Bridging the Gap Between Care and Compassion
The Hearst Cancer Resource Center (HCRC) is committed to serving cancer patients and their families: ranging from those newly diagnosed with cancer, in treatment, in recovery, and beyond. Read about one patient's cancer journey below.
Support cancer patients like Amy with a gift to the Hearst Cancer Resource Center today.
Amy's Story
2020 was a challenging year for people across the world as the COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted our everyday lives. Midway through the year, Central Coast resident Amy Spain (pictured above) found a lump in her breast and faced a situation made more complex due to the lockdown, however, was able to find the resources and medical help needed at the start of her journey.
In July 2020, Amy was diagnosed with third stage lobular carcinoma, a form of breast cancer. She recalls the initial shock of her diagnosis on top of an already difficult year. Over the next several months, Amy underwent cancer treatments including chemotherapy and radiation, as well as a double mastectomy, followed by reconstructive surgery. Living alone was made even harder by the impact of social isolation due to the pandemic, but with the help of her parents, renewed faith in God, and close friends, she never felt alone nor lost her spirit.
Early on, a friend who was diagnosed a year prior, told her to contact the Hearst Cancer Resource Center (HCRC) at French Hospital. The HCRC, which provides services and programs to local cancer patients and their families at no charge, continued to support people like Amy during the pandemic. She was soon connected with the HCRC’s nurse navigator, who provided her with support and guidance, answers to her questions, introductions to medical specialists, and access to other resources and programs. Her nurse navigator even attended her first two chemotherapy sessions and they have remained friends three years later.
“Family and friends were restricted from going with me to chemo because of the pandemic,” says Amy. “Gloria, my nurse navigator, knew how hard it would be for me to go to my first treatment alone, so she met me at my first session and even surprised me at my second! I wasn’t alone for that step in my journey and that meant so much.”
Amy also joined the HCRC’s then virtual breast cancer support group. There, she met with others who were experiencing their own setbacks faced by cancer. “I was on a path towards healing and being able to hear what others were going through as well as sharing my own experience with other breast cancer patients made it much more relatable,” she says. “I am very grateful for the connections and lasting friendships I have made through HCRC.”
Today, Amy is a cancer survivor and continues to be grateful for the support she found at the HCRC.
“I’m so thankful for all that the HCRC offered me during a very difficult time. I can’t thank donors to the HCRC enough for the support they provide to local cancer patients.”
Amy Spain, breast cancer survivor
Support cancer patients like Amy with a gift to the Hearst Cancer Resource Center today.