Why Choose SCCA?

When you have cancer, choosing the right place to go for treatment can be a difficult decision. We asked some women, patients and former patients, why they chose SCCA. Here’s what they said:

SCCA has the best doctors.
Ovarian cancer survivor Suzanne Larsen says if you have ovarian cancer, choosing a doctor is “a life or death decision. …You need to be treated by a gynecologic oncologist who specializes in reproductive cancers.” Read Suzanne’s story.

SCCA uses a multidisciplinary team approach.
“Before my diagnosis, I didn’t even know what an oncologist was,” says Kelly Larkin-Holmes, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 31. “It was great not having to make all those separate appointments. I saw the doctors all in one day, and I felt they were really looking at me.” Kelly and her mother, Diane Larkin, were diagnosed with breast cancer at the same time and went through treatment together at SCCA. Read Kelly and Diane’s story.

SCCA has doctors who go the extra mile.
Elizabeth Records, who was treated at SCCA for cervical cancer, says one of her doctors may have saved her life by doing battle with her insurance company to get a necessary test approved. The PET scan found a tumor on her lung that other tests and scans had not picked up. “Dr. Koh saved my life,” Elizabeth says. Read Elizabeth’s story.

SCCA offers special expertise when there is a family history of cancer.
Kim Sheldon was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at a young age. Her mother died of the disease, and one of her two sisters carries a gene that greatly increases her chances of also getting this cancer. Both Kim and her sister got the information they needed to make the right decisions about treatment from our genetics and family history experts. Read Kim's story.

SCCA has great support staff, like Holly and Heidi.
Some patients call them "Holly and Heidi," others refer to them as "Heidi and Holly" or just "H&H," but the two women's names are almost always linked. Both clinical nurse coordinators for gynecologic oncology patients, Heidi Heins and Holly Tomashek, have worked together for 12 years doing whatever is necessary to support their patients. They are the front-line contact for women being treated at SCCA for gynecologic cancers. Read about Holly and Heidi.

If you have questions or comments about the new SCCA Women's Center, please e-mail us at contactus@seattlecca.org.

Lois Williams, R.N.; M.S.N; Oncology Certified Nurse, Women’s Center Manager

Tracy Cothran, B.S., Radiologic Technology Clinical Program Manager, Breast Imaging

Cheryl Wyman, R.N; M.S.N., Nursing Director, Ambulatory Services

 

October 2005