“My mom is a medically complex case,” said Abbey Sprague during a call earlier this week; “We have needed a lot of experts to weigh in and have visited different doctors in different health systems. We had to start collecting records in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.” Abbey’s mother Libby has...
Patient Stories: Terri Lynn
Terri Lynn has a long history of benign breast lumps, but until a few years ago they were mostly just a medical inconvenience. “When I was nine years old I had a ten centimeter mass in my breast the size of a grapefruit that required surgery,” she recalled during a...
The Doctor Is In For #blackdatamatters
Yesterday, patient advocate and founder of TOUCH Ricki Fairley joined breast cancer surgeon Dr. Monique Gary to discuss the importance of clinical trials for black cancer patients on her show The Doctor Is In. She was joined by fellow breast cancer survivors Chawnte Randall, Sheila McGlown, and Sharon Rivera, all...
Patient Stories: Sharon Rivera
Sharon Rivera was diligent with her health. She exercised, ate right, and even had two marathons under her belt. “I started exercising in my later years,” she said in a recent conversation; “I’m pretty fit and exercise is a daily routine. I brush my teeth, then run, walk, or ride...
Patient Stories: Alyson Tischler
“My first diagnosis was in 2007,” said breast cancer patient Alyson Tischler in a recent conversation; “I was 35 and a brand new mom with a six month old son.” She was getting ready to go back to work after eight weeks of maternity leave and had just stopped breastfeeding....
Patient Stories: Susan Kobayashi
“Twenty years ago, I found a lump in my breast,” said Susan Kobayashi in a recent conversation. “I was 36 years old; not old enough to have a mammogram on a regular basis. They told me that it was cancer.” The doctor told her It was stage zero with no...
Patient Stories: Sheila McGlown
Sheila McGlown was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer ten years ago at the age of forty-three, while serving in the military. “I was in the US Air Force for twenty-five years,” she recalled during a recent conversation; “and I was sitting at my desk when I sneezed and felt a...
Patient Stories: Chawnte Randall
Chawnte Randall was completely blindsided by her breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 40. It was October of 2017, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and she was halfway through her annual check-up when a lump was discovered in her breast. “My GYN ordered a mammogram and an ultrasound,” Chawnte said...
Patient Stories: Ronald Rapaport
Ronald Rapaport was enjoying the retired life in Florida when he was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in January of 2019. Having worked as a pharmacist for many years, he had a strong medical background, but wasn’t expecting a cancer diagnosis when he finally got checked. “I had noticed that...
Systemic Racism Exists in Healthcare, Too
Across so many parts of our lives, systemic racism continues to advance. Black Lives Matter must consistently battle the repugnant racism found in the American justice system — so horrific that we’ve been protesting for the last few weeks straight with no loss of momentum. The entire world is finally...