{"id":17478,"date":"2025-10-28T09:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17478\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:13:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:13:11","slug":"dr-kendra-winter-rewrites-the-story-for-breast-cancer-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17478\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Kendra Winter rewrites the story for breast cancer patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story is a part of Reading Hospital\u2019s \u201cDear Cancer\u201d project, a collection of personal stories from members of the McGlinn Cancer Institute community. Read the entire series at TowerHealth.org\/DearCancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not every day that you can meet a surgeon who gives out her personal cell phone number.<\/p>\n

For Dr. Kendra Winter, a breast surgical oncologist at the McGlinn Cancer Institute at Reading Hospital, part of Tower Health, her work is about more than surgery. It\u2019s about helping patients reclaim something cancer tried to take.<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s not shy about what she wants, writing in her letter to cancer: Dear Cancer: You have taken too much from the beautiful people in this community. It\u2019s now your turn to give back.<\/p>\n

Firm. Admonishing. Unapologetically hopeful.<\/p>\n

Dr. Winter wants cancer to give back the birthdays that were missed during chemo. The confidence that ebbed after treatment and surgery. The peace that was stolen in the middle of the night by the thought, What if it comes back?<\/p>\n

She wants people\u2019s ability to live their lives back. Their livelihoods. Their families. Their mental well-being. And every day, with her patients by her side and a team around her, she fights to make that happen.<\/p>\n

A Place She\u2019s Meant to Be<\/p>\n

Dr, Winter, 35, didn\u2019t always know breast cancer surgery would be her calling. But when she finally met her first official patient as a specialist, it clicked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what all my hard work was for,\u201d she thought. \u201cThis is where I belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

She brought with her more than clinical expertise. She brought compassion, a drive for collaboration, and a commitment to giving individuals facing breast cancer not just the best oncological outcome but the best cosmetic one, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreast cancer care isn\u2019t one-size-fits-all,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we work as a team \u2014 oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurse navigators, dietitians, geneticists. We come together and talk about each patient. One room. One plan. One place to come for care.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that all-in-one approach that drew her to McGlinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to live in Philadelphia to get big-city treatment,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re trained the same, and we\u2019re just as good. Patients here shouldn\u2019t have to commute for outstanding care. There\u2019s nowhere else I\u2019d rather be.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lives in nearby Sinking Spring with her husband, their dog, and a small flock of chickens on their mini homestead. It\u2019s a life rooted in simplicity \u2014 a counterbalance to the complexity of cancer care.<\/p>\n

Fighting Fear with Hope<\/p>\n

Breast cancer is often described as a journey. But Dr. Winter knows the hardest part isn\u2019t always the diagnosis or the treatment. It\u2019s what comes afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s after treatment, when you\u2019re left with the worry, the \u2018what ifs,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s when patients need just as much support.\u201d<\/p>\n

At McGlinn, that support includes the Image Recovery Center, where patients receive care that helps them restore \u2014 or rediscover \u2014 their self-image. It\u2019s more than physical healing. It\u2019s emotional repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truly about how you see yourself,\u201d she said. \u201cSometimes the little things help us become an even stronger version of who we were.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s seen those transformations firsthand. A woman in her 80s, healthy, active, and shocked by her diagnosis, once asked Dr. Winter what she\u2019d done wrong. Dr. Winter reminded her: You did nothing wrong. This is your journey. <\/p>\n

The woman still texts Dr. Winter updates and sends photos. She\u2019s thriving. Her other doctors compliment the surgical outcome. And she feels proud of how she looks and how far she\u2019s come.<\/p>\n

Another patient, a young woman estranged from her mother, discovered they shared a genetic link to breast cancer. The diagnosis became a bridge. Now, her mother accompanies her to every appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of these little wins along the way,\u201d Dr. Winter said. \u201cSometimes people are better off than when we first met them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redefining Success<\/p>\n

For Dr. Winter, success isn\u2019t measured in tests or scans, although those matter. It\u2019s in moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a patient smiles when they see me, that\u2019s success,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re not afraid anymore. They feel like they can live again.\u201d<\/p>\n

She believes in honesty. In meeting patients where they are. And in letting them know, from the beginning: You\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

\ufeffThat\u2019s why she gives them her personal number. She\u2019s there on weekends. She listens when they cry. She celebrates with them when they ring the bell.<\/p>\n

And she finds hope in their strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis job has taught me that people really are unbreakable,\u201d she said. \u201cJust when life has handed them everything it can, they still show up. They fight. They laugh. They reconnect with family. And they find joy again.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for cancer?<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t get the last word.<\/p>\n

Dr. Winter\u2019s message is clear.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time for cancer to give back what it has taken.<\/p>\n

Mammograms remain the most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early, when treatment is most successful. To request an appointment, call 1-833-34-TOWER, visit TowerHealth.org\/FindItEarly<\/a> or schedule through MyTowerHealth.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is a part of Reading Hospital\u2019s \u201cDear Cancer\u201d project, a collection of personal stories from members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-17478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}