When you’re suddenly a single mom living in a rural county without health insurance, it’s not just worrisome, it can be hazardous to your health. That’s what Anne Frisbie of Ludowici discovered when she found herself divorced and without medical benefits.
Frisbie was at risk for breast cancer, but mammograms were out of reach on her special education para pro salary. “Before the divorce, I’d scheduled annual mammograms because my mother is a breast cancer survivor. Also, a doctor once found knots under my arm and advised me to get regular mammograms,” says Frisbie.
Unfortunately, with her limited income, Frisbie delayed her annual screening. Then one day, she remembered the Wellness on Wheels mobile health vehicle she’d seen at a local shopping center. When she contacted the Long County Health Department, nurse Kathy Rowell told her about the Southeast Georgia Health System Mammograms in Motion program, a collaboration with local physicians, community health centers and county health departments. Funded primarily by a generous grant from the Coastal Georgia Affiliate of Susan G. Komen®, with additional funding provided by the Southeast Georgia Health System Foundation, Mammograms In Motion offers breast health care and education for uninsured and low income individuals living in Brantley, Camden, Glynn, Long and McIntosh counties.
Mammograms in Motion vehicle
“After learning about Mammograms in Motion, I decided that my Christmas present to myself would be a mammogram every December,” Frisbie said. However, as often happens, life got in the way and by July 2016, Frisbie was seven months late for her screening. While visiting family, her brother-in-law, a massage therapist, gave Frisbie a massage to alleviate pain from her scoliosis. The next morning, a large lump appeared on her breast. “I thought it couldn’t be serious because it came up overnight. I thought breast cancer lumps were small. This looked like a cyst,” Frisbie said.
Upon returning home, Frisbie contacted Rowell at the health department only to learn that the WOW mobile had been in Long County the day before. Rowell referred her to Southeast Georgia Health System for a mammogram and ultrasound, which found not one, but three lumps. A biopsy revealed two were benign, but the third lump was stage 2 cancer.
Frisbie was referred to T. Wayne Rentz Jr., M.D., a board-certified surgeon with Southeast Georgia Physician Associates-Brunswick General Surgery, a strategic affiliate of the Health System, and he recommended a partial mastectomy, removal of some lymph nodes and radiation. Though stunned, Frisbie didn’t miss a beat. “I told him, ‘You’ve got to fix me. I don’t have time to die; I’m a single mother with three children.’”
By late September, the clock was ticking on Frisbie’s life. Rentz quickly mobilized a cancer care team: board-certified medical oncologist Duane P. Moores, M.D., Ph.D., Southeast Georgia Physician Associates-Hematology & Oncology, a strategic affiliate of the Health System, board-certified radiation oncologist Bruce G. Tripp, M.D., Karen Crosby, R.N., BSN, breast care navigator and Paige Miller, patient care assistant, Southeast Georgia Physician Associates-Brunswick General Surgery, also an affiliate of the Health System. “From the moment I met them, I felt safe. They are one of the best teams I’ve ever seen in action,” Frisbie says. She considers her cancer care team and nurse Kathy Rowell her “guardian angels.” Rawls also connected Frisbie to resources to help cover her medical expenses.
Karen Crosby, RN, BSN, breast care navigator, Brest Care Center, Anne Frisbie, and Bruce G. Tripp, MD, board-certified radiation oncologish, Cancer Care Center
With a treatment plan in place, Rentz scheduled surgery for October 6. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. “I was on the gurney, being taken in for surgery when the charge nurse said Glynn County was evacuating for Hurricane Matthew,” Frisbie explains. In the storm’s aftermath, Rentz offered reassurance. “He knew my family had flown in from out of town to help me. He said that even if I was the only patient scheduled for surgery after the hospital reopened, he would be there. And he kept his promise.”
After the surgery, Frisbie finally received some good news. Rentz had removed all the cancer, and her lymph node results came back negative. “When I heard that, I cried for the first time,” Frisbie says. However, she faced a new challenge. After examining Frisbie’s tumor, Moores recommended three months of chemotherapy. “He wanted to take every precaution to prevent the cancer from returning. Ultimately, though, he said it was my decision,” Frisbie explains. She reluctantly agreed, but chemotherapy and radiation were daunting.
Anne Frisbie
“My last treatment was on St. Patrick’s Day. My nurses joked that it was my lucky day, since I’m from Ireland,” Frisbie says. One thing she considers truly lucky is the care she received. “I’ve never been in a better hospital in my life. I never left there feeling scared,” she says. With one of the most challenging times of her life behind her, Frisbie has moved on with her life. Last summer, she visited her mother in Ireland to show her, “I’m alive, happy and well!”
Southeast Georgia Health System is a not-for-profit health system comprised of two acute care hospitals, two long term care facilities, three immediate care centers, five family medicine centers and numerous employed physician practices. The Health System is part of Coastal Community Health, a regional affiliation between Baptist Health, Flagler Hospital and Southeast Georgia Health System. In 2017, the Health System’s Brunswick and Camden Campus hospitals were recognized in Georgia Trend magazine as “Top Georgia Hospital” in the medium-sized and small-sized categories, respectively. For more information, call 855.ASK.SGHS (855.275.7447) or visit sghs.org.
