Rehab program helps women live full lives after breast cancer

Published: 2005-10-25

OMAHA, Neb. (CNS) -- A rehabilitation program called "A Time to Heal," offered by the Servants of Mary religious order and a Methodist treatment center and college in Omaha, is helping women live full lives after breast cancer. It helped Kathy Krzycki, a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Omaha, by giving her the tools to survive her ordeal. Her life changed forever after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer three years ago. She endured a double mastectomy and intense chemotherapy and radiation and was left feeling unsure of her future. "I had to choose where my energy was going," she said, noting she dealt with memory loss, low self-confidence and a loss of spirituality. She also had to face the loss of her job as a nurse at Omaha's Mercy Care Center and the unexpected death of her husband, Darryl, a week after her cancer treatments ended. "What 'A Time to Heal' did for me was give me tools to work at being a better survivor," Krzycki told The Catholic Voice, Omaha archdiocesan newspaper. The Methodist Cancer Center and Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha became partners with the Servants of Mary, or Servite Sisters, to provide "A Time to Heal."

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