Sally Weaver’s connection to Silver Cross Hospital goes decades deep. Not only did her father serve on the board of trustees for 40 years, but she’s volunteered with the Childerguild Gift Shop for the last 54 years.
So when she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer last year, Silver Cross was her first and only choice for treatment.
Fast forward to July of this year, when Weaver proudly rang the bell at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital, officially marking the end of her treatment, and the beginning of her life as a cancer survivor.
Weaver’s story started in April 2017 when she was at Silver Cross for another health issue, which led to her having an ultrasound.
Longtime Silver Cross volunteer Sally Weaver (seated) rings the bell to celebrate successful cancer treatment at Silver Cross Hospital. She is pictured with her son Leroy and granddaughter Victoria.
During the ultrasound, Weaver said she knew there was a problem.
“When they were doing the ultrasound, I knew he saw something that wasn’t good,” Weaver said.
The results proved her suspicions right. Dr. Nita Lee, gynecologic oncologist for the cancer center, diagnosed her with endometrial cancer.
Immediately, the cancer center team set up a schedule to start external radiation treatments beginning last June. Dr. Daniel Golden, radiation oncologist at the cancer center, completed her radiation treatments.
External beam radiation targets cancer cells using a focused beam of X-rays. Weaver received 25 external beam radiation treatments over the course of five weeks; the treatments were done every day, Monday through Friday.
“Modern radiation techniques allow us to focus the radiation on a specific area of the body and decrease radiation exposure to other areas of the body,” Dr. Golden said. “It appears that Ms. Weaver’s treatment was effective in treating the cancer, and she recovered well.”
About a month after receiving the external beam radiation at Silver Cross, she received five more internal radiation treatments at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. She took about a month to recover fully, but July 10, she celebrated her “passage of cancer.”
“After I came home from rehab, everything has been perfect,” Weaver said. “They said they don’t expect anything right now. So I’ve already declared 2018 a much better year than 2017.”
Weaver and a contingent of family and friends gathered at the cancer center this week as she proudly rang the bell to signal the end of her cancer treatment.
“I won’t go anywhere else except Silver Cross,” she said. “They can make things that seem so terrible much easier to handle. Silver Cross is a place of comfort for me because I’ve been involved for so very long and know so many people. The people are friendly, very competent, and the treatment I’ve received has always been good.”
For more information about cancer care at Silver Cross, visit www.silvercross.org