Suzanne Endres, MSN, RN

In August 2025, I met Mrs. Suzanne for the very first time. A normal 12-hour shift for her would turn into one of the most memorable days of my life. While helping me breastfeed my newborn son, Mrs. Suzanne taught me all the tips and tricks, then stopped in her tracks. She felt a huge lump in my right breast that I had had for months but never seemed to concern any of my physicians. When she brought it to my attention, I told her my doctors were aware of it but didn’t seem too concerned with me being so young and pregnant. She immediately stressed how important it was to get it checked out further and shared her story with me about being a breast cancer survivor. This stuck with me for the first few months of being a new mom, wife, daughter, sister, and friend, and when I finally found myself coming up for air, I reached out to my OBGYN and got a referral for a breast specialist. This is where things started moving at lightning speed.

December I got a biopsy along with the news this was 95% chance going to be breast cancer along with lymph node activity in my right armpit. I got the diagnosis that rocked my family and my world. Stage 3 metastatic breast cancer, caught just in time before it was considered terminal. My world stopped spinning when this was supposed to be the happiest season of my life. A few days after processing my diagnosis with my family, I decided to reach out to another amazing nurse I had during my stay who worked in the same unit with Mrs. Suzanne, and told her the news along with the approval to share the story with her coworkers. I felt like she really needed to know the impact she had on me and my diagnosis. It almost felt like she was meant to be my nurse that day, put into my life to save it. The next few weeks were full of doctors appointments, blood work, scans, genetic testing and any other thing you could think of I had it done. I got my port placed the day I was supposed to return to my brand-new job after maternity leave. January 2026 was my first of 6 chemo treatments, and I am proud to say this Friday, I get to ring the bell, closing the chapter of chemo and moving forward to surgery and radiation. Although it was a normal day for Mrs. Suzanne, that day changed me forever. Thanks to her I am alive today, and I am still able to be a mom to my now 7 month old son, wife, daughter, sister and friend.

To Mrs. Suzanne: I am eternally grateful for your attention to detail that day and for going above and beyond for me and my family. I truly believe you saved my life, and I will never be able to repay you. Your work ethic and passion make you an amazing nurse, and I hope your coworkers see the impact they can have on a patient and their health outside of labor and delivery. But from one survivor to another, I know we can both agree when we say f cancer.