A Story of Hope

Jennifer Radtke

At age 34, Jennifer Radtke never expected that the lump she found on her breast would be cancer.  In fact, nothing during her struggle with cancer has been expected.  When she received her diagnosis, all she truly heard was “‘It’s breast cancer, and it’s not early.’  For everything after that it was like Charlie Brown with his teacher.” She had thought that being a nurse would make the process easier, that she would understand more and be calmer about her treatment and options, but she reflects that her background made her even more nervous. “I kept going straight to the worst case scenario, and every moment I had to wait for the next diagnosis or the next treatment was an eternity.”

Jennifer was surprised with and grateful for how quickly she got into the Cancer Institute for an appointment and the lengths that the staff went to during her treatment process. She called in at 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday and met with a doctor and had an ultrasound and a mammogram by the end of the day.  By the end of the week she was meeting with Dr. John Bell to discuss her treatment plan. “He came into the office just to see me,” she says.  “He exudes confidence so that after meeting with him I really felt like I was going to be okay.” Within two weeks of her initial appointment, Jennifer underwent surgery and was receiving chemotherapy.

Like many cancer patients, Jennifer was most concerned about how the chemotherapy would make her feel. “I was picturing the scene from The Bucket List,” she says, “but actually, it wasn’t anything like that. I had a stomach flu a few days before my first treatment, and that was much worse.” She remembers Dr. Timothy Panella cautiously entering the room after her first treatment saying, “I never know if people are going to throw things at me after receiving the chemotherapy I prescribed. But Jennifer claims her affects were minor and recounts that before her diagnosis she didn’t know that ‘outpatient oncology’ existed.  She received her treatments on a Thursday and didn’t feel ill at all until Saturday morning. “Neighbors or friends would take my kids for the day, and by the time they got home Saturday evening I was fine,” she says.

What has been most surprising about having cancer according to Jennifer, however, has been the outpouring of support from friends, neighbors, and the staff in the Cancer Institute. “The oncology nurses have such an amazing way of making you feel comfortable and loved—you form an instant connection and bond,” she says. Having moved to the Knoxville area just a few years ago, she was overwhelmed with the Southern hospitality, from the weeks’ worth of meals brought to her family by community members to the tenderness of her physicians. “Of all the places I could have landed, I landed here, and I think it was for a reason.  My family and the folks at UT Medical Center have given me the strength to get through this process.”