The right care, right here.
In October 2007, my life changed forever. Ten days after celebrating my son’s third birthday, I went into Cheyenne Regional Medical Center to have a lump removed from my breast. I had put the surgery off for seven months, and I was convinced it was just a cyst. After the procedure, I went home to relax with my husband and son. I received a phone call from my surgeon that afternoon – the lump that was removed was cancerous.
Leslie and her family.
When you hear the word cancer, your brain literally stops, and then you can’t take your mind off of it. The first thing that went through my head was, “I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with my husband, and I have a beautiful three-year-old son.” Together, we cried and we prayed. I spent three weeks with my doctors trying to figure out where the cancer came from, and we were finally able to trace it to my biological father’s genetics. I hadn’t had any contact with him since I was seven years old, but I learned a lot in a short time.
After another surgery, I found out the extent of my cancer. It was in the early stage, but I needed to undergo chemotherapy treatments.
Leslie Land & Maristela Batezini, MD
Oncology/Hematology
- Physician Specialists - working together with you to determine the best solutions for your treatments and care needs.
- Cancer Care Navigator - registered nurse who explains treatment plans and offers guidance for patients and families. Our patient care navigators have all clinic, hospital and community resources at their disposal, including counseling to address your financial, spiritual and emotional needs.
- Innovative Technology - helps our team provide timely diagnosis and comprehensive care, from Digital Mammography to TomoTherapy - the latest technology in the fight against cancer. Our electronic medical records consolidate your health information, diagnostic images, and pathology reports from our clinics and hospital into one comprehensive report.
- Integrative Medicine - nutrition, education and support that address your emotional and social needs, improve quality of life and encourage sound nutrition.
- Cancer Risk Assessments - provide options for prevention, genetic counseling and testing and early detection for people in our community who are at higher risk of developing cancer.
"I did what I had to do to survive."
- Leslie
My oncologist, Dr. Maristela Batezini, shared with me that a team of medical experts had already mapped out my treatment plan. Dr. Batezini was outstanding. We knew what the cancer was, how advanced it was, and what we were going to do to get through it – we named it “Bob.” Invasive introductal invenal carcinoma is a mouthful, and Bob is easier to say. It made my cancer easier to deal with. We were going to kill Bob – I had a life, and he would have no part of it.
The convenience of having my treatments at Cheyenne Regional kept me motivated. I had full confidence in each and every medical professional that worked with me. When I walked into the treatment center they knew me by name. When I first found out about the cancer, friends and family said, “You should consider all the different places you can go for treatment,” but that thought didn’t even cross my mind. At Cheyenne Regional, I was able to walk right in, have my chemotherapy treatment, go home and spend time with my family. I didn’t need to drive two hours to get to a treatment center and then turn around and drive back.
Pat, at the infusion center, was amazing. She has experienced breast cancer personally and was an amazing resource. I could call at any time to talk to her. My three-year-old son, Jared, plays with my oncologist’s son. That’s the kind of personal experience you can have here in Cheyenne. Being able to walk into the hospital and have people know your name is something you don’t get in a big city.
