She learned she had one of the deadliest cancers and chose to live

The retired Novant Health diabetes program assistant endured surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and COVID-19 in rapid succession while fighting one of the deadliest forms of cancer — anaplastic thyroid cancer.

But amid the fear and exhaustion, one piece of advice from her doctor became a turning point.

"Don’t go home and live like a sick person," her surgeon told her.

More than four years later, the 78-year-old is still here — still fighting, still living and still defying the odds attached to a diagnosis that often gives patients only months to live.

"I’m a homebody," Hackler said with a laugh. "But I just decided I needed to do something, and I got busy with lots of activities. I decided to follow the advice and just go live and not be a sick person."

A diagnosis caught early

Hackler has managed thyroid disease since the 1980s. Over the years, she developed thyroid nodules and faithfully kept up with annual appointments and imaging at Novant Health Forsyth Endocrine Consultants - Highland Oaks.

In the fall of 2021, something felt different.

She noticed pressure on the left side of her neck when she blew her nose. Then came a sharp ping of pain that gradually worsened.

During a routine appointment in November 2021, Dr. Tracie Farmer ordered an ultrasound and needle aspiration biopsy of the nodules. The results revealed anaplastic thyroid cancer, a rare disease found in fewer than 2% of thyroid cancer patients.

Unlike many cases, Hackler’s cancer had been caught early.

She was quickly referred to Dr. John Britt, an otolaryngologist with Piedmont Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, who carefully explained the seriousness of her diagnosis and mapped out an aggressive treatment plan.

‘Life was just miserable’

Over the holidays that year, Hackler started with surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Radiation treatments to the neck and throat can be especially painful.

"It burns up your throat and esophagus," she said.

The months that followed tested her physically and emotionally. Just as treatment was ending in March 2022, she developed COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized.

But after recovering from COVID, she remembered the advice from Britt about not living like a sick person: "If you live like a sick person, your body follows your brain and you’re going to be sick."

Then another moment pushed her forward. While checking her patient portal, Hackler saw the words "palliative care." Instead of discouraging her, it ignited something.

"That just made me mad," she said. "It lit a fire under me."

Choosing life every day

She went from a self-described homebody to someone who would not sit home waiting for cancer to define her future. She started saying "yes."

Yes to craft classes, hobbies and trying new things. Yes to nearly every free class or activity she could find at the Lewisville public library and The Shepherd’s Center of Greater Winston-Salem.

Her oncologist, Dr. Ileana Jacks, at the Novant Health Cancer Institute - Forsyth, recommended the LIVESTRONG cancer support program at the local YMCA, helping Hackler stay active and connected.

"Linda’s fortitude in the face of this very rare cancer is pretty miraculous," Jacks said.

She embraced integrative medicine, combining traditional cancer care with complementary therapies such as yoga, acupuncture and nutrition-focused wellness practices.

She stopped dyeing her hair. She cleaned up her diet. She swapped household cleaners, laundry detergent, skin-care cosmetics and toiletries for natural products.

Anything that might give her immune system an edge, she was willing to try.

Every so often, she lets herself have a pity party, but just for a couple of hours. She has too much to keep living for — including a growing family with great-grandchildren and her two cats, Nugget and Cali who, she noted with a laugh, "don’t like each other and have to be managed."

Still fighting, still living

For now, Hackler is focused on November 2026.

That’s when she hopes to place her fifth lock on the Locks of Hope sculpture outside the Novant Health Derrick L. Davis Cancer Institute in Winston-Salem — a milestone representing five years of surviving a cancer that so rarely allows it.

For Hackler, survival has required more than medicine alone. It has required participation, determination and a refusal to surrender.

"You can’t be a bystander when you’re dealing with cancer," she said. "You have to be in the fight."