Love of teaching that didn’t stop in the classroom
Arbuckle woman’s life and legacy support clinical research
Jeannine Struckmeyer taught kindergarten in Arbuckle, Calif. for 34 years. She knew everyone in town; generations of children began their academic careers in her classroom. Known for her magnetic personality, fabulous desserts and appetite for adventure, her death caused heartbreak in the community, who paid homage to their beloved friend by donating to the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in her memory.
“Everybody remembered ‘Mrs. Struckmeyer,’ ” says Mark, her youngest son. “She really made a positive impact on a lot of people.”
Friends, former students and neighbors demonstrated their love by giving more than $16,000 to the research of Tianhong Li, a UC Davis lung cancer specialist and Mrs. Struckmeyer’s primary oncologist. Li and the cancer center team made a lasting impression on the retired teacher — and, as it turns out, the reverse was also true.
“My mother had complete faith in Dr. Li and the medical staff,” says Mrs. Struckmeyer’s oldest son, Tedd. “She did so well with treatment and was fast to tell everyone how great Dr. Li was. We felt a lot of support.”
Although she was retired, Mrs. Struckmeyer never stopped teaching; her willingness to participate in cancer clinical trials taught her doctors valuable lessons. When her tumor didn’t respond to the second clinical trial, doctors did another biopsy. Her care team discovered that her tumor had uncommon EGFR mutations, and she was prescribed a new drug, afatinib, for more than two years.
“We are constantly learning,” Li says. “She (Mrs. Struckmeyer) got EGFR-targeted therapy before we understood it. Medical advances can be made because of clinical trials, but we still need better drugs for a cure.”
Throughout her journey, Mrs. Struckmeyer had six courses of treatment, including three as part of clinical trials, and kept a positive attitude — she surpassed the average life expectancy after diagnosis five-fold.
“Mrs. Struckmeyer was a firm believer in the value of clinical trials and research at UC Davis Health,” says Keeman Wong, the cancer center’s senior director of development. “She helped lead us to insights about new treatments that will undoubtedly help future patients, and the gifts made in memory of Mrs. Struckmeyer will advance our work.”
The Struckmeyer siblings each held important roles in their mother’s care. Tedd and his wife, Lynda, a retired nurse, accompanied her to appointments for support. Mark, a farmer, drove her to and from appointments every week. Her daughter, Lisa McClish, enjoyed one-on-one time with her on weekends.
“She would always say, ‘If they didn’t tell me I was sick, I’d never know I had cancer,’” says Tedd. “We decided we needed to create a bucket list. Part of our plan was to have things for her to look forward to.”
The family went to Disneyworld in Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia and the San Juan Islands. They drove to San Francisco during the holidays to view Christmas lights, rode in a hot air balloon in Napa Valley and visited the San Diego Zoo, where they dared one another to ride a zip-line.
Near the end of her life, Mrs. Struckmeyer’s cancer metastasized to her brain and the targeted therapies failed to suppress all the identified tumor mutations. It became clear treatment was no longer an option, and together with her family and care team, she achieved her end-of-life goals — she saw her “greatest treasure” and only grandchild, Colt, turn 12, and she made it to her 87th birthday.
Donations to the cancer center for Dr. Li’s research were icing on the cake for the family, who felt lucky to have the community support.
“In memoriam gifts are a wonderful way to honor the patient and recognize physicians, nurses and others for their amazing care,” Wong says.
Nov. 7, 2017 would have been Mrs. Struckmeyer’s 88th birthday. While the family couldn’t all be together to celebrate, they each agreed to honor her by enjoying dessert at the same time, then swapped photos afterward to seal the memory.
To learn how you can help support cancer research, education and patient care, contact Keeman Wong at kmwong@ucdavis.edu or 916-734-9322.