Patient Stories
Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region
Roberta - Beating the Odds
Roberta was ready for battle. She had run marathons. She had started a business in 1968 that still thrives today. She had played her violin before hundreds of concert goers. She could handle this; this scary diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Or, at least, she decided she would never give in.
A few years before her diagnosis, she knew something was wrong. Two doctors dismissed her symptoms as part of the aging process. Then, almost too late, Roberta sought out Dr. Gregory Graves, Medical Director of the Sutter Cancer Center, Sacramento. "She was at death's door when I met her," said Dr. Graves, who quickly scheduled her for a grueling, 10-hour surgery called Heated Intraoperative Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy.
Roberta, who had taken on nearly every one of life's challenges with a vengeance, decided that she would not be the weak link in this fight against cancer. "I had Dr. Graves and the Sutter Cancer Center working for me," she said, "So, I promised I would do my part - no matter how hard it would be."
And she did.
With her cancer now in full remission, she credits her determination, healthy lifestyle and grateful attitude. And, especially, she credits Dr. Graves and the staff at Sutter Medical Center. "Dr. Graves and his team are compassionate, in addition to being skilled and knowledgeable. He is extremely perceptive, I've never had a doctor listen to me the way he does," Roberta says. She fondly calls some of the nurses "my chemo girls," referring to ones who tended to her while she was suffering through the debilitating effects of the treatment.
Despite her tough battle with cancer, Roberta considers herself blessed. She is grateful for what she has accomplished in her life and what she will accomplish in the future. She is grateful she found Dr. Graves, who not only caught her diagnosis, but also is one of the few surgeons in the nation who performs the complex surgery she needed.
Even though Roberta's prognosis was initially grim, Dr. Graves had a feeling she'd beat the odds. "That's why we're here," he says, "to determine a treatment path that will work best for each patient - considering their physical, mental and emotional states - and then help them with every step along the way."
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