Dignity Health | Be well | Spring 2015

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Could lung cancer
screening save your life?
Lung cancer kills more Americans than any other cancer. “Yet if it’s found early,
it can often be successfully treated,” says Michele Woods, RN, MA, Oncology
Nurse Liaison at Mercy Medical Center Redding.
That’s why a new screening program launched this past December to help
detect lung cancer in its earliest stages with low-dose CT scans. The program is
especially crucial in Shasta County, where nearly 25 percent of all residents smoke.
To find out if you’re a candidate for this potentially lifesaving test, please
contact your primary care physician. He or she will be able to refer you for the
screening. You can also take a quick online quiz to learn more about your lung
cancer risk. Visit
Margie and her husband made the
two-hour drive into Redding every
two weeks. They were both im-
pressed by the nurses who admin-
istered her chemotherapy rounds.
“Theywerewonderful,”Margie says.
“My husband and I felt really blessed
to have such caring people. They
always took time to explain things.”
She also found oncology nurse
liaisonMichelleWoods to be a won-
derful resource. “She advisedme to
make my life more than just about
this cancer,” says Margie. “She was
a wealth of knowledge, and she
gave me the tools to get through
each new stage of my ‘cancer
storm.’ That’s what I call it, because
it was all a bit of a whirlwind.”
Agrateful heart
Margie finished her last chemo-
therapy treatment on July 4, 2014.
“When it was over, I just thought,
‘Praise God; I want to celebrate,’”
she says. Like they do for all patients,
the staff gathered round and sang
Margie a song to celebrate her final
chemotherapy.
Her chemotherapy was followed
up by seven weeks of radiation
treatment planned by radiation
oncologist Matthew Allen, MD.
Prior to the treatment, Margie and
her husband decided to move to
“I tried to have a grateful heart, constantly, especially for my
husband and daughter, who were with me every step of the way.”
Redding to be closer to her doctors
and her daughter, son-in-law, and
three grandchildren.
“I have a strong faith, and I knew
I would get through this—that
there was an end to this,” says
Margie. “I tried to have a grateful
heart, constantly, especially for my
husband and daughter, who were
with me every step of the way.”
Margie would like others to know
just how important it is to reach out
to someone you knowwhomay
have just heard the words, You have
cancer. “I didn’t want to hear about
other cancer stories,” she says. “I
just wanted someone to say, ‘Let’s
have tea together’ or ‘Let’s go on a
walk.’ Just be there to listen.”
While she faces more follow-up
appointments, Margie is making
plans again and is glad her cancer
storm has cleared the way for blue
skies ahead.
Learn more about cancer services in the
North State area at morehealth.org/cancer.
Dignity Health