Carla's Story

There are different ways to define family. There’s the family we’re born into, with bonds of biology and blood. But the people who walk through the hard times with us, who offer their strength when ours is gone, who celebrate with us when the hard times have passed, they’re family too. Just ask Carla Hayden.

Raising her four children, working a full-time job, and fighting for custody of her 15-month-old twin cousins who needed a better home life left Carla with little time for herself. But she did manage to squeeze in a walk outside every once in a while. It was after one of those walks that she felt a sharp pain in her right breast. A self-exam revealed a lump that Carla could actually see. She went to one doctor only to be told she was fine. And for a while, she tried to believe that. After all, she was only 42. But a co-worker who was also a retired nurse kept after her to get a second opinion at Mount Carmel, telling her, “Don’t play with your life.”

Divine Intervention

So she made an appointment at Mount Carmel East. And that’s when she met the women who she would come to consider family, Dr. Shilpa Padia and nurse Paula Peters. Dr. Padia had only recently started at Mount Carmel, so Carla was one of her first patients there. “There was some divine intervention that we found each other,” Dr. Padia says. “Our paths were supposed to cross.” And thank goodness they did. Testing revealed Stage 3 breast cancer that had spread to Carla’s lymph nodes. When she and Dr. Padia discussed her diagnosis, Carla had only one question: Can you save my life? Dr. Padia’s answer? Yes, we can.

Dr. Padia’s treatment plan for Carla called first for a regimen of chemotherapy to eliminate as many cancer cells as possible, then surgery to remove the rest. Surgery revealed that chemotherapy had killed all the cancer. “That the chemo worked so quickly and so thoroughly is a testament to how far we’ve come in the treatment of breast cancer,” says Dr. Padia. When Dr. Padia gave Carla the good news that she was cancer free, they wept tears of joy together.

Caring For The Whole Person

Five years later, Carla is still cancer-free. She and Paula keep in touch, talking on the phone a couple of times a month. “She’s the most positive person I know,” says Paula. “We’re lifetime family now. I’ll always be here for her.” Dr. Padia echoes that sentiment. “Cancer is scary, but you are not alone. At Mount Carmel, we’re family and I mean that. We don’t just treat the cancer, we care for the whole person.” As for Carla, she now encourages both women and men to know their bodies and to get the care they need so they can live their best lives. “I’ve had a lot of health issues but I’m still here,” Carla says. “And I’ll fight another day to tell my story. Before cancer, I was just existing. Now, I’m living.”