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Well, my name's Kathleen Tebb.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.
It began with a lump that I had detected
on the upper part of my chest wall.
And it was quite large.
You could see -- you could see it from the exterior.
But I had a baby at the time and I was finishing up nursing.
And so I just figured it was an engorgement.
So I went to my OB doc.
She said, you know, mostly likely it's a clogged duct since
you're, you know, starting to stop the nursing process.
But, you know, I just really like to get you checked out.
So she sent me -- within the week she sent me to a surgeon.
The call came in, you know?
She gave me the news.
I said, okay and I sat down.
And I sent the kids off upstairs to go fetch a book.
And I told my husband.
And I said, well, here we go.
Dr. Cho was surgeon, who was a phenomenal,
phenomenal surgeon.
And when I went into my surgery I was so surprised
that she came down to, you know, greet me.
I was lying down, getting, you know,
ready for my mastectomy.
And she came down and gave me a hug
and was so supportive -- so support
-- always asked about my family,
always asked about my kids and just wanted to make sure
that I was gonna get the best care possible.
You know, you think that it's a medical procedure.
So you go in and you get the procedure and you go home.
But I walked in and I felt like I was
just surrounded by angels, you know?
From everyone from the oncologist to the surgeon to the
nursing staff -- they were happy to --
they didn't want to see me there.
But when they saw me, they were genuinely touched and concerned.
And I felt everybody did their very best to
make sure that I was gonna make it.
I don't know of any other health setting where you would find
that kind of care, that kind of linkage.
Talk about personalizing your experience
and personalizing your care.
For our first wedding anniversary
we climbed the face of Half Dome.
We climbed it in three days.
And it was something that I had wanted
to do for quite some time.
And it was just -- it was a trip of a lifetime.
So I had to get this radiation treatment
that got me from multiple angles.
And the reason why I mention that is because it caused some
nerve damage in my arm and some scarring
that made it really uncomfortable.
One of my visits she says, well, really how are you?
And I said well, you know, to be honest with you.
I do have some numbness in my hands and feet.
But my hand is really what's bothering me the most.
And she said, well, let's get you to physical therapy.
And I said, you know, I really would like to climb again.
I get a call from the physical therapist,
Laura Dawson, who said she'd like to treat me.
And she was a climber herself.
So she could help me with specific massage techniques,
specific exercises that would get that range of motion back.
And there was a quite a bit of scar tissue.
And she worked wonders.
Now, for me it's less about, you know,
climbing the hard grade and, you know,
being really aggressive with this sport.
It's so much more about enjoying it together as a family
and just really treasuring the fact that I get to do this again
with my kids and my husband and my friends.