My nurse was Valerie at BMDACC. I was assigned to Dr. X after mastectomy surgery for chemo and radiation treatment, the only option for the type of cancer I had. My chemo treatment was first; I was to have a total of 4. After the third treatment, I developed a very rare reaction to the chemo. My lungs became inflamed, and I could not breathe. I was in Banner Gateway for 30 days and was told that I would need to live in a nursing home as I would never recover. 30 days later I was sent home on oxygen. Because this is so rare, they had only seen 2 cases in 15 years, and only one survived.

My nurse Valerie was so efficient and informative as to what I could expect - factual but positive. I was in a very weakened condition, but she always went the extra mile to help me. I was sent home on medications, one of which costs $1,000 a month! Valerie went the extra mile to call around to other pharmacies for pricing, but all of them were expensive. However, she found an alternative medicine that worked well but the disadvantage was to have to wake up at night for one of the doses. I was so very grateful to her for all the work that she did on my behalf. Valerie went the extra mile required to make things right. I cannot thank her enough for her dedication and feel very fortunate that she entered my life.