Local Provider Becomes a Patient

As a provider, Ladonna Phillips, FNP, has served as a caretaker, comforter and diagnostician; but the role of patient was mostly foreign to her until she received a breast cancer diagnosis in the spring of 2022.

It all began when Ladonna started attending physical therapy for a shoulder injury. During her prescribed at-home therapy, Ladonna discovered an area of her chest that in her words “just didn’t feel right.” At this point, Ladonna knew she needed further testing and scheduled a mammogram at South Central Regional Medical Center.

In retelling her story, Ladonna shared that she remembers calling her provider and saying, “I need a mammogram!” Ladonna did not, however, tell her physician why she had made the appointment in hopes that her medical intuition was wrong.

After a whirlwind of tests, Ladonna finally received the diagnosis she quietly suspected all along. She had stage two H2ER-positive breast cancer. Although Ladonna knew the protocol and had discussed complex diagnoses with many of her own patients, she could not have anticipated how this type of life-changing discussion would feel when she was the patient.

“As a provider, sometimes we can make the worst patients. We know what’s going on, but we are still in shock because providers have never been on this side, in this role,” said Ladonna.

After the initial shock had faded, Ladonna continued her cancer care journey with Lisa K. Bond, MD, as her oncologist. Dr. Bond, a beloved SCRMC oncologist, had made a positive impression on Ladonna many years before when she treated her grandmother for breast cancer. Ladonna was confident that Dr. Bond would be the best physician possible to manage her treatment.

Ladonna had plenty of second–hand experience from watching her grandmother receive treatment and from working as a palliative care nurse earlier in her career. She thought she knew what treatment would look like, but a lumpectomy, radiation and chemotherapy took a greater-than-expected toll on Ladonna’s body, mind and soul.

Ladonna, however, was determined to face the unknown with faith, optimism and all the strength she could muster. She quickly realized that she did not have to walk this journey alone. Ladonna received a substantial amount of support from friends and family, who cared for her at every step.

“I just thank God that he put a lot of people around me, who really rallied around me,” said Ladonna, with emotion in her eyes. “You never know how good it feels when somebody recognizes that you are not going to ask for help, but they give it to you anyway.”

Ladonna, who is now under post-treatment evaluation, feels as though God has given her a second chance at life, and she believes that her first-hand experience with cancer has made her a more empathetic provider and person.

Ladonna ended her interview by saying, “You know that old saying ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,’ well now I can say I have.”