Dr. Graciela Diez-Hoeck is an internal medicine specialist with Baptist Health and has called Jacksonville home for 28 years. The Colombia native was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago and stresses how her faith in God helped give her the strength to get through it, and the difference selfcare and early diagnosis came make.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
I was born in Bogota, Colombia and became a physician at the early age of 23, and I’ll actually be celebrating 40 years from my graduation of medical school this year.
During my residency in Colombia, I met my husband Kenneth and spent three years there before moving to work at a hospital in Miami.
I then graduated from UF where I obtained my internal medicine training and moved to Jacksonville in 1994 to be an internal medicine specialist at Baptist (Health) where I’ve been practicing for 28 years now.
I have two kids with my oldest Michael living in Washington, D.C., and my youngest William is in college studying wildlife conservation.
I am a devout Catholic, and I go to mass every day before work. I am a Eucharistic minister at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Ponte Vedra.
Tell us about your breast cancer diagnosis and your journey to recovery?
Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014.
From age 40, I had had my mammogram every year, and I actually had one eight months before I was diagnosed, and it came back normal.
However, I also do monthly self-breast exams and I found a lump that I questioned and went to go get checked out even though I had another fourth months before my annual mammogram.
I found out that I had “dense breasts,” which can make it more difficult to test.
Nowadays they are aware of this, and they do 3-D mammograms and can do more in-depth tests if a person is found to have “dense breasts.”
The fact that I was able to find it even after having a mammogram say everything was normal, stresses the importance of early detection and self-breast examines.
They also use a TC score to calculate a woman’s risk of breast cancer. If a TC score is high, accommodations will be made to schedule an MRI on top of the mammogram.
Early diagnosis can save a life and increase the chances of finding a cure.
What would be advice you give to women faced with breast cancer?
I had no family history of breast cancer, but once you’re diagnosed you just have to take it one day at a time, which is why I have what I call my “three F’s,” faith, family and friends. Together, all three gave me the strength I needed following my diagnosis.
My friends and family were there for me through the surgery and even planned a trip to Barcelona with me 20 days after my mastectomy. I could feel their prayers during surgery, and it definitely helped to heal.
Faith has always been a major part of my life, and I found that praying the rosary and taking part in adoration helped me to get through the process.
Focus on the small things you have in your life, because God blesses you in so many ways. I’m grateful for every birthday I have for the 63 years God has allowed me to live.
I feel that one of the things not often talked about is the added stress of the decisions a woman has to make following her breast cancer diagnosis.
They ask, ‘do you want to lose the breast or keep it,’ and it can be a tough decision. I chose a mastectomy, and they had to remove one breast.
To me, this is what makes love and prayer the best thing a person can rely on during this time. My prayer allowed me to know that I was making a clear and right choice.
It has been 10 years since I was diagnosed, and although the technology and medical developments continue to advance, we still have to be attentive to our bodies. The journey of selfcare never stops.
When they get through it, don’t forget to pay it forward and help others who are in that position. That is what I am hoping to do by telling my story and sharing it with those who it could make a difference.