
“If people are trying to fend off cancer, they have to try to be the boss,” Cirucci said. “Including the sickness in our title removes any trace of self-consciousness.”
With their own funds to cover their project, she and Ciliberti-Sosalski approached the Bala Cynwyd-based programmer. Management granted them the 12:30 to 1 p.m. Thursday slot, and they premiered three days after finalizing their nonprofit, also dubbed “Let’s Talk Cancer.”
“Kim has been through so much,” Ciliberti-Sosalski said. “I thought, ‘why should she do it alone?’”
Aimed with medical knowledge, humility, sympathy and empathy, the duo eagerly pens scripts and conducts research to offer listeners calm voices laden with concern and love.
“We’re just everyday girls,” Ciliberti-Sosalski said, eschewing any grandiose take on their methods.
They are also very popular girls, as their Facebook pages have attracted thousands of views and global best wishes, including messages from China, Guatemala and Indonesia.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” Cirucci said of trying to defy her enemy and its typically grim timeline.
Her ironic belief shines during her sessions with Ciliberti-Sosalski, who met Cirucci as a student at the defunct St. Paul School, Ninth and Christian streets. Their off-air friendship has included ample laughter and copious tears, yet the former and their ultimate by-product, hope, have spirited them to make their microphones instruments for conveying coolness in the face of intense pressure.
“I felt everyone needed the banter,” Cirucci said of crafting their format, which relies on always believing that people are not dying from cancer but are living with it.
The show’s themes, which have included or will include relationships and self-esteem, seek to reach what Ciliberti-Sosalski termed “common men and women.” In only six weeks, they have generated immense support and a kinship with callers with whom they maintain contact through Facebook and extended post-show conversations.
“I cannot claim to know what it is like to be anyone but me, but I can dispense advice and continue my most cherished role, that of a caregiver,” Cirucci said.
The proprietors are seeking to expand their tutelage to one hour but need a financial boost to do so. They are hoping to obtain donations and sponsorships so they can share triumphs and tragedies. Cirucci plans to reveal her latest PET scan results during an upcoming show, and they will determine her next course of action, but no matter the findings, she plans to make Jan. 29, her 47th birthday, a celebration of her grand fortune.
“A cancer diagnosis means your life will never be the same,” she said. “However, with a great support system, who knows? In this time I have, if it’s six months, six years or whatever, I’m going to reach out to people.”
For more information, like Let’s Talk Cancer on Facebook.
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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