HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — Getting a cancer diagnosis can be difficult, but having the right support group matters, and if that support group also happens to be in healthcare, all the better.

June is National Cancer Survivorship month. 10 On Your Side sat down with Shannon Martin, chief nursing officer of the eastern market at Sentara Health, to talk with her about her recent cancer battle.

Martin started having severe back pain last August.

“Nothing I was doing was making it better,” Martin said.

She made her husband drive to Sentara CarePlex Hospital, past four other Sentara locations, so she could be with the team she works with everyday. But it felt a little odd for Martin, moving from manager to patient.

“The nurse came in with the wheelchair to take me upstairs and I was like, ‘I think I’m OK. Would it be OK if I walked upstairs?’ And she was like, ‘Oh, no, they really like for us to take the patients in the wheelchair upstairs,'” Martin said. “I said, ‘I know, but I walked in and I feel like I’m pretty good. Who’s they?’ And she said, ‘the administrative team.’ And I said, ‘Well, I think I’m them. I think I can walk upstairs. I think it’s going to be OK.’”

After lab work, a CT scan showed blockage in the bile duct connecting her liver to her small intestine. A biopsy confirmed it was Stage 1 pancreatic cancer. Martin said it can go undetected so long, many aren’t diagnosed until it becomes Stage 4. Martin is normally a positive person, but admits she fell into depression after her diagnosis. Then, she realized, mindset matters.

“Taking the ownership and saying, ‘You can do hard things, this has been your path and it’s going to be OK. You can do this,’” Martin said.

She felt especially grateful to be surrounded by her team.

“I started crying right away because I just felt so comfortable,” Martin said. “There’s comfort in knowing the quality of the product, you know, and the compassion and the care that you’re going to get.”

Martin continued working while undergoing 12 rounds of chemo leading up to surgery, which was successful. After taking eight weeks to recover, she returned to work with a new appreciation for life.

“Tomorrow isn’t promised,” Martin said. “And you really have to make the most of today. And that’s my biggest takeaway.”

The American Cancer Society estimates more than 67,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2025. You can learn more by visiting: https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/pancreas.html