Meet Our CareCoaches
From the moment you become a Baptist Health Breast Center patient, we’re committed to giving you individualized attention.
CareCoaches are available to guide you and your family during testing and, if necessary, after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Your CareCoach will be ready to help:
- Schedule your appointments.
- Connect you with support services, such as physical therapy, genetic testing, nutritional advice, counseling and support groups.
- Provide the compassionate support that you and your family need.
LINDA BURROWES
Breast cancer survivor and
CareCoach Linda Burrowes knows what it’s like to face a diagnosis. She’s ready to listen, to answer questions, to offer a hug or a helping hand. She’s specially trained to help patients schedule tests, make doctor appointments and get results. She also connects her patients and their families with other support services they might need during this time of uncertainty—and beyond.
Linda stays in touch with her patients, sometimes even after they’re done with their visits to the Breast Center. "I come to work with a smile on my face thinking I can help somebody today," Linda says. "I’m glad to be there when the news is good and I share in that happy moment. I’m also glad to be there when they need a comforting voice to tell them that there is life after a diagnosis of breast cancer."
LORETTA ERICKSON
CareCoach Loretta Erickson knows a lot about breast health—professionally and personally. She worked as a mammography and biopsy technician for years before she was diagnosed with breast cancer herself. Now she uses her experience to support and guide women with suspected or confirmed breast cancer at the Baptist Health Breast Center. "I’m here to help other women through their ordeal, to help them schedule tests and get results as quickly as possible because this is a stressful time for them."
Loretta also sits with family members, because they have questions and fears, too. She knows that most women who undergo biopsies do not have cancer. "So I don’t say the word, survivor, unless they need to hear it. If a patient is really scared, I say, 'You know what, I’m a survivor and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.' And that bonds you a little more."
ZASHA POU
CareCoach Zasha Pou sees her role as promoting breast health and supporting women who need further testing after an irregular mammogram. Most of her patients will get good news—that they don’t have breast cancer—but it’s a stressful experience nonetheless. "I help get my patients the necessary resources with minimal effort on their part," Zasha says. "I am their navigator, mentoring them, informing them, being a buddy."
Zasha has experience working with diverse groups of people, including many who don’t have a lot of family support. She finds it rewarding to answer patients’ questions and offer them comfort and a little undivided attention. In turn, her patients relax a bit. "They like it because someone is taking care of them for a change."
