Tag Archives: cancer care

Fighting Cancer with Faith: Stephanie’s Journey Continues

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Stephanie-2“I beat it once, I’ll beat it again.”

Patient Stephanie Madsen describes her journey with battling cancer as not only a fight for her life but a story to share with others; a story to motivate, encourage and give hope to others in her shoes.  She speaks candidly about her ups and downs on her blog, www.derailingmydiagnosis.com.

Stephanie was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer of the cervix in early 2012. After having surgery and under-going an aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatment, she was told she was cancer-free. “I was super excited!” says Stephanie, “I thought, I can finally move on and start planning the future.”

Stephanie and her husband Matt discovered the treatments had left them unable to conceive, so they made the decision to consider adoption. In the midst of planning, Stephanie started having pain in her stomach. “I felt this hard lump on my left side,” she explains, “I knew something wasn’t right and I was praying my cancer wasn’t back.” Next she would receive news she’d hoped not to hear, doctors found a massive tumor the size of a soft-ball.  Not only was her cancer was back, she would have to undergo emergency surgery to remove it. “I took it a lot harder than the first time,” says Stephanie, “this time I knew what it was and I knew it wasn’t going away.”

Swedish gynecologic oncologist, Dr. Mary Jo Schmitz has seen Stephanie through her battle and performed her surgery. Stephanie says overall the surgery went well and the good news was the tumor hadn’t attached to any other organ and it was successfully removed from her body. “I was in the best hands and I had complete confidence in my doctor,” she explains.

Since surgery, Stephanie has been put back on a treatment plan. She will have chemotherapy once a week for six weeks. “It’s a constant battle, but I’m confident that I will be cured again. I believe my story can help a lot of people, I truly believe I wouldn’t be able to fully understand cancer if I didn’t have this recurrence. I’m a fighter and I’m not giving up.”

If you would like to follow Stephanie’s journey, check out her blog at http://www.derailingmydiagnosis.com.

Tips for Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis

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Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be overwhelming. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to better cope with the diagnosis. Read on to learn a few tips that can help you manage any stress and anxiety that you may be feeling as a result of your diagnosis.

Do your research. Knowing your current condition and becoming aware of what to expect can calm your concerns and help you to approach your treatment with more confidence. Get all of the information that you can regarding your diagnosis, including whether or not it has spread, what your treatment options are and what you can expect during the course of your treatment. Be sure to also ask your doctor about resources that may help you learn more about your condition.

Stay healthy. Staying healthy now is even more important than it was before your diagnosis. Making healthy lifestyle choices, such as eating a varied and balanced diet and getting plenty of rest, will help you to better manage the stresses of cancer and any treatment that you may undergo.

Accept support. During this time and in the near future, your family, friends and loved ones may offer you their help and support. Accept this help and encourage your caregivers to do the same. A little extra support can not only help you to stay positive during this difficult time, but it can also allow others to feel like they are making a positive contribution to your well-being.

Swedish Medical Center is proud to offer a variety of state-of-the-art cancer treatment options to patients living in the Denver area. Our oncology experts are committed to providing only the highest quality of medical care while focusing on the needs of the whole patient, not just the disease. If you are interested in learning more about what our cancer care center has to offer, we are happy to answer any questions. Please call us at (303) 788-5000.

About Breast Cancer

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Breast Cancer occurs when malignant, cancerous cells develop in the breast. Although all women are at risk for this disease, there are certain lifestyle decisions that can increase, or reduce, a woman’s risk.

By watching this video, you can learn more about what affects breast cancer development and what is unlikely to change a woman’s risk. The hosts in the clip also discuss the importance of regular mammograms and other potential screening processes that can help to detect the disease at its earliest stages.

Swedish Medical Center is proud to provide the women of the Denver community with the most advanced diagnostic and treatment options available for breast cancer. The Swedish Breast Care Program is designed to help you understand the medical system so that treatment is easy for you to access and options are fully explained. Your care involves oncologists, surgeons, radiologists and many other medical disciplines. Our approach is to coordinate all of these services, referrals and therapies for you so that you can focus on your most important task — restoring your health. We are here for you.

To learn more about your risk, contact the staff of Swedish Medical Center today at (303) 788-5000.

 

Fighting Cancer with Faith

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“I can’t imagine not having my faith in a situation like this.”

At twenty-five years old, Stephanie Madsen thought she had her entire future planned out.  Newly married she wanted to move to a new city, buy a new house and start a family with her husband Matt. Life seemed to be perfect for Stephanie until one day her list of dreams quickly turned into a battle plan to fight cancer. “It was so tough, I felt like we had lost our freedom to plan our lives,” says Stephanie.

Earlier this year, Stephanie was diagnosed with large-cell neuroendocrine cancer of the cervix. “I had been trying to find out what was wrong with my body for almost a year and although I received bad news I was relieved to know what was finally wrong with me,” she explains. Not only would Stephanie have to endure a very long and aggressive chemotherapy/radiation treatment but she would also have to have a hysterectomy. “Hearing I had cancer was tough but hearing that I was going to have a hysterectomy at twenty-five was even tougher,” she explains. “We hope surrogacy can be an option for us one day but we’ve talked about adoption before and now that it’s a choice we might have to make, we’ve accepted it,” she says.

One wouldn’t expect to be embraced by smiles, hugs or laughs when speaking with Stephanie but she says her faith is what keeps her going. “I can’t imagine not having my faith in a situation like this. God is my rock and I know when I’m weak, he’ll be my strength. I just had to take my diagnosis and turn it into something positive. I thought ok, my sole purpose right now is to fight this cancer and be as strong of a solider as I can be. I’m a Christian and God will get me through this!”

Stephanie is currently under-going both chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Rocky Mountain Gynecologic Oncology here at Swedish Medical Center. “I love it here. The nurses and doctors really get to know you and develop a true friendship with you. For me during this experience to come into treatment and know who you’re going to be seeing and know that they truly care is so comforting,” says Stephanie. “Our patients are like family to us. We want every patient to feel as comfortable as possible as they go through treatment. It’s our duty to make sure that happens,” explains Dr. Mary Jo Schmitz.

If she’s not making new friends with other patients she’s updating the latest entry on her blog; her way to inspire others battling cancer (www.derailingmydiagnosis.com). “Cancer for me was really taboo. I never knew the details of it. I wanted people to lose the taboo with cancer so my blog is a way to open that door. I like to write about things like losing my hair! I was a hairstylist and I knew I was going to lose my hair so I shaved it off before it could fall out. It was so liberating and helped me take back control of this cancer,” says Stephanie.

After treatment Stephanie plans on vacationing with her husband in Hawaii! Her one piece of advice to others in treatment; “stay strong, it’s a battle and it’s gonna get hard but you can handle it, you will soon learn just how strong you are!”

To continue following Stephanie’s journey check out her blog at www.derailingmydiagnosis.com