A thank you note for those who took care of me

Me and my growing hairline

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Charlotte, North Carolina--Today ,I am going to ring the victory bell at the Novant Oncology Department at Huntersville, North Carolina since it is the last day of my radiation treatment.  

I was diagnosed with stage 111-A invasive high grade breast cancer in September last year and the cancer reached my lymph nodes. My road to recovery required 16 rounds of chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiation treatment after lumpectomy.  

I am blessed to have such an excellent medical resource center close to where we live. This is a thank you moment for the doctors, nurses, radiation therapists and the staffers of Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center.

It’s always a joy to see friendly and supportive staff since it lightens the already serious condition of the illness itself as well as the outlook of the patients.
  
When my name is called I have to get inside and proceed to the changing area to wear the lab gown and leave my things in the locker. Then I would be seated at the waiting area filled with magazines like “People” and medical publications on cancer cases.

When my name is called again I walk with my head down. That was the first few days.  If it was a classroom setting I had been a dutiful student for the first two weeks. 

I keep my head down as  I am greeted with cheerful smiles from therapists like Erin Boggs, Brent Woodall or Josh Gardner  

The empathy and compassion is crystal clear from these people. I can feel it. 

Their patience is the badge they wear and trust is established without having to ask for it. These wonderful people made my journey bearable with no qualms.   

I met Erin Boggs in the first two weeks before the radiation treatment. 

She and Dr. Kevin Roof handled the placing of “tattoos’ or in their parlance “markings “ as well as blue colored stickers and transparent stickers with black markings on designated areas in my left breast.  

I immediately hooked up with Erin by answering questions from her and me telling her about my story. There  is something in Ms. Erin that made me trust and relax for my treatments. 

As you can see the markings were done a month after the lumpectomy. I was still sore and maybe tired so I needed some assurance and it came from Erin. In the course of our conversation I learned she had close to 15 years experience in radiation therapy.  

Boggs's smile is just infectious as she detailed to me the process when the actual radiation would start. It also helps that like me, she is a big Dukes fan while Dr. Roof is a Carolina diehard fan. 

And true enough when the first day of radiation came and went I was surprised that there was no pain while I laid on the linear accelerator. 

Brent and Josh were both good looking and tender. It was Josh who oriented me on what to do before and after the treatment which in my case was 33 rounds or five to six times a week.

My first entry to the radiation treatment room I didn't  look around for fear of the unknown but I adjusted soon after. They are really very good to their patients. 

Brent is kind and soft spoken like Dr. Roof. I heard he was in vacation in Ireland just recently. Brent sometimes would team up with Erin or Josh. When Erin was not around it was Brent and Josh who took care of me. 

I really have no idea who operates the machine because after I lay down on the linear accelerators I closed my eyes. Most of the time I knew my body was moved by them pulling the sheet on me. 

At times I want to help by moving but anyway they are just doing their job. 

There are longer days when they do re-markings and I always heard numbers. 

It dawned on me that for radiation treatment to be effective, it needed precise measurements. 

Erin said re-markings are done for this purpose. After learning about it I became more relaxed and trusted them to do their job. 

During the course of our conversations, Brent and Erin wanted to learn some Tagalog words since Tagalog is the Philippine national language. 

I taught them “Mabuhay” which means welcome and now everytime I am seated at the waiting area they would say “mabuhay.”  I then added other words like “marunong (knowledgeable) ” and mabuti (good).” 

It’s a fun 10 or 15 minutes of back and forth inside the treatment room. Speaking of which Dr. Kevin Roof is my radiation oncologist. He's very soft-spoken when he explained the treatment plan, why it’s done, the risks and what to expect during the treatment.

I met him every Tuesday except two Tuesdays when he was in vacation. Dr. Brady, who filled in for Dr. Roof , was as nice as Dr. Roof.

I saw Dr. Roof on local TV being interviewed before I started my treatment. 
Our usual preliminaries would consist of “good mornings/good afternoons” and what books I read so far. 

A doctor is great when he or she can explain well to the patient the treatment plan in plain and simple language. 

Also I need to mention radiation nurse Carrie. Oh boy she is nice and caring. She answers my questions, monitors my treatments and help manage the potential side effects of the radiation. 

She taught me how to apply aquaphor twice a day on the affected areas and reminded me not to use lotion, cologne, perfume and deodorant. 

One time I could not eat because it is hard to swallow. Since Dr. Roof was busy with other patients that time, it was nurse Carrie who called my husband Ronnie and instructed where to buy the medicines as she promised. 

She is a nurse's nurse to me. Lest I forget, the admission clerks are nice too. 
Overall, I feel optimistic of what lies ahead as I embark on yet another of my life's journeys.  

When I ring the bell today it would be sideways left to right and I will pull it down to ensure victory. (For more on my journey to recovery, please visit my website).