Advocate Sherman Hospital breast cancer patient honored at Chicago Bears Crucial Catch Game

Ten Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients, their loved ones and care teams from across Illinois were honored and celebrated Sunday, Oct. 19, at the Chicago Bears Crucial Catch game at Soldier Field.

Dia Nichols, president of Advocate Health Care, presented the game coin. During halftime, patients and doctors unfurled a pink ribbon and two survivors who recently completed treatment participated in a special bell-ringing ceremony.

Among those honored was breast cancer patient TJ Borst, who received treatment at Advocate Sherman Hospital.

The 45-year-old Elgin resident was shocked to find a tender lump in her breast last fall, especially because a mammogram and ultrasound had come back clear just a few months prior. She made an appointment with her doctor and, after rounds of imaging and a biopsy, learned she had breast cancer.

Borst’s first step of treatment was chemotherapy with cold capping, which lowers the temperature of the scalp to constrict blood vessels and ultimately help reduce hair loss. She underwent a double mastectomy earlier this year and recently began radiation therapy, which she hopes will be the end of her treatment.

Through her cancer journey, Borst’s care team at Advocate Sherman Hospital says she has remained upbeat and a “ray of sunshine.”

“It's been a really tough year, but the Sherman team made this experience as positive as it could be,” Borst says. “I'm grateful to the doctors, nurses, techs and everyone who supported me.”

The game served as a tribute to honor breast cancer survivors and fighters and raise awareness for the disease that develops in one in eight women during her lifetime.