Robin Pearson-Boothe, RN
Patient Care Coordinator, Colorectal Program

When you approach pain, you cannot just use pills. It has to be a many-pronged approach to address spirit, mind and all the emotional upheaval that goes into finding out that you are terminal.

Pastoral care is a very big part of what we do at Maryview. Sometimes you can give all the medicine in the world, but it may not reduce the pain from a 10 to a zero. Chaplains and social workers can help dramatically.

The spiritual mission of Bon Secours is why I am here. I was drawn to Bon Secours because of the way they care about people, not just patients, but the employees and the community. The doctors here get it. They embrace what we are doing, using complementary medicine. They feel it is important to take care of the whole person: mind, body and spirit.

In 1987, my husband was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was treated here. He was in a clinical trial for Procrit and while he was not cured, he helped to introduce this drug into the market. Fifteen years later that drug helped Lance Armstrong beat cancer.