Eye on Health: Patient faced breast cancer with Beacon care team by her side

When Suzie Gonzalez felt something hard in her breast, she ignored it at first. When she noticed it was getting bigger, she decided to get it checked out.

The LaGrange resident was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma at 48, with no family history of breast cancer and no roadmap for what came next.

“We prayed. We were nervous. We cried. We asked why many, many times,” Suzie said in our latest WSBT Eye on Health story.

What she found at Beacon Cancer Care wasn’t just a treatment plan. It was a team. And, in her words, a family.

Breast cancer patient navigator Dawn McCandless was by her side every step of the way. Her medical oncologist and hematologist, Dr. Omer Toor, and other doctors meet in-person together weekly to discuss a patient’s treatment plan, providing comprehensive cancer care, close to home.

“At Beacon, our team strives every day, not only to treat the cancer, but take care of the patient as a whole,” he said.

Because Suzie’s cancer was caught early, she didn’t need chemotherapy. She credits her faith in Jesus Christ, her husband Frank and the Beacon team for getting her through. At the same time, she acknowledges the importance of not just screening, but also of taking care of yourself, exercising and eating right.

Watch the full Eye on Health interview with Suzie, Dawn, and Dr. Toor on WSBT below.