Breast Cancer Patient Finds Comfort in New Cancer Center

Lindsey Ballas is juggling a lot of responsibilities in her life. She owns a hair salon and has a family. She also has stage four metastatic breast cancer, which requires her to spend a lot of time at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center.

“I receive advanced targeted therapy treatment which is a maintenance treatment that I will be on every three weeks for the rest of my life to stabilize my cancer cells,” says Lindsey.

When she first learned of the diagnosis, Lindsey knew treatment would be difficult, and she made the choice to carry on with her busy life.

“A big thing for me that I wanted most out of this whole cancer treatment was if I can keep my life as close to normal as possible, that was going to be a win for me.”

“A big thing for me that I wanted most out of this whole cancer treatment was if I can keep my life as close to normal as possible, that was going to be a win for me.”

Lindsey’s treatment plan did not include a mastectomy or radiation. Instead, she endured six rounds of chemotherapy. Despite some side effects, Lindsey managed to keep working with support from family and friends.

“It helped that I was still able to physically work and then I have a huge client base that really carried me through this,” adds Lindsey. “I still lived my life --- except this time, I was battling cancer.”

Lindsey credits her team of caregivers and the new Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center for helping her in her fight. She’s receiving her treatments at the new facility.

“It's just a very open and welcoming area and facility. You spend a lot of time in here but it doesn't feel like you're in doctors’ offices,” she observes. “I think from actual light coming through it just makes it much more cheerful. You can still see life going on outside; you don’t feel disconnected from the rest of the world.”

In the new building, all clinical and support services are in one location, making it easier for cancer patients who typically have several appointments.

“When I have scans, an echocardiogram or blood work, it's multiple appointments. So having everything in one building makes it flow better and makes the day go by much faster.”

Lindsey uses the Cleveland Clinic MyChart app to schedule all of her appointments. And, she makes the most of her time spent in treatment.

“I usually catch up on phone calls and text messages from my clients from my business. Or I'll just scroll online and just sit back and relax and enjoy the peace and quiet for a little bit.”