How one Wilmington woman found the best cancer care close to home

Colleen Haller finds joy volunteering inside the Zimmer Cancer Center at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. A simple gesture, like bringing a chemotherapy recipient a blanket, can make a big difference. She knows firsthand because the roles were once reversed. Four years ago, she found herself in the fight of her life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But today, cancer-free and grateful, her cup is full enough that she can give to others.

Haller, now 71, always assumed she’d get cancer. “My whole immediate family is gone,” she said. “Most died of cancer. And in the back of my mind, I always thought I was going to get cancer. I thought it, but I wasn’t prepared for it.”

When a 2021 mammogram and sonogram did, in fact, lead to a breast cancer diagnosis, she assumed she’d have to leave her home in Wilmington to get top-tier care. “My head was spinning,” she said. “I was like, ‘Well, wait a minute, maybe I need to go to Duke.’”

The distance from Wilmington to Durham, a two-and-a-half-hour drive, would have been daunting. And, Haller points out, she now knows it’s critical to conserve your energy for healing when faced with a cancer diagnosis. “Just hearing the word ‘cancer’ is exhausting,” she said. “Whatever treatments you’re doing, whether it be chemo or radiation, that’s exhausting.”

But her primary care physician, Dr. Andres Afanador, assured her that everything she needed to treat her cancer was at home in Wilmington. Haller recalls Afanador telling her, “We have the finest doctors right here in Wilmington, many of whom trained in North Carolina’s triangle region.”

“I had so much trust and faith in Dr. Afanador,” Haller said. So she made the choice to receive breast cancer treatments at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, close to home.

‘I felt like I was the only person who had cancer’

True to her doctor’s word, everything happened quickly in Wilmington. Haller received her mammogram at Novant Health New Hanover Primary Care - Scotts Hill, quickly followed by the diagnostic sonogram. In the five minutes it took her to drive home, Afanador called and said they needed to set Haller up to see a surgeon the very next day. That next day, a biopsy revealed malignant cancer.

“Things just rolled from there,” Haller said. She had surgery, and all traces of cancer were removed, then she started the radiation process to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Haller’s radiation treatments were a five-day-a-week commitment. This is a common dosage schedule, spread over several weeks, because it allows for many small, daily amounts of radiation, rather than a few large doses, which helps to protect healthy cells in the treatment area. To receive radiation in Durham, Haller would have had to stay all week in a hotel room, maybe finding the energy to come home to her husband on weekends. “That’s mind-boggling to me,” she said.

Without the stress of traveling, Haller could focus on healing. And she quickly learned that her team was devoted to providing world-class care. “I felt like I was the only person that had cancer,” she said. “That’s how much attention I received. I felt like all eyes were on me.”

Paying it forward

After completing her radiation treatments, Haller felt compelled to help others like her. Novant Health Foundation connected her with Robin Anderson, coordinator of volunteer services at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and Haller began volunteering inside the Zimmer Cancer Center’s infusion center to contribute to the love, care and support she received.

“I’ve found my passion, because I get so much joy being in the infusion center,” Haller said. “And something as simple as getting warm blankets and a cup of tea and rubbing someone’s leg or helping them get their shoes off – it sounds so simple, but it means so much to them. I’m grateful that that’s not me sitting in that chair again. But I know what it means to have that extra person there.”

Anderson said Haller instantly connected with the cancer center’s team and patients, and she continues to build this bond each time she comes for her weekly volunteer shift on Wednesday mornings.

“We are so glad that she wanted to give back to our community, after experiencing firsthand what our patients go through,” Anderson said.

Haller’s advice for Wilmington neighbors who are faced with a cancer diagnosis? “If you feel like you need a second opinion, get your second opinion,” Haller said. “But don’t count out right here in Wilmington – don’t count out the services. Everything is so close, and everything is so efficient, and everything is so fast. I think this is a total game changer for our community.”