Oklahoma Hospital Goes Step Further for Cancer Patients

An Oklahoma hospital is addressing a problem many cancer patients have with emergency rooms.

Nobody likes waiting in an emergency room, but for some folks, the wait could quite literally end up killing them.

One Oklahoma hospital has found a way to deal with this very real threat for cancer patients.

Marla Byrum wears a purple bracelet and so does her mom, Kathy who's battling pancreatic cancer and is a patient at Mercy's Cancer Center. 

The cancer center is separate from the main hospital on purpose, a design decision Marla is grateful for.

“Cancer patients immune systems are so low that it scares us just to walk into a hospital.” Said Marla Byrum. 

All Mercy Cancer Center patients have access to the cancer Emergency Room, so they never have to go to the regular E.R.  

Marla knows she can call up the ER for her mom and get her in to see someone like nurse practitioner, Kristin Grellner.

Grellner said it’s “our goal is to avoid sending them to the emergency department where they maybe have to wait for maybe a long time.”

The idea is that the patient is seen quickly the same day they call with a concern.  

It's for the patient's physical as well as emotional well being.

The patients can call with any and all concerns, which Marla and her mom won't hesitate to do in their journey with cancer; a disease hard enough without added worries.