Caring Relationships - Gundersen Health System

“When you’ve been given a cancer
diagnosis, you need to be with people.”
Sue Eber
Sue and Dave Eber, with daughter Sandy Brekke and granddaughter Hannah Brekke
Relationships
Provide the
Human Touch in
Cancer Care
A diagnosis of cancer brings many
types of challenges to a patient. At
the outset, the physical effects of the
disease and treatment receive the
most immediate focus in the effort to
cure the cancer. However, treating the
whole person means recognizing and
addressing the emotional and social
issues cancer patients frequently
encounter and which significantly
affect their well-being.
In late 2007, Gundersen Lutheran’s
Center for Cancer and Blood
Disorders, in collaboration with
Gundersen Lutheran Medical
Foundation, formed a Patient and
Family Advisory Council (PFAC)
to act as a liaison in communicating
the concerns, issues, and needs
of cancer patients and their caregivers
to the organization. In this
issue of Pathfinders, we asked two
PFAC members, Sue Eber and Bill
Medland, to share their perspective
on the importance of relationships in
their journey with cancer.
Sue
Sue Eber’s
relationship with
Gundersen Lutheran goes back
many years. She worked here as an
emergency room nurse for 22 years.
She and her husband, Dave, are
strong and active supporters of the
Foundation. “Gundersen Lutheran
has been like home for me,” says
Sue. When she was diagnosed with
lung cancer in December of 2005,
she knew the quality of care she
would receive, and also the care she
would need to help her cope. “This
isn’t just my disease. It belongs to
everybody—my friends, family,
everybody,” says Sue.
She was eager to reach out to other
cancer patients, and learned that no
general cancer support group existed
at that time. It became her mission to
change that. When Sue brought her
idea to Kelly Barton, MPH, CASHA,
administrative director for Gundersen
Lutheran’s Center for Cancer &
Blood Disorders, it was received
with enthusiasm. “I can’t even
begin to tell people how responsive
Gundersen Lutheran is to the needs
of the patients, how thoughtfully
they listen and are willing to try
new things.” After careful planning,
the General Cancer Support Group
had its first meeting in April 2007,
and now numbers approximately
28 participants, both patients and
caregivers, at their monthly meetings.
“Most of us have faced the same
thing, no matter what kind of cancer
you have,” says Sue. “The closeness
that has developed is just amazing.”
Sue’s activism extends to her
8 www.gundluth.org/foundation