CityView Magazine

CityViewNC.com | 41 Marsha Nelson, MD, a general surgeon affiliated with Cape Fear Valley Health, credits the entire Cape Fear Valley team for its tactical approach to cancer so that no patient feels left out and all team members contribute to the various treatment plans. Oswalt, 67, was diagnosed in 2021 during a routine mammogram. "ey called me back for a diagnostic ultrasound in March 2021 and found invasive ductal carcinoma,'' she says. "ere was a five-week lag when global supply issues delayed the MRI, but on my birthday, they brought me back again. at was when they found the lobular tumor, which does not show up in mammograms." Oswalt opted for a mastectomy of her right breast. Her last day of radiation was Aug. 23, 2021. ey both praised Marsha Nelson, MD, a general surgeon affiliated with Cape Fear Valley Health, for the excellent care they received. "My sister saw Dr. Nelson and referred her to me. I knew that was who I wanted to go to because my sister had such a great experience," Oswalt says. Dr. Nelson says she tries to connect with her patients. "From my standpoint, especially with my breast cancer patients, I spend time with them,'' Dr. Nelson says. "All our patients need to understand the diagnosis, the options.'' She also credits the Cape Fear Valley team for ensuring that no patient feels le out. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO "e definition of the faith community is being there for each other," she says. While both women have known friends and family members with breast cancer, McPhail says she never expected it to happen to her. McPhail retired from the city of Fayetteville as the risk management director aer 32 years. "I went for my annual bloodwork with my primary doctor, and everything was perfect,'' McPhail says. "My doctor told me to keep doing what I was doing, and at age 66, that was great to hear. So when I went to my annual mammogram two weeks later and found out I had cancer, I was shocked. I was shocked to hear the word cancer." McPhail is thankful that the cancer was found early. "If I had not gone for that checkup, it could have been so much different,'' she says. "Going through radiation is not fun, but it beats something more and possibly not winning." McPhail says she had never missed a mammogram. When she was called back to the office because something was not right on her test results, she was told she had two options. One was to have a biopsy because, at that point, doctors could not tell if the lump was cancerous. e second option was to wait a year and see if anything more developed. She chose the biopsy, and the doctors were able to catch the cancer in Stage 1. Early detection, she says, saved her life and lessened her treatment plan to a lumpectomy and radiation. "If I had waited the year, it would not have been the case,'' McPhail says. "I had surgery in June and was in and out the same day. I rested a few days, went back to regular life while I healed, and then I started radiation at the end of August." Oswalt has a family history of breast cancer. Her sister, mother and both grandmothers have had the disease. Her sister, Linda McGirr, a theater arts teacher at Fayetteville Christian School, was diagnosed in 2018. "It's in the back of your mind,'' Oswalt says. "Always do exams, always do annual mammograms. Breast cancer does not discriminate. It could happen to anyone, but with my family history, I knew to be vigilant."

• Cover