In 2012, Judy Chermak was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a lumpectomy, radiation and five years of hormone therapy. But after nine cancer-free years, something showed up on her annual mammogram requiring an ultrasound, then a biopsy. For five days she’d grown increasingly anxious as she waited for the results.

“The phone rang, and it was Dr. Yan,” says Judy. “She just said, ‘Judy, it’s benign!” The radiologist would follow up the next morning, but Dr. Yan knew Judy would like to hear the news as soon as possible. “That's the kind of treatment I have had at Swedish all the way along,” Judy says. “I feel very fortunate to be under the care of doctors who really are beloved to me.”

Even though Judy didn’t end up needing any further treatment, she knows that Dr. Yan and her colleagues will be there if that ever changes. “If I have any problems down the road, this is where I want to be,” Judy says.