A Quality Life: Marion B's Breast Cancer Story

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Marion Blankenship of Charlotte, North Carolina lights up when she talks about her family, especially her eight grandchildren. She beams with pride when you ask her about her job working with kids at a childcare development center. And, she smiles ear to ear when she talks about her hobbies, like singing in church, cooking, or exercising at her local YMCA. “I love staying busy,” says Marion. “I get a kick out of trying something new and having fun.” In 2014, Marion’s diagnosis of stage IV breast cancer and the pain and depression that followed were keeping her from the things she loved doing. It was taking Marion away from who she was. “By the time they discovered my cancer, it had spread to my spine. The pain was terrible. Emotionally, I was in a state of shock and also felt remorse because I hadn’t been very proactive with my health by going for my routine mammograms like they say to do,” says Marion. Marion worked with her oncologist to treat her cancer through radiation and targeted drug therapy. Although the treatment was helping, she felt that she needed more help to deal with the difficult pain she felt in her lower back. This caused fatigue and kept her from doing normal tasks. She also couldn’t shake the feelings of depression. Eventually, Marion’s oncologist referred her to palliative care. In this episode, Marion and her palliative care doctor, Boris Krivitsky, MD, discuss how palliative care got her back to living a full life. Hosted by Dan Altano