From provider to patient: Dr. Alisa Hideg of Spokane experiences both sides of care
February 17, 2012


Alisa Hideg, MD, is a family medicine physician at Group Health’s Riverfront Medical Center in Spokane. She is currently on medical leave while undergoing treatment for breast cancer diagnosed in the summer of 2011. During this time, Dr. Hideg has chronicled her transition from provider to patient in her popular column in the Spokesman-Review newspaper. The response from the community has been an inspiration for Dr. Hideg during her treatment.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the love and support from my own patients, and from people who read my column,” said Dr. Hideg. “The loss we experience when our health is at stake can be terrifying in the deepest way, but it is less so when we experience the compassion and strength that others can give us.”

Dr. Hideg’s previous topics in her column included tips for healthy eating, exercise strategies, and managing seasonal affective disorder. She hopes that continuing to write her column—and to periodically share her personal journey—would help readers better understand cancer, as nearly every family is touched in some way by the disease.

“I’ve learned that people appreciate the recognition of our common concerns—whether we’re health care providers or not,” said Dr. Hideg. “We all will experience trials with our bodies at some point. One of my surgeons said, ‘I want you to know that while this is routine for your other surgeon and myself, I recognize that it is not routine for you and I will not treat it as such.’”

Today, more than six months after her diagnosis, Dr. Hideg is not yet done with her treatments. But no cancer cells were found in the tissue removed during her surgery in November. This signifies the treatment is working and that the chances of the cancer returning are much lower than if some cells had survived the chemotherapy. Dr. Hideg looks forward to the day when she can return to Group Health and see her patients.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer in my lymph nodes, I was on call. The first thing my colleague said was, ‘No, now I’m on call.’ My co-workers immediately took care of my in-box, my patients, and really took care of me. Their ability to go the extra step, not just for me, but for every patient, is what makes this a great place to work, and a place I’m looking forward to coming back to when my treatment is through.”

All of us at Group Health look forward to that day too.

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