Having the Conversation: Answers From Providers

Disclaimer: This article contains information from a medical professional provided solely for the content of this article. Consult with your own medical professional or healthcare provider for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

I remember that phone call often when I drive or walk down Ponca City’s ever-growing main street. I had been in a local boutique checkout line on a Friday when Dr. Julie Strebel Hager’s office number came through my phone. My heart sank knowing that unless something was wrong, biopsy results on a Thursday afternoon should not be back until Monday. I can still hear the hesitation in her voice and feel the sense of importance when she agreed to wait on the phone as I walked to my car to speak privately. She knew my drive was too far away to ask me to drop by the office to discuss results. She had also known me since my pregnancy and the birth of my son, whom she delivered eight years prior, and that my personality needed answers the moment they were available. As difficult as that conversation must have been, she provided the answers I needed with careful consideration and compassion. Dr. Hager describes her role in a cancer diagnosis as “a voice of calm in a frenetic time where a patient’s mind and heart are all over the place. [She] explains the diagnosis and tries to decrease fear by outlining a step-by-step plan to allow for further investigation and referral for surgery and oncology.” When I got off that phone call, my world felt unstable and uncertain, but I also took comfort in her words of confidence that there were options, she had a plan to help me get started and that I was not alone.

As an OBGYN, Dr. Hager was not directly related to my oncology care, but she was involved in my initial diagnosis and continues to be an instrumental part of my long-term recovery. Her focus is “on the quality of life during treatment and afterwards dealing with side effects of treatments in other aspects of general and sexual health” and says “a part of each workday is spent in the improvement of my understanding how to impact these areas.” Her knowledge has helped me process immediate and long-term side effects of treatment that were not specialties of my other providers. Life changes that are designed to happen naturally at a much later age were now rapidly approaching deadlines for decision. We discussed the likely fertility loss and if preservation of my eggs was possible, surgical options versus medically induced menopause, sexual and reproductive health long-term and the intricacies of what it meant to throw my body into all of these scenarios virtually overnight in my early 30s. None of it was easy, nor is it fair, but writing out my questions and her answers, doing research and taking the time to decide what was best for me is what allowed me to make the choices required. We have even discussed that I may have made different decisions with all of the knowledge I have now, but I am grateful for the additional time I have been given, so I try not to dwell on the what-ifs.

Over the years we have continued to discuss the barriers of patients in rural communities. That there is a lack of access to specialty care and resources, and also to support structures like physical therapy, prosthetic availability and patient support groups. Though there will always be a need for improvement, it has been encouraging to watch the medical community and support networks continue to find new ways to serve in the rural areas. The OU Breast Health Network partners with the Kaw Nation to bring the mammogram bus throughout the year. There is also a new partnership launching in Oklahoma to deliver mobile lung cancer screenings. I am excited each time I get to share with her that additional Project31 support groups have been launched in addition to survivorship expos and retreats, as well as new medical providers bringing their expertise to our community in north central Oklahoma.

I asked Dr. Hager how her work of over 20 years affects her and what she wants others to know about their own health and she had this to say, “This work is gratifying. It is encouraging to see women overcome their initial shock and fear and be victorious in the end. I try to be a cheerleader along the way. Although not breast cancer, I’m a cancer survivor of 23 years and I use my understanding of the emotions to help patients feel heard and understood. Cancer has been the most fearful diagnosis in the past due to fear of death, but we are starting to treat it like a chronic disease that a patient can successfully overcome day by day. Like anything else, all of our response to disease processes depends on our overall physical, emotional and spiritual health. That means each person’s journey will be influenced by their overall physical health coming into treatment and the way they take care of their bodies during the process. It also means they need to gather their resources to remain emotionally and spiritually fit for the journey.”

Dr. Julie Strebel Hager attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma Health and Sciences Center and has an obstetrics and gynecology medical practice in Oklahoma City that was started by her father, Dr. Gary Strebel, and is shared with her sister, Dr. Jennifer Strebel.

Follow Stephanie’s Cancer Survivor Story, part of a limited series - exclusive to Ponca City Monthly.

➡️ Opt in or out of different newsletters on your “My Account” page.

➡️ Learn more about Ponca City Monthly+

Ponca City Monthly is a locally owned publication that delivers hyperlocal news in print and online.

Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and tell a friend.

Share

Sponsorship information/customer service: email editor@poncacitymonthly.com