In 2017, Mary Ellen Gillard was devastated when a routine mammogram revealed lumps in both of her breasts. After an ultrasound and a biopsy, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. “I have always been a fit and active person, and breast cancer does not run in my family. I was shocked,” she says.
After meeting with her cancer team at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, Mary Ellen opted to have a bilateral mastectomy. That was followed by radiation and chemotherapy consisting of about 60 appointments over nine months. “It was a tough year,” she says. “But my family and friends supported me throughout the experience. And my caring medical team helped immensely,” she says.
“Everyone made me feel so comfortable…the receptionists, nurses, doctors, technicians…I had a great team,” Mary Ellen says. “The fact that this small community hospital is providing state-of-the-art care in such a compassionate environment truly improves the patient experience. I recommend MedStar Montgomery to anybody who asks.”
Today, Mary Ellen, now 67, is cancer-free and enjoying life, especially playing in an occasional softball game. To express gratitude for her care experience at MedStar Montgomery, Mary Ellen has made a philanthropic gift to support the renovation and expansion of the hospital’s oncology pavilion. In addition to making a philanthropic investment, she has joined the hospital’s Philanthropy Committee as a patient advocate—providing a patient perspective regarding philanthropy initiatives, both proposed and underway, to support the hospital’s programs and services.
“I am very blessed,” she says. “I am grateful to my team and thankful that I am able to play a role in helping the hospital continue to provide the kind of care that it does to our community.”