Hope and healing: Gretchen Grier's breast cancer battle at IU Health West

By Emma Avila, epackard1@iuhealth.org, writer for IU Health’s Indianapolis Suburban Region

Gretchen Grier finished chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, forming strong bonds with her IU Health West care team and inspiring others through her journey and recovery.

When Gretchen Grier felt a lump in her left breast, she didn’t think it was cancer. She had completed a routine mammogram a few months prior, and she didn’t have a family history of breast cancer.

But the lump became painful, so she decided to get it checked out. The news came on February 21, 2024: it was breast cancer.

"It was a shock to me because, in my mind, I had done all the things I could to prevent it,” she says.

Grier learned she had invasive ductal carcinoma, and the tumor in her left breast was considered large. She met with Dr. JoAnna Hunter-Squires, a breast surgeon at IU Health West, who recommended they wait on surgery until Grier spoke with an oncologist.

Dr. Hunter-Squires connected her with Dr. Mateusz Opyrchal, a physician at the hospital who specializes in hematology-oncology.

"He said this cancer was going to be aggressive and that we needed to be aggressive,” she explains. "I started treatment right away.”

Dr. Oprychal recommended six months of chemotherapy for Grier. She mentally prepared for the negative side effects typically associated with chemo: fatigue, nausea, hair loss and more. What she didn’t know was the lasting impact she would make on her care team or the impact they would leave on her.

Starting Chemotherapy

Grier walked into the IU Health West Infusion Center on March 25 ready to fight her cancer. For her first chemotherapy infusion, she dressed head to toe in pink, her favorite color and the color that represents breast cancer awareness.

"My mentality was that I was going in there in a way that conveys I’m here for business,” she says. "I care about living. This is a place of life and I’m coming in here the way I do it.”

Cheyanne Pritchard, the supervisor of the IU Health West Infusion Center, was Grier’s nurse that day.

"I would say Gretchen came and really brought herself into the space,” Pritchard shares. "Her spirit and her energy of how she was going to get through that journey really touched me.”

Over the next six months, Grier went into the infusion center every 21 days for treatment. Though she did experience side effects from the chemotherapy, she never felt anxious or panicked.

"I would think, “this isn’t going to feel good, but afterwards, it’s going to save your life,’” she says.

During her treatment, she had six nurses, including Pritchard.

"We are a special group who can adapt to what the patient needs. Some want to chat, some don’t. We can accommodate that,” Pritchard explains. "Gretchen wanted to talk to us. It was really easy to get to know her on that level.”

"We got close. We talked about family. They met all three of my sons,” Grier adds. "It became easy to be close to them. They really took care of me.”

Ringing the Bell

Grier completed her last day of chemotherapy on July 12. To celebrate this part of her cancer treatment, the infusion center team along with Grier’s loved ones held a bell ringing ceremony for her.

Ringing a bell is a tradition that has become common at cancer centers around the world to mark the end of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Grier took time to thank the entire team of nurses who cared for her over the last six months of infusions as well as give them each a gift basket. In addition, her friends and family wrote over 20 letters of gratitude to the nurses.

"I wanted them to know how appreciated they were,” Grier says. "Nurses are unsung heroes, and they don’t always get thank you’s.”

"Something we see in the infusion center, we get to see that the patients do need us and do appreciate the care we provide,” Pritchard adds. "Gretchen reminded us of the purpose we have as nurses.”

Grier also worked with her friends to create a care package full of helpful items for another breast cancer patient, who may not have the resources Grier did. She was able to hand that out to a patient the day she rang the bell.

Though she has finished chemotherapy, Grier prepares for her next stage of treatment. She is scheduled to have surgery in August.

For her, sharing her story is a way to provide hope for others who may face a similar path.

"I like hope that no matter what adversity you face in life, that you can still come out of the other side. That joy comes in the morning. After each round, I was sick, real sick. I had one side effect after another. But I knew I would come out on the other side.”

To learn more about breast cancer, diagnosis and treatment, visit iuhealth.org/breastcancer.