Competitive dog dancer diagnosed with cancer says her dogs helped save her life

DENVER — Pet owners are fond of saying their pet saved them when they came into their lives. 

For Donna Taylor, that’s more than a metaphor. Through competitive dog dancing with her pup, Pepper, alerted her when a major problem with her health was brewing. 

If life is a song, Taylor never misses a beat. She and her longtime furry dance partner have cleared many a hurdle together.  

“It’s just become such a fun hobby because it’s multi-faceted. You’re not just dancing with your dog. That sounds kind of corny and goofy like okay, okay. But there’s a whole lot more to it,” Taylor said. 

These dance routines are a tango that require the right two. 

“Now, Pepper actually really does enjoy it, he really loves to do it. I’ve had some dogs that did it because I asked them to. They did it for me,” Taylor said. 

Some moves are simple, others are harder when performed on two legs. But a good dancer knows when their rhythm gets a little off.

“Actually, that was the routine we were doing when at the Bemis [Public] Library for a children’s program when I discovered I might have a problem,” Taylor said. 

Right in the middle of their routine, something went wrong.

“I did a simple move, just sliding across the floor and he was coming with me and as he turned, I felt a tear in my right leg, high up in the groin area and I went, ‘Oh boy, I’ve injured myself,'” Taylor said. 

She went to the doctor to get the pain checked out. The diagnosis left her in disbelief. 

“Cancer? Well it’s scary,” Taylor said. 

Doctors told her there was a mass on her ovary, finding stage three cancer. That tear on her groin helped alert her before the cancer could spread any further. 

“I feel blessed that because I was active and dancing with the dogs it came to light sooner than I probably would have discovered. So that was fortunate,” Taylor said. “But yes, dog dancing I think did help save my life.” 

Now, Taylor is getting settled into a new rhythm with her life, coming in for chemotherapy treatment. 

“Six hours. It’s not that bad. But I get a little tired of sitting so sometimes I get up and waltz with my pole, up and down,” Taylor said while laughing. 

“Very optimistic,” said Dr. Neil Pfippen, a gynecologic oncologist with AdventHealth Porter. “It could have certainly been worse. Most patients with ovarian cancer have, as I mentioned earlier, widespread disease throughout the entire abdominal cavity. Donna’s was more localized to the lymphatic tissue. So she really didn’t have any of that typical peritoneal spread and really had focused disease just in the lymph nodes in that right ovary and fallopian tube which was a little bit unusual. And because of that, although she is and it does make her a stage three ovarian cancer patient, stage three is actually divided up into several categories and she’s on the lower category, the lower end of that stage three category.”

Pfippen said surgery, chemo and Taylor’s moves have them hopeful.

“Donna is unique in that for her age. She has more energy than I have and I’ll tell you, not only energy, but positive energy,” Pfippen said. “I think that her being as active and positive as she is, is going to correlate with hopefully and improve prognosis.”

Taylor’s energy and positivity spreads throughout every room she enters, even during hospital treatments. 

“Makes it so much easier when you’ve got people like Aspen,” Taylor said, gesturing proudly at her nurse. 

Her mood brightens spirits during dark times her nurse said.

“Well, she has to say that,” Taylor said.  

“She’s perfect,” Aspen said while laughing. 

As she sits, Taylor soaks in every moment and medication. 

“Good to the last drop,” Taylor said and laughed.

Even with chemo in her veins, it’s the dance floor flowing in her mind.  Looking back at old routines fills her with memories – some painful, others with hope. 

But with one-third of her treatments now completed, Taylor is already looking ahead including to plans for an encore on the dance floor.

“We hope that within the next three to six months she’ll be back on the dance floor,” Pfippen said. 

“I’ve got cancer. That sucks, but I’m going to get through this. I’m going to take care of myself. I’ve got wonderful people and doctors helping me out and it’ll be okay,” Taylor said. 

She knows soon, she’ll be ready to join Pepper on the dance stage.

“In literally no time at all. Yeah,” Taylor said. 

Taylor’s chemotherapy treatment is expected to wrap up mid-December, just in time for the holidays.

Pfippen said ovarian cancer can be tricky to spot early on, especially because the symptoms like bloating, constipation and abdominal pain are issues most women deal with on a monthly basis. That’s why it’s critical for women, especially post-menopausal women, to get checked out quickly if something feels off. 

“The real important thing that women know is that if you start to have some discomfort, some bloating, don’t feel like you can eat your full meal anymore because you’re bloated all the time, have some nausea, you should definitely get checked out right away by your doctor. Start with a transvaginal ultrasound, make sure the ovaries aren’t enlarged, make sure nothing’s awry,” Pfippen said.