Cancer victim’s battle an inspiration

Dr. Erika Kube

I sat in the back of the church with several Kleenex in my hand. Watching the pictures of Hayley's life on the screen was beautiful yet so very sad. I don’t often attend funerals for patients I care for in the emergency department because I usually don't get to know them very well. But Hayley stood out and I will always remember her.

The first time I saw Hayley, she had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had recently had a breast removed and came in because of a skin infection at the surgical site. She was quite ill. I started her on antibiotics and she stayed in the hospital for several days.

There was something about Hayley that drew me to her immediately. She had just been given devastating news about her health, yet was so positive and so kind to everyone. She was clearly a fighter.

Her predicament seemed especially unfair because she was so young; she was in her 20s when she received her cancer diagnosis. Her friends were getting married and starting to have children and Hayley was fighting for her life.

It's unusual for me to see the same patient again. When Hayley’s name showed up on my patient list many months later, I paused for a moment because I remembered her. After she was treated for the skin infection, she started undergoing chemotherapy. She did well and had gone into remission. Her oncologist was pleased with her progress and was