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Wanza Coates’ breast
cancer journey was made
easier by nurse navigation
The
last six years have been tough for
Wanza Coates. Her sister passed away in
2009. Her dad followed in 2010. Then
in 2011, her husband died unexpectedly.
October 2013 brought more pain when
her brother succumbed to prostate cancer.
“Mentally, it was a lot to go through,”
says Wanza, a 61-year-old retired art teacher.
Still, the tough times were not over. In
January 2014, only three months after
her annual mammogram, Wanza found a
lump in her breast.
“I was afraid, because I have a family
history of cancer,” Wanza says. “But I
never felt alone, thanks to Methodist
Charlton’s nurse navigator program.”
When fears become reality
A diagnostic sonogram led to a biopsy
that confirmed Wanza’s fear: The lump
was cancerous. Then, a second lump
was found during a procedure to remove
the first.
“That changed the treatment plan from
having no chemotherapy to definitely
having chemotherapy,” Wanza says.
“While surgery removed the lumps,
pathology reports did not indicate a clear
margin showing that all the cancer cells
had been removed.”
After consulting with her oncologist,
Maria Juarez, MD, on the medical staff
at the end of the tunnel
at Methodist Charlton Medical Center,
and again with her surgeon, Wanza
decided that a bilateral mastectomy and
chemotherapy were the best treatment
options for her.
It was then she was put in touch
with Vicki Hallum, RN, CBCN, nurse
navigator at Methodist Charlton. As a
breast cancer nurse navigator, Hallum
provides patients and families with the
support, guidance, and resources they need
after a breast cancer diagnosis.
A guide through cancer
“I was very nervous about everything I was
facing, but Vicki helped tremendously,”
Wanza says.
Hallum first called Wanza the night
before her mastectomy. She spent
an hour and a half on the phone
with Wanza, answering questions and
reassuring her.
“Wanza had experienced so many losses
in such a short time that I had to tell her
that this was Wanza’s time,” Hallum says.
“She had been grieving for others for so
long that she almost needed permission to
really care for herself, to devote this time to
getting well.”
Wanza says Hallum not only prepared
her for surgery but was also there to
support her the day of surgery.
“And she was there when I went through
both my first and last chemo infusions,”
Wanza adds.
Hallum aims to reassure her patients
that she’ll walk through this whole journey
with them.
“I told Wanza, ‘I’ll be here for you. Side
by side, step by step, whatever you need,
I’m here,’” she says.
Back on track
Hallum also encouraged Wanza’s active
lifestyle. An avid exerciser since 1977,
Wanza never let cancer get in the way of
physical fitness, even when chemotherapy
zapped her strength. From diagnosis
all the way through recovering from
Light
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Methodist Charlton Medical Center
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Fall 2015