Sue Yocham Finds Reassuring Care After an Unexpected Diagnosis
September 30, 2021
For 30 years, Sue Yocham has attended her regular mammogram appointments; and, up until the last time, everything was fine. She was feeling great and had no symptoms, but doctors recommended she have more testing. She went on to have two biopsies and an MRI, followed by news she did not expect. “I got the diagnosis of cancer in my left breast. It was a total shocker. I was never in the hospital except to have two babies,” says 71-year-old Yocham, who has always felt blessed to have good health.
She and her husband have two adult daughters, who would be a comfort to her in the coming weeks as her treatment began. The good news was that, thanks to screening, her cancer was caught early – and there was a caring team in Enid, ready to help.
Compassionate Chemotherapy Care
Yocham already knew quite a bit about cancer, but not as a patient. Before retiring from her career as a transcriptionist, she took dictation for an oncology doctor (who has also since retired). “I did know from working with cancer and typing about it what could happen, and that was scary,” she says.
Eager to put her cancer behind her, she had a double mastectomy. The next step was chemotherapy at the St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center Cancer Center under the experienced care of oncologist Todd M. Kliewer, MD, with a team of nurses she knew from her work as a transcriptionist.
“I just felt so at ease and comfortable,” she says. “If I would have stayed in the city, I would not have known anybody there, I would have just been another person with cancer. At Enid, they treated me like a person … I got to pick my chair, the same chair every time. It’s just little things like that, they got me water, fed me if I wanted something to eat, they’re just super nice.”
The Importance of Early Detection
Thankfully, she only needed four chemotherapy treatments, and she was amazed by how smoothly everything went, without any major side effects. Today, she’s happy to report that her margins are clear, and her treatment was a success. “I am so fortunate. I just pray to God every day because it could have been a lot worse,” she says.
Grateful to everyone who supported her throughout this journey, she’s continuing her active life, taking lots of walks, and helping to share the message about the importance of mammograms. Because of early detection, her health is back on track. “It’s so much better if you catch it early,” she says.
St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center Women’s Imaging now offers the Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS) that can be utilized in conjunction with 3D mammography for a more extensive evaluation for women with dense breast tissue. Schedule your mammogram appointment today by calling 580-249-3770.