Angie’s Story: Purpose in the Pain

When looking at Angie Norton, you first, of course, notice that part of her neck is missing. But you soon forget that once she begins speaking. Her voice is sweetly pitched, soft, melodic. She is a gentle soul, and that’s the impression she leaves you with—not a 47-year-old woman with half a neck.

It was 40 years ago that Angie was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, soft tissue cancer, when her right eye began to bulge. After several misdiagnosis, cancer was finally discovered in her sinus behind her right eye, which explained the bulging.

She immediately underwent 12 months of chemo and radiation. And if that wasn’t enough to experience, the cancer metastasized to Angie’s neck and wrapped itself insidiously around her jugular vein. Chemo continued for another year and the already-petite girl went from 45 to 30 pounds.

“He spares you for some purpose. Sometimes we don’t
know why, only that God gets the glory.”

Doctors were skeptical about her surviving, and she almost died during a blood transfusion. Angie stopped breathing and coded. “I saw a bright light and people, but no one I recognized” Angie explained. “Those are all God moments. He spares you for some purpose. Sometimes we don’t know why, only that God gets the glory. I couldn’t have survived cancer without God.”

To spare her young life, a radical surgery was done that involved removing the side of Angie’s neck that was infested with cancer. While it left her neck misshapened, it worked, and Angie views it as God’s grace and mercy.

“It’s 90% attitude,” she said, recalling her beloved mother’s godly advice to always be thankful. “A cancer diagnosis can make you closer to your family or it can turn you to bitterness,” Angie said.

She chose positivity and family.

Then, in 2015, cancer came full circle when Angie’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was Angie’s turn to offer love, compassion, and support. Then her mother received a Phil’s Friends Care Package. It brought joy to her mother, and inspiration to Angie. When the Crown Point Hope Center opened two years later, her mother had passed, and Angie had the time to give.

“I was so excited when they opened,” she said. “It was literally in my backyard.” She was one of the first volunteers and worked on blankets and journals. She is still a faithful volunteer today.

Angie also works as a pharmacy technician, loves spending time with her husband, and sings in her church’s choir.

“Going through cancer was my trial, and now I know my purpose: to encourage and give hope to other people.”

She has never forgotten those days of cancer, though, knowing she carries not only the physical reminder but the spiritual one that God impressed upon her heart.

“When you go through trials, God’s refining you. That’s hard to hear, but it’s true,” she said. “Going through cancer was my trial, and now I know my purpose: to encourage and give hope to other people.”