Cronin thanks 'A Team' at Sletten

By Gina Ann Bennett

Nancy Cronin, C.N.A. stays grateful for so many things; she hasn’t missed a day of work in 18 years, and before that she volunteered at the Northern Montana Hospital and at the Northern Montana Care Center; she’s a wife and mother, a baker of dozens of cookies to give away, and now, thanks to the care she received at the Northern Montana Sletten Cancer Center, she’s a breast cancer survivor, too.

“You just have to take each day as it comes,” said Cronin, whose positive attitude and up-beat personality shines through, but she wants to give credit to what she refers to as “The A Team,” for keeping her that way.

“Those girls were great! They really care,” Cronin said.

She said she felt that she was treated with professionalism, caring and respect every day she went in for treatment, and that it was “great to be able to stay home, without that long drive of over 110 miles to Great Falls and then back again.”

Cronin thanked her “A Team,” Radiation Therapist Kristi Burr and Registered Nurses Markie Rohrback and Mary McKenzie who work at the cancer center, for being there for her.

“Both the RNs are chemo certified,” said Nurse Director Sarah M. Spangler, R.N., who supervises nurses on the Med/Surg floor at the hospital and the cancer center.

The day that changed Cronin’s life was Feb. 28, 2017, when she went in to have her mammogram and was told to see a surgeon right away.

“I didn’t think the lump was cancer,” she said.

Cronin said she thought the lump she felt above her right breast was only fatty tissue because it was high up on her chest, above the breast tissue.

“I do feel very fortunate. I’ve not been really sick,” Cronin said.

Kevin Harada, M.D., internal medicine specialist at Northern Montana Health Care, referred Cronin to surgeon Dr. Damian Ymzon, a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons, who is also a member of Havre’s team of physicians.

“They were both great. I really didn’t have any pain after the surgery. My right breast was removed, and I only had to stay in the hospital one night,” Cronin said, adding, “I didn’t have to travel for my surgery, and I didn’t have to travel for my treatment, either. The best treatment was right here.”

Cronin did go to the Sletten Cancer Institute in Great Falls for the tattooing. Cancer patients who are scheduled to receive radiation therapy get tiny tattoos that look something like a little dot from a marking pen. The treatment is so precise, the radiation oncologist determines the pin-points, or map, the radiation therapist will use as a guide to deliver the treatment.

“We drove down and back the same day for the tattooing, but I didn’t have to go out of town again,” said Cronin, who began her treatment with chemotherapy and then had 28 radiation therapy treatments in Havre. “I’ll never forget the staff and all the people that helped me, and, you get to see the radiation oncologist every week.”

Robert Pfeffer, M.D., radiation oncologist, travels from the Sletten Cancer Institute in Great Falls to Havre in person to see patients at the Northern Montnana Sletten Cancer Center every other week, and on the off weeks he sees patients via telemedicine.

Cronin didn’t know she had cancer, but she did know what to do to help detect it early. She had regular check-ups and mammograms, and when she learned of her diagnosis, she sought the best treatment possible.

“Dr. Kanaan was awesome,” she said.

Board certified in specialties: hematology, oncology and internal medicine, Dr. Mohammed Kanaan sees patients at the Northern Montana Sletten Cancer Center and is also a part of the internal medicine team at NMHC.

“Truthfully, I think attitude is about 90 percent of the battle,” Cronin said, and when asked about her hair, she said she lost it like most cancer patients do, but it’s coming back. “Don’t be afraid to talk about it, if it can help someone.”

Cronin, former activities aide at Northern Montana Care Center, said, “The A Team” at the cancer center were “totally a bunch of awesome people,” and from the time she walked in the door, they were there for her.

The Northern Montana Sletten Cancer Center first opened in Havre Aug. 8, 2008, as a joint venture between Northern Montana Health Care and Benefis Health System, but it could not have happened without the generous support and philanthropic efforts of the people of the northern Montana communities who raised more than $1.2 million dollars over a two-year period in a capital campaign spearheaded by the Northern Montana Health Care Foundation.

“It was our intent to keep people here,” said Christen Obresley, vice president of regulatory and community services and executive director of the foundation.

Cronin is already thinking about helping others stay aware. She has completed her treatment, and she thinks about volunteering again, she said.

“It’s hard not to be involved,” she said. “I think about going back to work, too.”

With that attitude of caring and excellence, infused in her by her medical team during her treatment at the NMSCC, and because of her own friendly personality and positivity, Cronin said she believes “being close to friends and family makes a big difference, too.”

Cronin will be sharing her testimonial at the Northern Montana Sletten Cancer Center Open House scheduled for Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. The open house will feature tours of the facility, a presentation by Kanaan and testimonials from Cronin and another local cancer survivor. Everyone is invited to attend.

The Northern Montana Sletten Cancer Center is located at 40 13th St. W. in Havre, with the phone number 262-6000. For more information, visit: https://nmhcare.org.