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| Barbara Gordon and her daughter, Tracy Gordon Fox |
As she sat in her hospital bed eight days after surgery, Barbara Gordon could not believe her doctor’s words. “We think the surgery was curative. You won’t even need radiation or chemotherapy.”
Just a few weeks earlier she had been diagnosed with uterine cancer and a pancreatic tumor, either which could have taken her life. Now, amazingly, her doctors were telling her she was going to be okay.
Surrounded by flowers and balloons sent to her during her stay at the hospital, tears streamed down Barbara’s face. She thought of her sister who just one year before had not survived this dreadful disease. Why had she survived? How could she find meaning and purpose to this horrible ordeal?
The answer came to her on the day she was leaving the hospital; she decided she was going to hold a fundraiser. At first she thought about donating proceeds to a cancer organization, but then she decided she wanted to give something back to Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, where Dr. James Frank, director of surgical oncology and Dr. Allan Mayer, a gynecological oncologist, had performed the 10-hour surgery on April 30.
Barbara had come to Saint Francis because her daughter, Tracy Gordon Fox, had been operated on by Dr. Frank for a benign breast mass in December 2007. Tracy was impressed with the care she had received at Saint Francis, and when her mom was diagnosed with cancer four months later, she contacted Dr. Frank, who responded by making an immediate appointment for her with Dr. Mayer.
Dr. Mayer was thorough, but reassuring. Tests he ordered found the small pancreatic tumor, caught at an early stage, which Dr. Frank was able to successfully remove during the surgery.
Barbara, a politically active Democrat, who has held dozens of political fundraisers, decided to hold a fundraiser for the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center. She began making the list on May 9, the day she arrived home from the hospital, to find her trees and flowers had bloomed outside her West Hartford home.
On July 23, 2008, more than 100 of her closest friends and family members gathered at her home to celebrate Barbara’s success overcoming her battle with cancer just three months earlier.
Guests were treated to wonderful hors d’oeuvres, wine and music provided by Dr. Frank, and his band “Those Guys Over There.” The band is made up of mostly doctors and an operating room nurse.
Out of his usual green scrubs, Dr. Frank, exchanged his scalpel for an electric guitar, and wore a yellow Hawaiian shirt and a “Matsuzaka” headband, in honor of the Red Sox pitcher and his favorite team. Barbara’s granddaughter, Sarah Fox, a talented singer, teamed up with Dr. Frank, and his talented children - James, who plays violin, and his two daughters, Margaux and Tana, to sing “You Raise Me Up,” to Barbara, a highlight for her at the party.
In addition to Dr. Frank, his wife, Leslie, and Dr. Mayer and his wife, Ellie, other guests included Governor M. Jodi Rell, State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, Jackie Clegg Dodd, wife of Senator Christopher Dodd, Christopher Dadlez, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and his wife, Eileen, and Paul Pendergast, President and Chief Development Officer of the Saint Francis Foundation.
“I am grateful not only for the medical talent of Dr. Frank and Dr. Mayer, but for their warmth and kindness during my care,” Barbara said. “I feel very much a part of the Saint Francis/Mount Sinai family.”
Barbara’s story is a great example of the many grateful patient stories that come out of Saint Francis every day. But her response is truly gratifying because she wanted to do more than just share her experience; she also wanted to give something back. And thanks to her efforts, Barbara helped to raise over $10,000 for the Cancer Center at Saint Francis.
The Saint Francis/Mount Sinai Regional Cancer Center at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center treats over 1,500 patients each year. It provides the latest technologies and the most comprehensive treatment alternatives in the region.
The Cancer Center is staffed with distinguished cancer care specialists - physicians and technicians who have developed nationally recognized reputations and pioneered renowned clinical trials in search of new cures.
L-R: Sister Sally Hodgdon, Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Paul Pendergast, President, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center Foundation, Tracy Gordon Fox, Barbara Gordon, Christopher Dadlez President and CEO, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
L-R: Saxophonist Michelle Forcier, RN, Baystate Hospital, Guitarist, Thomas Higgins, Medical Director Baystate Intensive Care Unit, Lead Guitarist, Dr. James Frank, Surgical Oncologist, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Percussionist, Thomas Hayowyk, Advertising Executive.
Barbara Gordon and the letter she wrote to Saint Francis.
L-R: Sister Judy Carey, Vice President Mission and Integration, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Gov. Rell, Christopher Dadlez, Eileen Dadlez, wife.
Tracy Gordon Fox and Kevin Sullivan
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Saint Francis Foundation
95 Woodland Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06105-1299
860-714-4900
FAX: 860-714-8069