Speed and team were key to this cancer fight

Marcia Harper, knowing she was at high risk for breast cancer, routinely went in for mammograms until the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she found herself unable to be seen.

So, she performed her own self-examinations and one day noticed an abnormal lump.

Due to her high risk, Harper was able to have a fast breast MRI, an ultrasound and a biopsy, all on the same day as her first appointment. She was then referred to Danielle Doyle, MD, at IU Health Morgan.

“My husband worked for IU Health at the time,” says Harper. “The people he worked with all just had glowing things to say about Dr. Doyle and the whole oncology office.”

Harper remembers everything moving quickly after that first appointment. And once she settled some from the initial head spinning of being diagnosed with stage 3B breast cancer, she was grateful for the speed at which her care team moved.

“Dr. Doyle worked hand-in-hand with the surgery and radiology teams at Morgan as well as with the surgeon at Simon Cancer Center and the office at Methodist,” says Harper. “It gave me a real peace to know they were all linked together.”

After several complications and an infection that landed her in the Emergency department, Harper found herself having to delay radiation appointments. By the time she made it back to treatment, she was amazed by the level of care and attention she hadn’t even been aware she was receiving.

“They were watching everything, and I didn’t know it at the time, but when I first went in, they had it all in their notes and said they had been waiting for me,” says Harper. “The girls in the office, the nurses and the ones administering chemo, they’re all so genuine and very caring. I never felt like a number. I felt like part of the family.”

Due to three family members’ cancer journeys, Harper knew that communication with physicians and amongst teams could be a challenge. However, she found herself surprised and impressed by the continuity between the Bloomington and Morgan hospital teams.

“They didn’t miss a beat,” says Harper. “I remember there was a team of radiologists that looked at all the data and came up with a plan they had to unanimously agree upon. And that was so assuring as a patient.”

“Marcia would need something, we would communicate it and the staff or facility would take care of it, which was all we needed,” says Harper’s husband, Greg. “We just needed somebody to help us out, and IU Health did that.”

It has been a couple of years since Harper was under full treatment, and she is now on oral chemo until the spring of 2026.

“Dr. Doyle was on top of a new protocol for this drug and for the type of breast cancer that I have,” says Harper. “Even when I didn’t know it, they were always looking for the next step.”