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Stories of hope

Providence Cancer Center "Do what you need to do to get on with your life - keep living."

John Goodwin

For someone like John Goodwin, doing what needs to be done just makes sense. But at 46 his world began to move much faster than expected. At a routine doctor's visit, he asked about numbness in his leg. Was it from all the tennis he had been playing? Soon, he learned he had stage III colorectal cancer.

That's when John met Christine Cha, M.D., medical director of Providence Radiation Oncology. With her team of leading radiation oncologists, she treated John's cancer with Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. Scan by scan, they traced out exactly where the cancer was and targeted it with high doses of radiation. For John, this meant powerful, but tolerable treatments with no breaks and few side effects all while he continued to work.

His advice to others? Get busy and get an annual colon cancer screening, beginning at age 50. If you have a family history of cancer, ask your doctor about having cancer screenings earlier. Then do what you need to do to get on with your life - keep living. Johns experts at Providence helped him to just that.

We took KATU-AM Northwest cameras behind the scenes of the new Providence Cancer Center on the eve of our grand opening.
Matthias Molnar’s mother flew in from Germany to see with her own eyes that her son was getting world-class care — right here in Oregon. Read more
“From that point on, my mom never had a doubt. She knew I was in good hands.”
Darcy Davidson and her husband uprooted their lives in Mexico so that she could be treated at Providence Cancer Center. Read more
“I know what I have is bad, and the treatment is bad. But I want to make it through this.”
Surviving breast cancer meant not only curing the cancer, but also healing spiritually and emotionally. Read more
“Throughout this experience, I've been learning to take care of myself. Each new day presents so many possibilities.”
We foster relationships between patients and their doctors in a supportive environment for families. Read more
“I felt like my doctor could see me as a real person. He listened. He cared about my feelings.”
Nurses offer patients what they need most: support and reassurance during their treatment. Read more
“I needed to know, absolutely, that everyone and everything I needed to fight this was right there with me.”
Families have the highest expectations when it comes to the care their loved ones receive. We work hard to earn their trust. Read more
“I knew it had to pass the 'mom test.' Would I want my mom to be cared for here?”
Everything in a patient's room has to be just right. Even down to the perfect chair. Read more
“I have so much personal drive to do the right thing, because I've been through it.”