Pastor finds comfort, care and healing at Lompoc Health Hematology-Oncology

Rev. Mary Jo Bradshaw was, as she says, “well into menopause” when she realized she might have a health concern related to her reproductive organs.

The now 68-year-old noticed she was experiencing some unusual bleeding and wondered whether she might have cancer, as she was beyond having a menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, her hunch proved true.

In seeking treatment, Rev. Bradshaw was referred to Dr. Donna Walker at Lompoc Health – Hematology/Oncology.

Four years ago, Rev. Bradshaw – Senior Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Lompoc – was diagnosed with stage 4 endometrial cancer, which had metastasized to her neck and chest. Endometrial cancer starts in the lining of the uterus, or endometrium, and is most common in women after menopause. One of the most common signs of this type of cancer diagnosis is postmenopausal bleeding. It later metastasized first to two of her lumbar vertebrae and then to her brain.

She has nothing but praise for Dr. Walker and the Hematology/Oncology team.

“I will tell you, that woman amazes me,” said Pastor Bradshaw. “She genuinely cares about patients. It’s not just a job to her. She always answers my questions. She’s a total sweetheart.”

A graduate of the Claremont School of Theology, Rev. Bradshaw jokes that God sent her to Lompoc because she “couldn’t get better care anywhere else.”

She’s undergone some surgeries for tumor removal and a partial hysterectomy and was first treated with chemotherapy by Dr. Walker. She’s also had three rounds of radiation treatment for the tumors in her brain.

For her first chemo treatment, Rev. Bradshaw said she experienced “horrible side effects,” including a reaction that made her believe she was having an asthma attack but then realized was actually anaphylaxis. She is thrilled at the care she received at the Hematology-Oncology practice.

“Your head would spin if I told you how fast they got to me,” she said of the staff responding to her reaction.

She received medication to alleviate the reaction she had.

“I have never had a single, tiny thing to complain about there,” Rev. Bradshaw notes. “Everyone, the front desk, the nurses, Dr. Walker, Dr. Shaum, they’re all wonderful.”

For her current diagnosis she will not have further surgery, she said. She will receive several new types of infusions at Hematology-Oncology.

“I go every two weeks,” she explains. “I have ‘my’ chair. I sit in the same place. They make coffee for me – I’m a coffee addict. It’s nice. Sometimes I see somebody I know, whether they’re there for cancer or something else.”

Rev. Bradshaw says she has nothing but praise for the treatment she’s received.

“I can’t imagine getting better treatment and care and compassion for someone with cancer than I have with Dr. Walker,” she says. “I’ve had very good doctors in my life. If she’s not the best, she’s up there … I’m in very good hands.”