photograph by: Jessica Thomas/LMH Health
Breast cancer patient Tammy Barta, heart, poses with, from left, Dr. Jennifer Hawasli, Dr. Scarlett Aldrich, Dr. Andrew Meyer and Amy Shealy, nurse navigator.
Tammy Barta walked alongside her mom when she received her breast cancer prognosis in 1993. She had seen Matthew Stein, then a doctor at the LMH Health Cancer Center, and knew when her mother received the information that she higher put together herself and take all precautions now in case sooner or later she received the identical name.
“In my mind, it was never if I would get breast cancer, but when,” Barta mentioned. “I had prepared myself for years about what I would do if I ever found a lump. Of course, I checked myself regularly and on my birthday in February of 2021 when I went to bed, I noticed a knot under my breast.”
She known as her physician the morning after discovering the knot, they usually despatched her to have a sonogram as quickly as potential at the LMH Health West Campus. While nothing appeared on Barta’s mammogram the earlier November after this mammogram, the radiologist and technician each mentioned it regarded fairly critical.
“They had me in the next day for a biopsy and just a couple of days later they called to confirm that it was cancer,” she mentioned. “I was ok because I had it in my mind all these years. For my family, it was much tougher. After my husband had finished processing, we told our kids and the family.”
When Barta’s mother was going via cancer, she and her stepdad cared for her. Her stepdad now lives with her and her household and she mentioned having somebody who had walked this street earlier than as a useful resource made a big impact.
Meeting the groups
When it was time for remedy, Barta mentioned she ended up needing chemotherapy, however not radiation. She met with Jennifer Hawasli, a breast surgeon with Lawrence Breast Specialists, who walked her via what was subsequent.
“Dr. Hawasli answered all the questions I had about my surgery. She was sweet and kind and stayed positive,” Barta mentioned. “She would affirm me that we could get this cancer out and would explain every step of the way what I would have done, why and it always gave me clarity knowing what was going on.”
In the approaching days, she met with Andrew Meyer, an oncologist with the LMH Health Cancer Center and Scarlett Aldrich, a plastic surgeon with Plastic Surgery Specialists of Lawrence. Those experiences continued to place her at ease, figuring out she was going to obtain nice care.
“Dr. Meyer is the sweetest man in the whole wide world. He was always reassuring and kind. Since we caught it early enough, he assured me it was only stage one but we needed to move fast,” Barta mentioned. “I met with Dr. Aldrich about breast reconstruction and she was amazing at explaining everything. During my visit, she looked at everything she needed to, provided some wonderful suggestions and let me make my own decision on reconstruction.”
Time for remedy
Barta remembers all of it occurring so rapidly. She discovered the lump on February 28, 2021. Her port was put in on March 25 and commenced her journey via chemotherapy on April 6.
“From diagnosis to treatment, it all happened within a month. No one hesitated or missed a beat, it was boom, boom, boom and I was ready for treatment,” Barta mentioned. “I truly have to give credit to my coordinator as well. There is a lot of information that comes your way. They gave me a printout that just gave me clear answers and schedules telling me where to be at what time. It made that portion so easy.”
Barta’s workforce decided she would wish six rounds of chemotherapy. She would obtain six completely different infusions when she went into remedy and since she was HER+ would wish 6 rounds of infusions for that prognosis as effectively. She mentioned the nurses and medical employees have been all the time form and checked in usually to ensure she was snug and doing alright.
“The team would offer me blankets and snacks and would constantly check in and ask questions to make sure I was ok. Every time they would come care for me, they would explain exactly what they were doing,” she mentioned. “Though I was supposed to have six chemo infusions, by mid-July 2021 I had become incredibly sick and didn’t know if I could continue with the treatments.”
Barta’s illness result in low magnesium and potassium and she grew to become anemic. She wanted blood transfusions, magnesium and potassium infusions, and fluids and later grew to become an inpatient at LMH Health as a result of she had nephrites.
“This whole time, with any complication I had, the nurses continued to treat me wonderfully and were very responsive in getting things done and talking with me about my condition,” Barta mentioned. “After my fifth chemo treatment, Dr. Meyer decided it would not be smart to complete the sixth. This scared me. My brain would say ‘but what if, what if.’ Dr. Meyer talked me through this and said my body needed to heal before we began the double mastectomy and reconstruction.”
Once her physique had healed, she met once more with Drs. Hawasli and Aldrich to debate surgical procedure and reconstruction. The course of was once more seamless and earlier than she knew it, it was time for the process.
The name
Barta beforehand had breast discount surgical procedure, so the method wasn’t fully unfamiliar. The workforce continued to guarantee her every little thing can be alright. After the surgical procedure, she went residence and commenced her restoration.
“Not too long after the surgery, I got a call from Dr. Hawasli,” Barta mentioned. “She asked if my husband was around since he was with me every step of the way at the appointments, treatments and everything. I said yes and she asked that I put him on speaker phone. She said she didn’t usually call but she had to let us know some good news. She said ‘Tammy we got it. We got all the cancer.’ At my next appointment with her, she couldn’t wait to give me a big hug and I was just overjoyed. These people were now like great friends and family to me. To hear this news was incredible.”
She mentioned her care workforce made her really feel like she was additionally a part of the workforce. There was no selections made for Barta — they gave her all the data, made positive she felt calm and let her make the choices that have been finest for her. She is aware of she made the correct resolution staying in Lawrence for her care.
“Years ago I worked in IT at LMH Health at a time where the reputation was that LMH wasn’t the best place for your care,” Barta mentioned. “It brings me so much joy to see how much has changed and how incredible the care that we offer our community is. I could not imagine having a better experience or a better care team. They made sure I was healthy, mentally and physically, and never made me seem like just another patient. I was always their number one priority when I was in their care.”
Barta was amazed to see that even when the workforce appeared like they have been operating 100 miles a minute, they nonetheless checked in to speak with her and ensure she was hanging in there.
“I have nothing but wonderful things to say. Even the scars from my surgery were fantastic, I don’t even see them,” Barta mentioned. “I am grateful to be back to work full-time and doing things with my family. If I see any member of my care team out in public, I would without a doubt give them a hug. I recommend the team at LMH Health to everyone and could not imagine receiving better care anywhere else.”
— Autumn Bishop is the advertising and marketing supervisor at LMH Health.
