Breast Cancer Treatment Video: Claudia's Story

(2:59)
Breast Cancer Treatment
A young mother undergoes highly advanced radiation treatment
A young mother undergoes highly advanced radiation treatment

A young mother undergoes highly advanced radiation treatment for breast cancer at the Douglas & Nancy Barnhart Cancer Center at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.

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Transcript

Claudia: Mommy has breast cancer. You think about a lot of things. I think, mostly for me, I mean, at least give me a few more years to finish raising my son.

Pat Nemeth, Architect: We asked every subcontractor, "How many of you had had a family member have cancer?" And up the hands go. "Did you feel hopeless about that?" And up the hands go. "Would you like to be part of healing cancer patients?" And up every hand in the room goes.

Claudia: Everyone has cancer. Like everyone. I’m going through it physically, but my mom, my aunts, my cousins, my brothers, they all feel my pain.

Pat: This project was thought of through the eye of a cancer patient.

Claudia: You don’t know if you’re going to go through another holiday with your families. You don’t know if you’re going to be there for your son’s graduation, when he gets married….

Pat: I want the spaces we build to take the fear out of healing. Wow, wow, unbelievable.

Jonathan Clowes, Artist: We would like folks that are suffering to have some hope, to raise their spirits. Even medically they have found that taking care of the aesthetic or spiritual side of a person is every bit as important as the physical side of a person.

Pat: I’m absolutely part of the process of healing. This is where my heart belongs.

Radiation Technologist: You ready?

Claudia: Yes. Today, I’m starting my radiation for six and a half weeks. I’m not fearful; I know that the treatment I am getting is going to work. I feel confident.

Pat: You lie next to a machine that is behind you, to serve you, not to intimidate you. If you have a cancerous tumor, these are the rooms you want to be in.

Dr. Phillip Zentner: The level of accuracy on this system is extremely accurate, it’s submillimeter accuracy. We can see at a whole different level exactly what we’re doing.

Claudia: You have such a storm inside your mind. When you walk into a place that was built for you in mind, I think that’s reassuring. It’s a healing, from the moment that you walk in, and you feel that. You know that you’re in the right place.

Dr. Marilyn Ortuno Norton: If you feel loved, if you feel comfort, if you feel like there’s an entire team that’s behind you, that’s helping you with your new cancer diagnosis, that in itself, it’s part of healing.

Claudia: I see the future, it’s not so gray anymore. There’s always hope.

For More Cancer Care Information
To learn about cancer services at Sharp, visit Cancer Care.