Recently Adrianne Bere had her annual visit with breast surgeon Nayomi Edirisinghe, MD at the Winchester Hospital Breast Care Center.  

“Dr. Edirisinghe found something,” said Bere. “She knew what she felt and she wanted to make sure I had it taken care of.” 

The Wilmington resident had an ultrasound breast biopsy and a breast MRI. She had breast cancer. Bere needed breast surgery and followed that up with consultations with radiation oncologists and medical oncologists at the Breast Care Center. 

“If it wasn’t for Dr. Nayomi, I might not have been so lucky,” she said.

Bere was one of approximately 250 cancer survivors, physicians, staff, friends and family members who gathered on Tuesday, June 5 for Winchester Hospital’s 11^th annual celebration of National Cancer Survivors Day, offering one another support and encouragement in their shared fight against cancer. The event took place at the Holiday Inn Select in Woburn.

For Bere, the evening is a chance to see cancer survivors and the doctors who helped save her life.

“I love coming to this event,” she said. “I love seeing my doctors. This may sound odd, but I actually miss going to the Breast Care Center and seeing my doctors and seeing other survivors, that’s why this event is so great.”

Winchester Hospital’s annual celebration of National Cancer Survivors Day was initially established for breast cancer patients of the Breast Care Center in Woburn, but has grown to include people living with, and in remission from various cancers treated hospital-wide through the Center for Cancer Care at Winchester Hospital. During this year’s Olympics 2012-themed celebration, Winchester Hospital physicians paid tribute to their patients’ compassionate support of one another and bravery in fighting the disease.

“It’s a pleasure to see more and more survivors return each year,” said breast surgeon and Winchester resident, Dr. Edirisinghe. “This is a wonderful affirmation of hope.”

For breast cancer survivor Kerry Ann Perry of Malden, choosing Winchester Hospital to receive care was not a difficult choice.

“I had my child at Winchester Hospital,” Perry said. “I had a great experience at Winchester, so when it came down to choosing a hospital to receive care for myself, it was a pretty easy decision.” 

To learn more or register for a support group at Winchester Hospital, call (781) 756-4760. For more information about Winchester Hospital’s Center for Cancer Care, call (781) 756-5058. To learn more about the Breast Care Center, call (781) 756-2308.

About Winchester Hospital

Winchester Hospital is the first community hospital in Massachusetts to earn Magnet® recognition, the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s highest honor for nursing excellence. As the northwest suburban Boston area’s leading provider of comprehensive health care services, the 229-bed facility provides care in general, bariatric and vascular surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, oncology, radiation oncology, gastroenterology, urology, gynecologic urology, rehabilitation, pain management, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics and a Level IIB Special Care Nursery. Winchester Hospital has clinical affiliations with several nationally recognized hospitals in the region, including Boston Children’s Hospital, Tufts Medical Center and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. To learn more, visit www.winchesterhospital.org.