Patient Fights Breast Cancer for Her Kids

Coleen Imming | October 16th, 2018

Patient Fights Breast Cancer for Her Kids

Upon hearing her breast cancer diagnosis, Deb Zanfes had one focus, she says, “My kids are my life.”

Deb with her whistle and her husband David on her last day of chemotherapy.

In November 2017, Deb was bumped while at her job as a Special Education Teacher at Storm Lake Middle School and during the incident felt a lump in her breast. To ease her mind she came to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center.

The mammogram did detect something and the BVRMC Diagnostic Imaging Department did everything to help Deb through the next steps.

“I really appreciated how the staff treated me with compassion and explained everything in detail to me,” said Deb. “A biopsy was quickly scheduled and people even changed their holiday plans to get me in faster. They didn’t give me time to be scared, even though I knew it could be serious.”

“The day before Thanksgiving, the Mammography Supervisor called me to tell me the stage of cancer. She knew my anxiety was high waiting for results and made sure I wasn’t alone to hear the news. I felt she really cared and wanted to tell me the results in the most compassionate way.”

“When I heard the word cancer I knew I wanted to keep life during treatment as normal as possible for my family,” stated Deb.

The course of treatment chosen included chemotherapy in the BVRMC Oncology & Infusion Center and later surgery with Dr. Dierking of Buena Vista General Surgery. She was very thankful to have so many resources right her in Storm Lake.

Deb’s husband, David travels out of town for work, so Deb’s ‘normal’ is being a working mom and running her two girls, Morgan, 10, and Mackenzie, 4, to all their activities. Quickly family, friends and co-workers also jumped in to help.

The BVRMC staff also made sure Deb’s family was taken care of during her treatment. Staff made sure all the family’s questions were answered so they could easily understand. Staff also watched out for their comfort during long treatment days, Deb really could better concentrate on treatment knowing her care team was looking for her number one priority – her family.

“BVRMC people were always were asking about my girls and how they were doing. One nurse even helped me pick out Easter and father/daughter dance dresses. They didn’t just take care of me – they took care of my family,” she remembers.

A BVRMC tradition is to have people on their final day blow a whistle to celebrate the occasion. In May 2018, Deb had her final chemotherapy appointment. She had been given a choice towards the end on the amount of final treatments and wanted to have the full amount. Deb chose to have that full amount for her family and before blowing the whistle told everyone, “I’m doing this for my kids!”

“Throughout my journey, all the BVRMC staff showed compassion not only to myself, but also to my family. From registration staff walking me through the halls, staff literally holding my hand during procedures, and the nursing staff that made sure they talked on a level my family and I could understand – BVRMC was the right place for my journey,” says Deb.

October is national Breast Cancer Awareness month. 1 in 8 women will have breast cancer sometime in their lifetime. Deb and BVRMC wants women 40 and over to get their annual mammograms so breast cancer can be caught early when it is most treatable.

Shown is Deb with her whistle and her husband David on her last day of chemotherapy.