CTR Families & Patient Stories — Cancer Is Overwhelming: CTR Helps You Navigate What Comes Next
Transcript

Timestamps are approximate. Bracketed descriptions are not spoken dialogue.

[00:00] Hi, I'm Hernán Barangan, Director of Cancer Rebellion and proud partner of Teen Cancer America.

[00:06] I had leukemia when I was 15, and even back then I was acutely aware of how complicated it was to navigate the whole world of treatment, healthcare, and cancer.

[00:19] Fast forward to now and it's only become crazier.

[00:22] So I could not pass up the opportunity when Candy asked me to produce and direct this short piece we're about to watch.

[00:30] Stories of how Cancer Teamwork Response makes an impact in our communities.

[00:35] Together, we can build a stronger healthcare community,

[00:39] One where every patient's voice is heard and supported through their journey.

[00:59] Started with migraine headaches I knew there was something wrong but I couldn't get any answers

[01:05] From anybody I think it was mostly vision issues I was having my husband's a firefighter and he

[01:11] Started getting sciatic pain. So I took him to my work and we did an x-ray. He

[01:17] Started having pain in his shoulders. We did blood tests, we did specialists and

[01:20] Nobody could give us answers. I went to the hospital, they kind of looked at my

[01:26] Lungs, did a liver biopsy and then about a week later I get a phone call. January

[01:33] 4th I got a call that it was an alveolar sarcoma and of course I had done

[01:38] Researched and known that this is a very deadly cancer and so you know my heart just sank.

[01:44] Ultimately I ended up in the emergency room on Christmas night and was told that I had a massive

[01:51] Brain tumor. We were at a pivotal point and didn't know really what to do you know. glioblastoma is

[01:56] Such a scary scary thing. You know being a caregiver or just not knowing what to do. What's the right

[02:03] Thing you don't know I sat in that for about two and a half weeks it was it was I would say

[02:09] Devastating just because I didn't know the scans were taking a long time the doctor appointments

[02:15] Are taking a long time the follow-ups and now panic is starting to build they showed me the

[02:20] Scan I had no clue what I was looking at but the doctor said all those spots that are lighting up

[02:25] That's all cancer there's too much cancer and there's nothing we can do I've been a nurse for

[02:29] 26 years and I know when someone's gonna die and when I was looking at my husband

[02:33] He was like he was dying and no one was listening to me. I thought it was a death

[02:38] Sentence. I was scared to death did not know where to turn where to go. We went

[02:44] Straight into okay like you can't help us we need to find somebody who can

[02:47] Because we're not gonna give up. We got connected to CTR through friends of

[02:53] Friends. They said you have to get in touch with a lady named Candy. I was

[02:58] Introduced to CTR because I just wanted to get him out of that hospital. Candy

[03:01] Gave us hope. She was like, all right, and she just kind of handled it. It was a

[03:07] Friday afternoon. We had been, you know, trying to get a hold of this other

[03:11] Hospital organization all week, not getting into appointments, and Candy

[03:15] Answered the phone and was able to get us an appointment with the top oncologist

[03:20] For the next Monday at 8 a.m. We literally got discharged at 6 a.m. And

[03:25] Were in front of our current now who's now our oncologist within two hours.

[03:30] Because of her I was able to see someone in two and a half weeks versus a lot longer.

[03:35] She was able to get me an appointment and within a month I was operated on.

[03:43] Candy just holds your hand and I think brings you peace and like walks you

[03:47] Through really hard steps that unless you know what to do you don't.

[03:51] She helped me navigate on what to do and then she kind of guided me on how to push, how to press, you know, who to talk to.

[03:57] You know, it was a long recovery and I have to say Candy was with me checking in on making sure that I was okay.

[04:05] So it's great to have someone like Candy that can kind of help you navigate the system and feel like you are doing the right thing.

[04:14] You are doing the best you can do.

[04:16] And it just makes all the difference in the world.

[04:18] I mean, I honestly can't imagine going through what we went through without Candy.

[04:24] I know a lot of people don't know that this is here for them, but this is a great resource.

[04:30] Where we go matters.

[04:33] And who you have matters.

[04:36] Everything that's meaningful to me and all my friends and loved ones,

[04:41] It gives me an opportunity to be around them and be grateful for their friendship.

[04:48] I feel pretty good now. This, in a few months, will be three years since the transplant, which is crazy to think about.

[04:56] Sometimes I could go a whole day and I don't even think. It's nice that it's getting out of my head more.

[05:02] He's still here two and a half years later.

[05:06] Hang in there. Keep fighting.

[05:08] You know, don't hesitate to reach out and get the help you need.