Geisinger cardiology nurse practitioner fights to overcome breast cancer

“Here I am facing the fight of my life and I’m overwhelmed with the love and support from my colleagues. I’m not married and I don’t have relatives close by. The family I do have is my Geisinger family. And my Geisinger family will get me through this,” says Caroline Graham, a cardiology nurse practitioner at Geisinger Wyoming Valley. “My mother died from breast cancer. Her cancer was aggressive. I was always vigilant about self-breast exams and mammograms, and I was so happy every time I had a normal mammogram. Because of my family history of breast cancer, my primary care physician, Dr. Christopher Yusko, wanted me to be seen at the High Risk Breast Clinic. On June 21, I had a routine mammogram. The radiologist, Dr. Christine Policare, gave me the results. She cradled my hands in hers as she said, ‘This is a malignant mammogram.’ A biopsy confirmed I had the same cellular type of cancer my mom had. A week later, my whole care team assembled. They guided me and we put together a plan. My treatment includes chemotherapy and radiation. I’m in the middle of chemotherapy treatments right now and my last treatment will be November 12th. When radiation is finished, I’ll be back to work. I can’t wait to get back to work. I’m going to live because of this test done at Geisinger and people need to know this is available locally. It can save lives.” #GeisingerStories