Lisa Rei was dumb-struck when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I was 39 at the time,” she recalled. “I was not expecting this.”
Lisa, who works in Southbridge, received her initial diagnosis from a physician at Harrington HealthCare System, and sought a second opinion at a world-renowned teaching hospital in the Boston area. That hospital gave Lisa the same diagnosis, and recommended the same regimen of treatment that she had received from Dr. Christopher Seidler, the Medical Director at The Cancer Center at Harrington.
Lisa chose The Cancer Center at Harrington, on the Harrington Hospital campus in Southbridge, Mass., for her treatment. She has not regretted that decision for one moment. She has found the entire staff, from physicians and nurses to the volunteers, to be personal and supportive, she has found the quality of the treatment to be excellent, and she is extremely happy that she can receive such good care in such a convenient location.
“I work in town,” she said. “To leave for an appointment, travel five minutes, and be at The Cancer Center at Harrington was very convenient. And then, after the appointment, I can go back to work.”
Lisa says she has been able to go back to work after her chemotherapy in part because of the thorough preparation she received at The Cancer Center at Harrington.
“Before I started out with my treatment, I had a ‘chemo teach with my nurse at The Cancer Center, Heather, who taught me what to expect, and how to prepare for it so it will have the fewest side effects,” Lisa said. “I really took her advice, I referred to the material she gave me, and it worked out really well. There was only one time where I didnt feel up to going back to work right after my session.”
In fact, Lisa has done so well with the sessions that she often had lunch right afterward in The Cancer Center dining room.
“When I was getting my treatments, I’d go with husband or my mom would come, or I had coworkers with me,” she said. “They would come and have lunch with me. They would liven up the place, and the staff was very accommodating with that. This really does feel like home.”
“Everyone is so positive in terms of my treatment,” Lisa said. “They are all pulling for you too, they remember you, its kind of nice to have that attention. Everyone, the doctors, even the technicians, in radiology and nuclear medicine. And you see the same faces every time you go there. You dont feel like youre walking into a strange environment. Its not an easy time, going through this. It can be a stressful time, but everyone was nurturing and would talk me through the process.
The Cancer Center at Harrington really feels like family,” she said. “I go for a treatment on Friday and Nancy is the volunteer who has been through this same thing, and she gets your blanket, gets you a cup of tea, whatever you want.
“I would recommend The Cancer Center at Harrington to anyone.”
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