Vim & Vigor - Fall 2017 - Parrish Medical Center - 51

A

cancer diagnosis is perhaps
one of life's most difficult
pieces of news to receive.
Although survival rates
are improving for many forms of the
disease, cancer is still a serious illness
that may consume your physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual-as
well as your financial-attention for
quite some time. Your overall healthcare
journey may be changed forever, and it
can be difficult to know just where to
start or what to do next.
Mayo Clinic recommends finding
someone to talk to about your hopes
and fears as one coping tactic. It could
be a friend or a family member, a clergy
member, a counselor, a medical social
worker or a cancer support group.
Parrish Medical Center's cancer program
includes Brevard County's only certified
cancer navigator service-and the
service is free.
A Parrish cancer navigator is a
certified oncology registered nurse who
is not only knowledgeable about your
disease, but also will help you navigate
the integrated healthcare system.
Parrish navigators are certified in
chemotherapy and biotherapy through
the Oncology Nursing Society. Parrish
also has a certified breast patient
navigator, who is certified through the
National Consortium of Breast Centers.

A Survivor's Story

Samantha Fender was just 29 years
old and expecting her second child in
a few weeks when she noticed unusual
changes in her breasts. Thinking it was
nothing more than the pregnancy, she
nevertheless talked to her doctor about
it at her next regular visit.
The tests revealed an awful truth.
Samantha had an aggressive form of
breast cancer. She recalls her mind racing
with thoughts of what this could mean for
her toddler daughter, her husband, Paul,
and their unborn child. To be carrying
new life while having a disease that could
take hers seemed impossible.

"When the doctor told us the lump in
her breast was cancerous, I felt my heart
drop," Paul recalls. "Sam was young. I
couldn't believe what I was hearing."
With overwhelming concern for her
family, Samantha was determined to
meet cancer head-on and literally began
the fight of her life. Shortly after giving
birth, she began the difficult treatment
of a double mastectomy, chemotherapy
and radiation.

Invaluable Support

The support of family and friends carried her through the most frightening
times and allowed her to focus on getting better. "Not only did they care for
me, they took care of my children when
I couldn't," she says. "It means the
world to me."
During her treatment, Samantha
also had the support of Parrish Cancer
Center's nationally certified breast cancer navigators, oncology nurses Marsha
Richardson and Shannon Luker. "It was
wonderful to have Marsha and Shannon
as my navigators," Samantha says.
"They were always available for me,
even in the middle of the night."
After Paul shaved Samantha's head
at home, where they could laugh and
cry together, Richardson and Luker fitted Samantha with a wig from Parrish
Medical Center's Cancer Boutique.
Samantha and Paul found solace in
their shared faith to get through the
tough times. "We were never sure what
the day may bring," Paul says. "We took
them one at a time and just kept swimming, as Sam likes to say."

New Perspective

Happily, Samantha is now cancer-free.
She says the experience made her a better, more empathetic person. Today, she
spends time helping others by making
gift bags full of comfort items for newly
diagnosed breast cancer patients.
Paul says cancer truly changed their
perspective. "It made us realize what is
really important in life." ■

WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR YOU
As a member of the Mayo Clinic Care
Network, Parrish Cancer Center physicians
have access to Mayo Clinic's unsurpassed
research and expertise. The advantages
to patients and families of Parrish's
collaboration with Mayo Clinic include:
* DIAGNOSIS: Parrish Cancer Center
physicians have access to Mayo Clinic's
disease management protocols, clinicalcare guidelines and reference materials,
as well as eConsults for diagnosis
and treatment.
* RESEARCH, EXPERIENCE AND
SPECIALISTS: Mayo Clinic is the No. 1
ranked hospital in the U.S. (based on
U.S. News & World Report 2016-17
Best Hospitals Honor Roll).
* PATIENT-CENTERED CARE:
Care is respectful of, and responsive to,
individual patient preferences, needs and
values, and ensures that patients, and
their family, guide all clinical decisions.
* MODERN AMENITIES AND
A HEALING ENVIRONMENT:
Parrish Cancer Center's network of
experts provides the services and
technology expected from a world-class
cancer center.
* PARRISH CANCER CENTER
is a Commission on Canceraccredited program.
* PARRISH CANCER CENTER
has two nationally certified breast
cancer navigators. They are the only
two nationally certified navigators
in Brevard County, and among 43
in Florida.
* TOP-RANKED U.S. HOSPITAL:
PMC has been cited as Florida's safest
hospital by Consumer Reports. It has
also earned top safety ratings from
The LeapFrog Group, The SafeCare
Group, The Joint Commission and
other healthcare rating agencies.
Parrish Cancer Center is at 845 Century
Medical Drive in Titusville. For more
information, or to schedule a tour with
a navigator, call 321-529-6202 or visit
parrishcancercenter.com.
FALL 2017

51
http://www.parrishcancercenter.com
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