Big city medicine in rural Utah

Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health.

Cancer doesn’t care where you live. You may be next door to a major medical center, or you may live hours away.

Luanne Tuttle lives in Manti, Utah, far from her oncologist in Provo. She thought the three hour round trip to Utah Valley Hospital would be a twice weekly ordeal when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I thought, you're a strong woman, you can do this. And I made the decision that day, to be happy in this process,” said Tuttle.

Not everyone can just decide to be so positive, but Luanne managed it. Her Nurse Anne Swapp saw firsthand the impact of that decision.

“Not just physically, but mentally, it's a hurdle to get over that. I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna get through this. And some patients struggle with that. Luanne was a really good example and inspiration to other patients,” said Swapp.

Luanne’s battle, physical and mental, might have been much tougher.

She said, “The three words that you learn very well. Fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea. Just driving, sometimes for my treatments from Manti, to Mount Pleasant. I would have to stop in Ephraim for a necessary break. And then I'd have to hope I could make it all the way here to the hospital before my next necessary break.”

She thought that she would have to drive an hour and a half to Provo to get the treatments she needed. Boy, was she relieved when she found out she could be treated at Sanpete Valley Hospital.

Being able to receive treatment close to home helped Luann skip the added stress of an hour and a half trip to Provo.

“I think it would have turned what was hard into a nightmare,” she said.

The nightmare averted because the rural hospitals in the Intermountain System can team up with their big city partners. Luanne’s oncologist in Provo met her via telehealth, and Luanne got her infusions close to home. It still wasn’t easy.

“I didn't even want to lift my arm up. That was a different kind of fatigue. It wasn't the kind that you've worked hard all day and you're tired,” she said.

Even so, Luanne maintained her positive outlook.

“She always came with a smile, and always willing to fight and do whatever we asked her to do,” said Swapp.

Still, cancer created more barriers. Luanne’s dog grooming business suffered. She couldn’t work with large dogs. She benefitted from organizations that help cancer patients get by when their paychecks suffer.

“I was so grateful for that financial help, as I make quilts now and donate them, and they auction things off to make money to help people financially,” she said.

Luanne got a quilt from her friends to warm her during treatments. And she’s also made quilts for her nurses in Mt. Pleasant.

“I can't say enough good things about the care that I had from them while I was here,” she said.

“I'm really grateful that I could be a part of her journey,” said Swapp.

Luanne also gives a lot of credit to a good friend who immediately took on the responsibility too drive her to her treatments. Her last treatment was just over a year ago and her cancer is still in remission. Her nurse, Anne? She’s now a dog grooming client.