Watching her mother go through cancer treatment in the late 1980’s made Decatur County native and Greensburg resident Paula Moore hesitant to undergo chemotherapy when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June of 2020.
But medical advancement paired with the friendly and helpful navigators and nurses at the Decatur County Memorial Hospital Cancer Care & Infusion Services Center helped Moore get to a cancer-free diagnosis in 2021.
Lead Mammography Technician, Jessica Hunter, and Cancer Care Nurse Navigator, Kristol Hadler. They are available to answer any questions and ease your mind when it comes to breast health.
Her journey began in the fall of 2019 when two small spots were found during a mammogram. Asked to return in six months, it was then they discovered that one spot had disappeared while the other one was still present. A May biopsy was positive for breast cancer and a lumpectomy followed.
From Moore’s perspective, because she had not had a complete mastectomy, she believed that a fairly easy treatment of only radiology would follow. However, the biopsy also revealed a diagnosis for “triple negative” breast cancer – a more aggressive cancer that can quickly spread and metastasize to other parts of the body. Without an intensive chemotherapy regimen, her oncologist, Michael Slaughter, MD, warned of a spreading cancer that would most likely get to an advanced level quickly.
“I did not want to do chemotherapy. My mother was so sick with it … but I prayed about it and trusted that the Lord has got me through all these years, He’d surely see me through this,” she says. “The nurse navigator was so helpful scheduling my appointments and explaining the treatment
To date, Paula’s scans are coming back clear. She will keep a port in through January, just in case the need arises to administer a third round of chemotherapy, but she’s hopeful she is on the road to recovery. She’s happy to be back to her normal routine.
“I have a little chihuahua that I walk about three times a day … he doesn’t want to walk very far, but we get out,” she laughs. “I love to read, crochet and work crossword puzzle… and I still mow my yard a couple of times a week and water my two flower beds.”
We hope Paula will “stop and smell the flowers” in her gardens as she celebrates a successful treatment at Decatur County Memorial Hospital!