Care Built Around You: Marsha Hammond

Marsha Hammond's positivity is catching. In fact, she does what she can to share it with anyone who might benefit. 

She is also very purposeful about finding medical support for herself and her family. And GBMC HealthCare is where she feels cared for. 

"GBMC is where I feel like a person," she says. 

After years dealing with chronic conditions, that is no small thing. 

Marsha has been a patient of GBMC Health Partners Primary Care for many years now, but it was a breast cancer diagnosis in 2014 that clarified for her the importance of the expert, compassionate care GBMC provides. When she discussed her treatment options with breast surgeon Dr. Lauren Schnaper in the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center, Marsha was impressed by the clear, straightforward, and kind way Dr. Schnaper spoke with her. 

After surgery came chemotherapy, where she was in the care of medical oncologist Dr. Robert Donegan. Marsha continues to meet with Dr. Donegan as a cancer survivor. Once again, she has found an oncology expert who listens to her concerns and clearly reviews her options for treatment. 

From the beginning, Marsha was determined to take back her power from cancer. As an artist, she saw some opportunities. The labels on the chemotherapy bags, for example, were full of words that were accurate, but not helpful to her emotional well-being. 

"I needed a way out of a 'victim' mindset into an empowered one," she says. So, Marsha created alternatives. Designed to resemble antique apothecary labels, hers proclaimed she was being infused with rays of sunshine, with clarity, with love and light. 

Infusion nurses like Judy Feeney supported her approach and helped her. Though they could not allow her to do it, the nurses affixed the labels themselves, careful to ensure the medication information was still visible. Other patients receiving infusion along with Marsha welcomed the labels. Before long, and with the support of a Kickstarter campaign, Marsha was creating labels for cancer patients well beyond GBMC. 

When Marsha asked for alternative therapies to supplement the medical treatment she was receiving at the Berman Cancer Institute, oncology staff connected her with community-based programs for QiGong and other mind-body support. Today, the Berman Cancer Institute's Integrative Wellness Palliative Medicine program offers those services and more, hand-in-hand with patients' medical care. 

Marsha is doing well as a cancer survivor. As fate would have it cancer wasn't the only thing on what she calls her "bingo card." 

A few years ago, a simple slip turned into a complicated problem. During an ice-skating outing with her son, Marsha slipped and fell. The result was a traumatic brain injury. Whether related to that or not, she has been faced with a number of chronic conditions since. As she works toward diagnosis and treatment, her primary care physician, Dr. Kristin M. Phiri, of GBMC's Family Care Associates, has been Marsha's champion. 

Together, they have been on a journey, untangling complex symptoms and possible reasons for them. Marsha has created collages throughout – her way of articulating how she was feeling and the impact that illness was having on her life. Remarkably, she is as positive and upbeat as ever, despite being unable to work. She and her partner have blended their families. Being a mom is keeping her busy. 

Marsha understands that keeping a good attitude is vital to her well-being. She is just as clear that GBMC's physicians are her partners of choice in restoring her health. They are the team she turns to because she has learned she can depend on them. 

"For a while, Dr. Phiri met with me every week," Marsha recalls. Dr. Phiri took the time to talk with Marsha about her symptoms and identified tests to lead to a diagnosis and specialists who could treat her. Her primary care physician is the expert Marsha relies on for care built around not just her medical issues but built around her.