Nurse Who Beat Cancer Cuts Patient Wait Times to 19 Days

Sara Hackler walked into the emergency room expecting kidney stones and walked out with a basketball-sized tumor on her ovary. At 35, the busy nurse and mother of two suddenly became a cancer patient with no roadmap and no one to guide her through the terror.

Surgery removed the cancer, and within a few years she was declared cancer-free. But the memory of feeling lost and alone stayed with her.

"I wish I'd had someone to sit down with me and say, 'Let's take a breath. Here's the plan,'" Hackler said. Years later, she became that person for others.

Today, Hackler works as a cancer navigator at the Maurer Family Cancer Center at Wood County Hospital in Ohio. She coordinates care, connects patients with specialists, and cuts through the overwhelming confusion that follows a cancer diagnosis.

Her impact is dramatic. Before navigation services existed at the hospital, patients waited an average of 124 days between an abnormal test and starting treatment. Now, those working with Hackler start treatment in about 19 days.

"We're cutting out fear and confusion," she said. "People don't need to feel lost."

The Ripple Effect

Hackler's work touches hundreds of patients each year, but her mission extends beyond hospital walls. This September, she's participating in The Victory Center's Over the Edge fundraiser, rappelling 225 feet down Toledo's 16-story Edison Building.

There's just one problem: she's terrified of heights. "My biggest fear is they'll have to push me off the edge," she admitted.

To raise the $1,000 needed to participate, Biggby Coffee locations in Bowling Green are donating a portion of Friday's sales to her cause. She's also inviting patients and supporters to sign the T-shirt she'll wear during the rappel, carrying their stories with her.

The symbolism isn't lost on Hackler. Just like the patients she guides every day, she's taking on something that terrifies her, one step at a time.

"That first step is always the hardest," she said. "After that, you just keep going."

A car accident in 2015 brought her own cancer fears rushing back when scans suggested possible metastasis. The diagnosis turned out to be fractures, but the anxiety reminded her what patients carry with them long after treatment ends.

"That's what patients live with," she said. "If I can take even a little of that anxiety away, I will."

Hackler never planned to have cancer. She never planned to work in oncology. And she definitely never planned to rappel off a building. But sometimes the most unexpected paths lead to the greatest purpose.