Mel's Story
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"Just when I thought life had handed me too much, I found myself surrounded by people there to support me."Mel, Derry, NH Treated for: Breast cancer "When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I knew that staying with Dartmouth-Hitchcock was going to be the best choice for me. The knowledge was there, the expertise was there, the comfort was there. That's where I was going to get my best care. Being a patient at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center meant that I didn't have to seek out each step of my treatment—I didn't have to find my oncologist, I didn't have to find my surgeon, I didn't have to find somebody to help me on a day-to-day basis. It was a wonderful feeling of knowing that I was surrounded by caregivers who could help me with all their expertise and their unique abilities...and that's a good feeling...it's a very good feeling! I could tell you about the 11 surgical procedures, the 12 chemo treatments over two years, and the 28 radiation treatments, but those aren't the things that are important. What's important is the care I received from the doctors and the nurses and the staff at Norris Cotton Cancer Center. From the first person you meet when you walk into reception, to the nurse or the medical assistant, to your doctor—every single one of them has an impact. When I transferred my care from Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Lebanon to Norris Cotton Cancer Center in Manchester, it was like I was in the same location. They work so well between each other you don't notice the distance. The treatment that I got in Manchester was the same treatment I would have received in Lebanon. And, even more important to me, it was the same care that I would have received in Lebanon... It's one big family." |
