At Baylor Scott & White, we’re proud to celebrate the women who make us Better every day. Discover stories from the women who are inspiring a future filled with more innovation, opportunity and hope.
My mom was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, or LMS — a rare type of cancer in the smooth muscle that starts in the uterine area — around December of 2017. At the time, the tumor was small and when testing was done, it came back negative for cancer. Though surgery was still scheduled to remove it, it …
Our hospital room wedding: Bringing the ceremony to my mom’s bedside Read More »
It started with a numbness in my left arm and an unrelenting husband who refused to accept my blasé attitude about my body changes. Over a course of several months, I noticed that my left arm was getting weaker and I was unable to lift at my normal capacity. I attributed it to sleeping incorrectly …
From singing in musical productions to caring for patients in the operating room — meet Christine Giammona, BSN, RN, CNOR. When she was only 2 years old, Christine sang her first solo in a church Christmas program. Deemed her “gift” by family and friends, singing came naturally to Christine — a talent she has worked …
Meet the opera singing nurse who comforts patients with her voice Read More »
My cancer story doesn’t begin with me — it begins with my family. I am a 68-year-old woman and out of eight children, I was the second youngest. My two oldest sisters were breast cancer survivors but have since become angels for the Lord following unrelated medical challenges. Two of my brothers are cancer survivors. …
My turn: From cancer caregiver to cancer patient Read More »
“Like mother, like daughter,” they say. That saying could not be truer of Debra Anttila and Danielle Rodriguez. The mother and daughter share quite a few similar qualities, chief among them a deep passion for serving and caring for others. It’s that passion that has led them — each on a winding path — to …
Mother, daughter share calling to care for others Read More »
As I sit here dictating my story, I have 3-week-old baby Skyler comfortably sleeping on my chest. If you had asked me this time last year where I would be in a year, I would never have imagined I’d be here — a new mother having just given birth during a pandemic, economic crisis, and …
What it’s like to bring a baby into a pandemic world Read More »
About a year ago, I shared my breast cancer story here and talked about why cancer hates fighters like me. (If you haven’t read that yet, read it now and then come back.) I’m still just as much of a fighter but in the past year, I’ve learned a few things about life after breast …
Never did I think I would hear those words. “You have cancer.” Nope, not me! I am the person who takes care of everyone else. I am a 41-year-old momma with three kiddos and I was working full-time in retail. Plus, I was busy with our kids’ afterschool activities. I didn’t have time for cancer. …
My breast cancer story: Learning to “just roll with it” Read More »
I’m not a runner. Well, at least I didn’t think I was. I don’t enjoy it. Well, at least I didn’t think I did. I’m a dance fitness and HIIT fanatic through and through but a couple of months ago, I started a 5k training program. I was slow completing it because well — life, …
What I learned when I challenged myself to run a 5k Read More »
Cancer. The very bane of my existence and the reason why I fight for cancer research today. When my mother called me on the phone one day, doubled over in pain, hearing her in distress was not something I was used to. She had already survived childhood polio, 14 surgeries and the iron lung, so …