Kim's Cancer Story
Sidetracked by Cancer, Kim was Glad her Care was Close to Home
By receiving care for her cancer at Baptist Health, Kim Pinnick remained close to her husband and family, wasn’t burdened financially, and didn’t have to take sick leave.
“We had big plans to start our empty nest,” she said. “My daughter, Kelsey, was headed to college, and we had a cruise planned.”
Those plans for sun and sea were sidetracked when Kim’s doctor found a lump in her breast. She was immediately referred to Allison Hatmaker, MD, a breast surgeon at Baptist Health Louisville and learned it was stage 2 ductal carcinoma. “It’s one of the worse things you can hear,” Kim said.
For the next 12 months, Kim’s life revolved around surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. “I had a great medical team that set forth a great plan,” she said.
“I got my chemo and surgery at the CBC [Consultants in Blood Disorders and Cancer] at Baptist Health Louisville and my radiation at Baptist Health Floyd,” she said. “I was able to stay close to home, so I still got that hometown feel from everybody I encountered.”
Kim described the environment as very welcoming, with nurses who are very concerned and caring.
“Everybody I met had caring personalities, and I felt like truly cared about my outcome,” she said.
Besides world-class treatment, Kim also had the comforts of home every day.
“We had family and friends around us during all the treatment,” she said. “Radiation is an all-day thing. People would come in and out … my husband, Keith, [who] was my rock, my mother and stepfather, my husband’s parents, my son a couple times, my daughter when she was home from break … it made the days go faster.”
Kim continued to work through all her treatments and only took off a couple weeks after surgery and a few days when she was scheduled to receive high doses of chemotherapy.
“Staying close to home made my life easier,” Kim said. “The 12-month experience would have financially put a burden on us if I would have had to travel.”
When it comes to living through cancer, Kim said she counts her bright spots, and those are the support she received from friends, family, and her medical team.
“I love feeling good and having the energy to do what I want to do when I want to do it,” she said. “Baptist Health and the great care I got from my medical team helped me get where I am today — cancer free and feeling good.”