Fighting cancer starts with the diagnosis

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is a very special time for many South Region team members at IU Health – Radiology. Learn about the work they do and how it impacts them below.

Sean Flynn, MD | Mammographer

Flynn enjoys the diverse responsibilities radiology has to offer, from interpreting a variety of scans, performing procedures, to simply talking with patients.

“Following the patient through the complete arc of a cancer diagnosis is very rewarding,” says Flynn. “We aim to make it as painless as possible, and most patients come out saying it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be.”

Jennifer VanDeventer | Team lead

VanDeventer knows how life-altering a cancer diagnosis can be for patients, and how important compassionate and steadfast care can be during their treatment.

“One day I was at a store, and this lady came running up to me. She gave me this huge hug and thanked me for finding her cancer,” VanDeventer recalls. "She said she was going through treatment and everything was going great. This made me feel incredible.”

April Grubb | Team lead

The importance of positioning and compression is paramount in finding cancer, and Grubb loves hearing from patients that their surgeon or oncologist was amazed her team caught a cancer due to its location.

“Get your exams,” says Grubb, “Early detection is the key. If we can detect a cancer when it’s low-grade, the survival rate is much greater. What we are screening for is so important, so please take the time to take care of yourself.”

Rachel Hyde | Team lead

Hyde says she finds purpose in her job by, “helping women get through a very difficult time in their life.”

Helping make patients as comfortable as possible during their exams is a priority for Hyde, and she finds connecting with patients a great way to do that.

“We try to talk to our patients and find things in common to make the exam more pleasant,” she shares.

Teresa Carson | Mammography technologist

Carson encourages individuals to get their mammograms for themselves and their family, describing it as a relatively quick and painless exam that could save their life and usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete.

She also says that her interactions with patients are something that really validate the work she does.

“It isn’t the one hug, the one thank you, or one kind word that stands out to me,” she shares. “It is a culmination of all my interactions that stand out and make it worth the hard work we do every day.”

The South Region team members at IU Health – Radiology are deeply connected to their work and find purpose in the impact they have on patients every single day. Please take the time to visit WAMBI and send them some kudos.