2 Friends Concert Tour on October 5, 2011 - Bismarck Cancer Center

6
Walking the Talk: Melissa Klein
Brandon, Colin and Melissa
Melissa Klein looks forward to ringing
the bell with her radiation patients; albeit
bittersweet. As a radiation therapist at
Bismarck Cancer Center, she works directly
with each of her patients on a day-to-day
basis for the duration of their prescribed
treatment. Each patient different, she grows
a relationship with them, celebrating
victories as well as empathizing with
disappointments.
After greeting and positioning her
patients, she leaves the room briefly to
deliver their treatment – returning to visit
a bit more.“While walking to and from
their daily treatments, we touch base; we
talk about what’s going on in their life,”
Melissa says.“Often the emotions are
obvious. These people show openness as
well as apprehension.Nothing is better
than watching a patient develop and bloom
as they progress through treatment.”
Life stories are shared back and forth. As
patients talk and ask questions of Melissa,
they develop a bond that lasts far longer
than treatment in many cases.“On the last
day of treatment, each patient rings the bell
to celebrate their journey, and it can be
emotional,” Melissa says. Melissa sees
patients outside of the clinic and enjoys
broad smiles, waves or hearty conversation
while catching up.
Outside of her regular work routine,
Melissa often participates in Bismarck
Cancer Center
Foundation
fundraising
events.
Recognizing the
direct impact on
her patients, she
steps up to the
plate whenever
possible to
organize, chair or
participate in
community events
from children’s activities at Applefest, to
Lillians Survivor Diva night, to
participating in Relay for Life.“Fundraising
events are a lot of work, from set up,
participation and tear down; a lot of
manpower is needed. But knowing our
patients are recipients of the monies by
way of having a place to stay or our offering
them transportation and meals is priceless.
So worth our efforts,” says Melissa.
Recently recognized for her commitment,
attitude and integrity, Melissa received the
‘Walk the Talk’ Excellence Award for the
first quarter at Bismarck Cancer Center.
Nominated for her strong character, selfless
actions and positive attitude, she displayed
outstanding service to others. Each quarter,
an independent committee reviews
nominations, then selects one employee
who demonstrates one of the Five
Principles, including:Words to live by are
just words… unless you actually live by
them; You are what you do; Everything you
do counts; The ‘Golden Rule’ is still pure
gold; and Character is key. In his
nomination for Melissa, co-worker Chris
Patrick said,“Melissa has truly gone above
and beyond her responsibilities as a
therapist at BCC and has shown deep
commitment and personal accountability
for the smooth running of the center.”
Melissa says it’s not difficult to maintain a
compassionate, positive attitude at BCC,
“On the last day of treatment, each patient
rings the bell to celebrate their journey,
and it can be emotional,” Melissa says.
since her co-workers are like a family. She
sees a high level of dedication among staff
members to one another – encouraging
one another, helping one another through
difficult times and celebrating milestones
or holidays together.
Melissa’s own family is growing. She and
husband Brandon have two children
(Colin) and new baby Evan, born in June.
Amidst a busy household (they also have
two dogs), Melissa enjoys photography and
has dabbled in taking senior portraits,
wedding photos and birthday photos, but
her favorite subjects are her sons Colin and
Evan. As a family, they enjoy the outdoors
including walks, hiking and riding bike –
all great photo opportunities!
Dr. Tarek Dufan
BCC Radiation
Oncologist
What cancers are
diagnosed most frequently
in North Dakota?
A: Each year, approximately 3,400
North Dakotans are diagnosed with a
new cancer. Four cancer sites – lung,
colorectal,breast,and prostate
account for 56% of cancer cases in
North Dakota.
The good news is that survivorship
is growing. Nearly 70% of people are
surviving more than five years. In
fact, nationally the number of
post-treatment survivors has grown
to nearly 12 million, with almost
24,000 cancer survivors living in
North Dakota.