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[ Silence ]
>> Okay. I discovered a lump in my breast.
And by the time I got myself to the doctor,
it was too large to be removed.
So I saw my surgeon, Doctor Singhal.
She referred me to Doctor Dormady for chemotherapy.
So my life changed in a matter of two weeks.
I was working in pediatrics and would be immunosuppressed
with the chemo, so I had to quit my job right away,
and kind of start on my path of cancer.
It was very frightening but the doctors certainly made it
as less fearful as possible.
I had one round of chemo at another facility.
And then I was fortunate enough to be able to go
to Melchor Pavilion here at El Camino
for my subsequent infusions, and it was like night and day.
The people at Melchor treat you like an individual,
you're not a-- you're not a patient, you're a person.
They call you by name, they bring you warm blankets.
Volunteers had kneaded cute little caps
that you could wear 'cause you had no hair.
Other volunteers had made pretty fuzzy flannel blankets
that they would put on you and just those little bits
and pieces of comfort made a world of difference,
a world of difference.
[ Pause ]
When I first saw Doctor Singhal, she did a breast biopsy.
And she said she felt pretty certain that was going
to be malignant but that it would be sent to pathology
and she would let me now.
And unbelievable as it was, she called at home
on a Saturday morning to let me know
that in fact it was malignant and that she wanted to see me
in her office the following week.
And she said she just didn't want me
to spend the weekend worrying.
And you know that just started it off right,
that just started it off right.
She wanted to be sure that I brought family
or friends to that appointment.
Later, I asked her why and she said she just wanted to be sure
that I had a support group and then kind
of keep it a secret and go it alone.
My friends have been wonderful, my friends have been wonderful
from that very first day.
[ Pause ]
I've had two clean PET scans.
Yeah. So I first had eight or ten rounds of chemo,
then I had surgery and then I had thirty days of radiation.
And now, I'm doing great.
I never had the courage to ask my oncologist,
Doctor Dormady, what my stage was.
I finally did, and he said, "Probably a 3.5.
The tumor had metastasized to a rib."
So I had a rib resection at the same time
that I had my mastectomy.
And now, I'm a hundred percent.
>> Hundred percent cancer free?
>> Yeah.
[ Pause ]
>> There's a support group once a week here at the hospital
and also at Melchor Pavilion, and it's a group
of cancer survivors and their caregivers.
It has been-- it has been more wonderful than I can ever say.
The cancer survivors were able to give me little tips early
on how to kind of handle the chemo, foods that worked
for them, things that they drink, that didn't work.
Little things that weren't necessarily medical,
but very helpful in the day to day.
They would applaud when someone came
in with a little bit of new hair.
They just kind of got it.
They understood.
You know, my friends and family cared and worked really hard
with me but sometimes they just kind of didn't get it.
And that's what the support group does.
They understand without going into a lot of detail.
There are also caregivers in the group, and I think it's helpful
for them to hear what the other cancer people have to say.
And they were able to ask questions and kind
of get some stuff off of their chests, too.
So it's a-- it's a good group, it's a good group.
Some of my best friends now are in that group.
[ Pause ]
I'm also doing the painting class through--
through the cancer center, Tehila Eisenstat,
and that has been absolutely marvelous.
It's called creative expressions.
I could never paint it before, ever.
But you know, I'm not too bad now.
I've a long way to go, but I've got one hanging on the wall.
You go in that class and cancer is left at the door.
Everyone in there is a cancer survivor,
but nobody talks cancer.
It's paint and music and laughter.
And for two hours once a week, you don't have cancer.
You don't have an ache, you don't have a pain,
it's just wonderful, it's wonderful.
[ Pause ]
If I had to-- if I found out tomorrow that I had
to take this same path again, I would want it
to be right here at El Camino.
I feel safe, I feel cared about
and I have all the confidence in the world.
All the people I've met between the cancer center,
my oncologist, my surgeon, the radiation people,
I mean everybody cares, everybody cares.
And so I would, I hope it doesn't come to be,
but if it did this is where I would come.
[ Silence ]