{"id":6012,"date":"2021-04-28T15:15:22","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/?p=6012"},"modified":"2021-04-28T15:15:22","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:15:22","slug":"helping-patients-with-cancer-find-their-new-normal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hancockhealth.apgar.digital\/zh\/2021\/04\/helping-patients-with-cancer-find-their-new-normal\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping patients with cancer find their new normal"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\n\n<\/div>
\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n \u91ab\u7642\u4fdd\u5065\u5c0f\u8cbc\u58eb<\/a> <\/div>\n\n

Helping patients with cancer find their new normal<\/h1>\n\n
\n\n 2021 \u5e74 4 \u6708 28 \u65e5<\/span>\n\n
\n\n \u5206\u4eab<\/span>\n\n
\n\n \n \n \n<\/svg>\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n \n<\/svg>\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n \n<\/svg>\n \n <\/a>\n \n \n \n<\/svg>\n <\/a>\n \n \n \n \n \n<\/svg>\n <\/a>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \"\"\/\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div>\n\n<\/section>\n\n
\n\n<\/div>
\n

\u201cEver since my cancer diagnosis, I\u2019ve been trying to continue to live my life,\u201d said Beth Mills. \u201cPeople who I work with and my friends in general, they don\u2019t understand the importance of normalcy when you\u2019re going through this.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

For Beth, that means daily walks with her husband and their two dogs along Pennsy Trail, shopping with her daughter Emily who\u2019s a freshman at Greenfield Central<\/a>, and the escape of a great book. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

\u201cReading is a big part of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cEverybody should read because your imagination is so much bigger than any movie you could go see.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

Beth said she inherited her love of books from her mom, who always spent her weekends reading in the swing in their backyard when she was growing up. \u201cShe was always engrossed in books,\u201d Beth said. \u201cI remember thinking, what\u2019s so great about books? Then I found A Tree Grows in Brooklyn <\/em>when I was in fifth grade, and I\u2019ve been in love with them ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

Tell it to me straight<\/h4>\n<\/div>
\n\n<\/div>
\n

Last March, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beth noticed a firmness and redness in her breast. She was worried she might have an infection or a rash. So she reached out to her OBGYN, who scheduled a mammogram.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

The doctors recognized her cancer immediately. \u201cI didn\u2019t know they could diagnose you with just a mammogram,\u201d Beth said. \u201cI thought they\u2019d need a biopsy. The doctor came in and said, \u2018I\u2019m sorry to tell you. You have cancer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

Her thoughts immediately turned to Emily. \u201cIt\u2019s strange. I didn\u2019t think about myself. I thought about my daughter, and the sadness of having to tell her.\u201d she said, \u201cShe\u2019s enduring her most impressionable years right now. It still makes me emotional thinking about that.\u201d  <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

Next, Beth met with surgeon Dr. Timothy Goedde, who informed her that she had a rare form of the disease called inflammatory breast cancer that only shows up in about 2% of patients. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

\u201cI\u2019m the kind of gal you just need to be straight up with,\u201d Beth said. \u201cDr. Goedde was great from the get-go. He let me know how it\u2019s going to be. He told me it was aggressive, it was rare, but it was curable.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

Finding strength close to home<\/h4>\n<\/div>
\n\n<\/div>
\n

Beth credits her team at \u8607\u5b89\u6c83\u7279\u66fc\u764c\u75c7\u4e2d\u5fc3<\/a> and its proximity to her home in Greenfield with her ability to hold onto some sense of normalcy over the last year. It takes her just eight minutes to get from her door to her treatment. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

\u201cBeing able to go back and forth like that to the hospital, it\u2019s weird to say, but it\u2019s a normal thing,\u201d she said. \u201c Every other Wednesday, I go get my chemo, and they just make it so easy to check in. It\u2019s like you\u2019re going to see part of your family, and they\u2019re going to take care of you.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

She knows she has a long road ahead of her, but Beth remains optimistic. She said she learned to approach her treatment with a positive attitude from her brother, who has been cancer free since fighting colon cancer at Hancock Health 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
\n

\u201cHe has been a rock to me, and he\u2019s given me lots of good advice,\u201d she said. \u201cHe told me my attitude would have a lot to do with my healing process. I believe I\u2019m going to get better. I\u2019m in good hands. This treatment is going to work, and I\u2019m going to be in remission this time next year. So why dwell on the negative?\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>

\n\n<\/div>
<\/div>
\n\n<\/div>