PROVIDENCE CANCER CENTER is building more than a comprehensive medical facility. We have broken ground on a new era of cancer care and scientific discovery. Our future is filled with hope and promise for cancer patients and their loved ones.

Diana Oslund and her family know first-hand about Providence’s commitment to fighting cancer. At the age of 30, Diana was looking forward to expanding her family with a second child. Instead, she received a diagnosis of breast cancer. “When I went to see Dr. (Walter) Urba, I was prepared to hear the absolute worst-case scenario. I was a wreck,” says Diana. “I will never forget how he gave me hope. He made me realize that I was going to live, and I left there thinking that I could get through this.”

In his role as Diana’s oncologist, Walter Urba, M.D., Ph.D., director of research, Robert W. Franz Research Center in the Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, counseled her on her options. Chemotherapy could cause Diana to enter menopause prematurely – which increased her sense of urgency to get pregnant. However, the estrogen surges that come with pregnancy could fuel her cancer. She and Dr. Urba decided she would take tamoxifen as long as she could before trying to conceive. After a three-year course of the chemotherapy, Diana was ready.

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