Giving a Baer hug to MD Anderson

When Elaine Baer of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was told a routine mammogram showed stage I breast cancer, her doctor suggested a biopsy, which revealed cancer in her lymph nodes. Now facing stage III breast cancer, Elaine and her husband Bobby, asked the doctor where they should turn for the best care possible. He suggested they go to MD Anderson. 

"The treatment process was unbelievable," says Bobby. "Everyone was so compassionate. From the technicians to the nurses and doctors to everyone in the operating room, it was a total team package."

Their grandson's wedding was the month after they arrived in Houston, so Kelly Hunt, M.D., chair of Breast Surgical Oncology, offered to come in on her day off to do the surgery.

"Dr. Hunt understood our situation, and we can't tell you how much that meant to us," says Bobby. "There's no place better than MD Anderson to be treated, cared for and taken care of."

Hunt removed 22 malignant lymph nodes, then scheduled chemotherapy and radiation. Wendy Woodward, M.D., associate professor, Radiation Oncology, oversaw her radiation treatment. 

"I felt like I was at the best place in the world for my treatment and was 100% confident that I'd get better," says Elaine, who made it to her grandson's wedding.

Forever grateful to Hunt, Woodward and the entire team of doctors, nurses, technicians and staff, the Baers made a $50,000 donation to MD Anderson to support inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) research. 

"IBC is a rare disease that accounts for almost 10% of breast cancer mortality, and gifts like the Baers' are incredibly impactful to a rare disease program like IBC," says Woodward. "It can be hard to get support for rare diseases even when the impact is so dramatic. Gifts like this are really making a difference."