Kelly Crawford

Kelly_Crawford"I can’t say enough good things about oncology nurses, mine in particular at the Aultman Cancer Center. Throughout the last 9 years of my stage IV breast cancer journey, these wonderful people have been by my side. They have become friends and family to me. Hearing that you have cancer is terrifying. Hearing it is stage IV is devastating. People have often told me how brave I am. I don’t feel particularly brave. I do whatever my doctor tells me to do and the oncology nurses help me do it with humor and compassion. They are the ones who make me feel like I can do this!

I’ve worked in the medical field my whole life and I always thought the hardest specialty to work in would be oncology. It takes a special kind of person …and Aultman has cornered the market on those special people. They have been my friends, my cheerleaders, wiped a few tears, and always made me feel better about myself when I needed it the most. They care about me as a person, not just a disease, and I’ve needed a lot of care over the past years!

I am honored to be a part of the patient advisory board for the new Timken Family Cancer Center and can’t wait to see how it turns out. I will no doubt spend many hours in those new chairs. One thing that will not change is the compassionate, warm, friendly care I will continue to receive every three weeks. I may have stage IV cancer, but I count myself one of the lucky ones. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of the oncology nurses ... you deserve all the praise you get. You are the brave ones!"

To learn more about how you can get involved and make a difference for cancer survivors in our community, please visit the Timken Family Cancer Center's page.