Nearly nine years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, Kelly Hendrix, RN, is caring for inpatient oncology patients at TidalHealth Peninsula Regional.
She had a 10-year journey to get her nursing degree, but she graduated from Wor-Wic Community College with her associate degree in 2024 — after also earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology before that. When she joined Team TidalHealth last year, she had prayed to be placed wherever she was needed.
Hendrix, who works on 3 East, connects with the patients like they’re people — not just cancer patients. They don’t want to be treated differently, she said.
“I speak to them like they’re normal human beings, and we get to cracking up,” she said.
She was diagnosed Dec. 7, 2016, she encourages people to advocate for themselves when it comes to their health and not be afraid to get a second opinion.
“Trust your intuition when it comes to your body,” Hendrix said.
She had a double mastectomy, didn’t need to have chemotherapy or radiation, and is cancer-free, though she’s on alert in case the cancer returns in some form.
She also recommends that cancer survivors find a group of people to support them — and that doesn’t have to be friends and family they already know. It might be easier for someone to share struggles with people they don’t know in day-to-day life.
You can make a difference
Help save lives in our community by supporting the Sheila Zimmer Breast Screenings Fund. Created in memory of Sheila Zimmer, a Salisbury native who bravely battled breast cancer twice after a lifetime of giving back to others, this fund helps provide access to life-saving breast screenings and care up to diagnosis for patients in need. Through this effort, Sheila’s legacy of compassion and generosity will continue to touch lives.
Visit the TidalHealth Foundation page to support and help continue Sheila’s legacy.
