‘Exceptional care’: Breast cancer survivor tells her story

It was the Wednesday before Memorial Day that Cheryl Luger went in for her second mammogram of 
the year.

The first one, before Mother’s Day, led staff at Meritus Center for Breast Health to ask Cheryl to come 
back for another scan.

The results were conclusive: They found two masses. A biopsy the day after Memorial Day confirmed it 
was breast cancer.

“I was pretty shocked because nobody in my family had had breast cancer,” said Cheryl, who is on leave 
from Meritus Surgical Specialists where she is a scheduler.

She had a double mastectomy at the beginning of August. She’s due back to work in mid-October, but to 
complicate things, her oldest daughter, who also works at Meritus, is getting married just before then 
and moving to Savannah, Ga.

Cheryl credits her experience with the Center for Breast Health, as well as the John R. Marsh Cancer 
Center at Meritus, with making a scary and emotional situation more manageable.

“It’s been exceptional care from beginning to end,” she said. 

‘A positive thing’ 

She received the call from the Center for Breast Health at 8 a.m. the Wednesday after Memorial Day. 
Ann-Marie Hugh, M.D., the medical director at the center and a specialist in breast surgery, said the 
biopsy showed it was adenocarcinomas, a type of cancer that starts in the glands that line the organs. 

“She bought into my case super quick,” Cheryl said.

By 9 a.m., she’d received a call from a nurse navigator at John R. Marsh to set up her first appointment. 
That appointment included meeting all of the doctors who would be involved.

“That was a positive thing, meeting everyone at one time like that,” Cheryl said. “Everyone’s opinions 
were shared, and we decided what was going to happen.”

As part of some of the tests prescribed by Dr. Hugh before the cancer center appointment, Cheryl had 
testing done showing she had Lynch syndrome, which is a genetic condition that increases the risk of 
many kinds of cancer.

It was decided that Cheryl should have a double mastectomy, and that reconstructive surgery by 
Salvatore DiMercurio, M.D., a plastic surgeon with Meritus Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery in Hagerstown, 
should start right away.

‘He read the notes’

Victoria Giffi, M.D., Cheryl’s oncologist with Meritus Hematology & Oncology Specialists, said the goal is 
to take each case on its own terms.

“We do our best to treat each person individually, taking both recent medical evidence and their 
personal preferences into account,” Dr. Giffi said. “I always tell my patients, ‘I treat people, not cancer,’ 
and I often remind myself that the person sitting in front of me, and where they are in their life, is more 
important than any lab test or scan that I order.”

The personal care was evident to Cheryl when she was speaking to Dr. DiMercurio about her 
reconstructive surgery.

“He said, ‘I understand we have to have you ready by your daughter’s wedding,’” she recalled. “And it 
struck me that he read the notes in my chart. He took the time to look at my case.”

Cheryl is using her experience to teach others the importance of seeing the doctor and getting a 
mammogram regularly.

“I’ve been vocal with people about my story because I was so nonchalant about it,” she said. “I’m very 
bad at taking care of myself. I went in for my yearly care with my female doctor and she noted that I was 
five months late in getting my mammogram.

“It only takes a few minutes,” she said.

To learn more about the Meritus Center for Breast Health, go to www.meritushealth.com/breasthealth. 
For more about Meritus Hematology & Oncology Specialists, visit 
www.meritushealth.com/HematologyOncology. To learn more about the John R. Marsh Cancer Center, 
go to www.meritushealth.com/cancercenter.

Colors of Cancer 

While Cheryl had the support to make it through her cancer journey, not everyone with the diagnosis is 
so lucky.

Along the course of the journey, many unexpected needs can arise. Being able to cover these expenses 
allows patients and their families to focus on their health.

By supporting the Colors of Cancer, it will ensure Meritus patients have reliable transportation to and 
from appointments and financial assistance for medication, and it will ease the additional financial stress 
that comes with a cancer diagnosis.

Learn more at www.meritushealth.com/Colors.