Two cancer diagnoses, but still moving forward

Mary Payne used to agonize over decisions. 

For example, buying a car once would have meant months of research, second-guessing and comparison shopping. These days, that’s changed.

Last summer, she walked into a dealership, spotted one she liked, took it for a drive and bought it on the spot. “That was not me 5 or 10 years ago,” she says with a laugh. “But I love my car.”

Cancer changed that part of her. It made her more decisive.

The words no one wants to hear

For most of her life, Ms. Payne was healthy and active. She traveled throughout Europe, worked at the Frank M and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center in Wilkes-Barre and stayed busy after retiring from Geisinger. Major health concerns had simply never been on her radar.

One afternoon, all of that changed. She was readying her patio for the warmer months when severe pain hit.

“I thought it was from the cleaner I was using on the patio,” she says. 

Her doctor urged her to go to the hospital immediately. At the hospital, physicians ran tests and Ms. Payne went home the following day. A few days later, the phone rang.

She recalls Duane Deivert, MD, the gastroenterologist who cared for her during the visit, telling her, “Mary, I’m sorry, but you have colon cancer.”

The words hit hard.

“It’s like somebody punched you in the head,” she says. At first, she pushed back. “I said, ‘I can’t have that. That’s not true.’”

But the diagnosis was real.

Choosing the team she trusted

Having worked at the Henry Cancer Center, Ms. Payne already knew many of the people who cared for patients there, so it was an easy and obvious choice for her care. 

Her surgery went well. She didn’t need chemotherapy afterward — only regular follow-up visits every few months.

Looking back, Ms. Payne says the compassion of the people around her mattered as much as the treatment itself.

“When you have somebody who cares — and they act like they care — that’s a big part of it.” she says.

“There were a lot of people involved in Ms. Payne’s care — from her surgeon to the team supporting her behind the scenes — all working together to guide her through it,” says radiation oncologist Eric Kemmerer, MD.

Ms. Payne had seen it from both sides. As an employee, she watched nurses and physicians support patients. When her late husband had cancer, she saw the same kindness, this time from the patient perspective.

“They ask you questions other places might not ask,” she says, “and you feel more at ease answering them.”

For years after her colon cancer surgery, life returned to normal. Then another surprise arrived.

A second diagnosis

Last year, Ms. Payne started feeling unusually tired. Nothing dramatic — just not quite herself.

Then one day in the shower, she noticed a lump under her arm. Tests confirmed breast cancer. And once again, disbelief came first. But as the news sank in, so did something else: She trusted the people caring for her.

Her care team moved quickly. Rebecca Jordan, DO, her breast surgeon, performed a breast-conserving procedure, allowing Ms. Payne to keep both breasts. After surgery, she had 4 weeks of radiation with Dr. Kemmerer and his team.

“Mary did great with her radiotherapy treatments. We created a personalized radiation plan for her to precisely target the cancer while protecting healthy tissue,” says Dr. Kemmerer.

She also began taking daily medication to reduce the risk of the cancer returning. Her primary care physician, Aliasgar Chittalia, MD, closely monitors her follow-up care.

“He asks me every time, ‘Are you taking that pill?’” she says with a smile. “He makes sure I do the things that I should be doing.”

Choosing how to live

Ms. Payne knows some people who rarely leave home after a cancer diagnosis. The fear lingers. She understands that feeling, but refuses to let it control her.

“You can’t keep thinking you’re going to die just because you had it,” she says. “You have to believe that you’re going to get better.”

That mindset has reshaped how she sees things. She worries less about small decisions and focuses more on what matters — travel, family, faith, enjoying the moment.

Today, she’s cancer-free and continues with regular follow-ups. She’s focused on staying active and living life on her own terms.

Cancer changed her in a way that might seem unexpected. “It gave me a little bit of freedom,” she says.

And if someone newly diagnosed asks her for advice, she keeps it simple.

“Do what the doctors tell you. Go through the treatment,” she says. “Then try to think, ‘I’m going to get better.’”

Because surviving cancer, she says, isn’t just about living longer. It’s about living fully.

“You never get over it,” she says again. “But don’t let it take your life away.”

Next steps: 

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