Stephenie Gardner

Patient-Centered Breast Cancer Care at St. Elizabeth

Stephenie Gardner’s voice cracks when she talks about the St. Elizabeth Healthcare team that supported her through 20 rounds of radiation as part of her breast cancer treatment.

“I was going through such a difficult time in my life, and my radiation therapists at St. Elizabeth Ft. Thomas Hospital, Jessi Harmeling and Katie Hanna, took my hand and said, ‘It’s okay,’” Gardner, 56, recalls. “The kindness and softness they showed me was so powerful.”

Nine months past treatment, the Maysville native and small business owner still gets teary-eyed thinking about the support she received as part of her breast cancer recovery.

“The people I met during my cancer treatment weren’t just doing a job,” she says. “There’s a spirit of servitude that you can feel at St. Elizabeth. I believe everyone there is doing their God-given calling.”

Tailored Treatment Plan

An entrepreneur and former human resources professional, Gardner scheduled her annual mammogram without expecting anything other than a clean bill of health.

“I never felt or saw anything out of the ordinary. And there is no history of breast cancer in my family,” she explains. “The news I had cancer was shocking and devastating.”

After finding a suspicious spot on her mammogram, Gardner’s hometown providers performed an ultrasound and biopsy, which confirmed the presence of cancer. Her Maysville radiologist suggested she see St. Elizabeth Surgical Oncologist Joseph Guenther, MD.

Dr. Guenther recommended a lumpectomy, the surgical removal of the tumor, as the best first-line treatment for Gardner’s specific cancer type. He then ordered an Oncotype test, which analyzes breast cancer cells to determine a patient’s likelihood of cancer recurrence. The test helped measure if Gardner would benefit from post-surgery chemotherapy. Her results pointed to radiation, rather than chemotherapy, as the ideal next course of action.

“Dr. Guenther has a confident nature, and that gave me hope when I was dealing with a deep level of fear,” Gardner says. “Through every interaction, he explained how we were going to tailor everything to my specific breast cancer type. He talked at length about developing a customized plan of care. I never felt like a number.”

Radiation Oncologist Lauren Castellini, MD, led Gardner’s radiation treatments. Medical Oncologist Matthew Kurian, MD, rounded out her comprehensive care team.

“Dr. Kurian is just precious. He is also brilliant. It felt like God intentionally paired me with him on this stage of my journey, knowing I needed lots of attention and information,” she says. “He entered the room with this big, comforting smile and talked to me attentively, as a whole person. He didn’t see me only as my diagnosis.”

Support Through Tough Times

Once she’d recovered from surgery, Gardner received four weeks of radiation — a process made more bearable through Harmeling’s and Hanna’s kindness.

“I was at the most vulnerable point in my life, and they extended the care I desperately needed,” says Gardner.

Feeling exhausted from weeks of juggling appointments and tests, Gardner once considered skipping a daily radiation appointment. She sat down and told her daughter, through tears, that she didn’t have the energy to make the 90-minute drive to Ft. Thomas for treatment that day.

But after a few moments, she considered her care team and found the courage to keep going.

“Eventually, I said, ‘If I don’t go, that will worry Jessi and Katie,’” she recalls. “So, I told my daughter, ‘I think I’d better go.’”

“The relationship they built with me was so powerful,” she adds. “They never rushed me, and they were so compassionate. There aren’t enough words to describe how instrumental they were in my healing, both mentally and physically.”

Gardner says Danielle Hubbard, APRN, her radiation oncology nurse practitioner, and Mallory Mosko, PA-C, Dr. Guenther’s physician assistant, were equally supportive throughout her care.

“The intelligence and professionalism of everyone on my care team was beyond compare,” she says. “They walked me through every step of what to expect.”

Cutting-Edge Therapies

At Dr. Kurian’s recommendation, Gardner will undergo hormone therapy for at least five to ten years to help reduce her chance of cancer recurrence. She also plans to take Verzenio®, a targeted treatment for HR-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer, for the next two years.

“It’s a relatively new drug approved for my type of cancer in early stages,” she explains. “I have experienced some side effects. But when I weigh the severity of those versus potentially preventing reoccurrence, I feel it’s worth it.”

Thanks to the quality of care she received at St. Elizabeth, Gardner can focus again on the activities she loves — including being a devoted mom to her three grown children, Bryce, Dara and Gavin.

“I am so grateful to everyone at St. Elizabeth, from the receptionists, including Alex at the Fort Thomas Oncology front desk, to my care team, for the kindness they’ve shown me,” she says. “They coddled me when I needed to be coddled, and they pushed me when I needed to be pushed. Thanks to them, I’m feeling stronger every day.”

See how our team changes lives. Explore personalized, team-based breast cancer care at St. Elizabeth.