A Second Opinion Saved My Life

“Since my diagnosis in 2019 and with the guidance of my medical team at GBMC, I have worked full-time since my surgery. I took vacations with my family. I traveled to Illinois for my soon-to-be daughter-in-law's bridal shower. I walked down the aisle with my son at his wedding. I traveled with my daughter to lacrosse tournaments and college visits. I coached my students to win state and national contests.”

More than 18 years ago, Sally Watsic was diagnosed with breast cancer. She received her diagnosis over the holiday season and was told the surgeon was out of town. Another physician overheard Sally’s conversation with her doctor and recommended GBMC - more specifically, Dr. Lauren Schnaper in The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center.

Time is something that many of us take for granted. For Ethel Zelenske, a patient in the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute at GBMC, time is something she will always be grateful for and never take for granted again.

“Every aspect of my experience at GBMC, from the secretaries to the people taking the COVID tests, they were excellent,” Harmon said. “Everybody was professional and had a smile on their face. I felt it was as good a situation that it could have possibly been.”

As a nurse with a husband who was a podiatry resident, Jennifer thought she was prepared for anything that could happen while she was pregnant with her son, Christian. But, at just 26 weeks and 5 days, Jennifer was rushed to GBMC HealthCare where Christian would enter this world weighing only 2 pounds and 6.8 ounces.

When Jade was born, she weighed barely over 15 ounces – including all of the life support and monitoring equipment connected to her tiny, frail body. Jade was in the NICU for four months and, during that time, Brandon and Cyndi were humbled by the care provided by the nurses who acted as if their daughter was one of their own.

“Never in a million years did it cross my mind that I might have diabetes; in my mind I just wasn’t the picture of what diabetes looked like.”

As Nancy Amato prepared to donate a kidney to her sister, her OB-GYN suggested getting a precautionary colonoscopy to ensure she was a viable donor. That colonoscopy uncovered a large mass in her colon that would later be diagnosed as Stage 2 colon cancer.