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Your Health Our Mission Stories

Tommie Chambers’ Story
Patient of Dr. Howard Weldon

When Tommie was diagnosed with cancer, it was a complete shock. After all, he and his wife Brenda had a successful flower shop and three rambunctious grandsons. When he wasn’t busy with his realty business, Tommie finally had time to enjoy extra rounds of golf now that he’d retired from a 34-year career at the Georgia Labor Department.

He’d been pretty healthy for most of his life, but in the fall of 2009 he wasn’t feeling like himself. He’d been nauseous and losing weight. To a point that Brenda slowed him down long enough to go to the ED at Doctors Hospital. A few days later, he got the diagnosis that changed his life forever: colon cancer.

Shortly after he learned he had cancer, Tommie met Dr. Howard Weldon, a surgeon and the Chief of Staff at Doctors Hospital. Dr. Weldon explained everything to Tommie and Brenda: what the plan of attack would be, what would probably happen, how there would be another surgery a few months later. Everything, every step. Tommie simply told Dr. Weldon to do what he and the Lord had to do to get him well again.

Tommie’s treatment included surgical removal of the cancer which, thankfully, had been discovered in its earliest stages – so early he did not need chemotherapy, medication or radiation treatments.

After a planned follow-up surgery that winter, Tommie was back to his old self again. The weight he lost? It’s back. The extra tee times? They’re back, too. And when he’s not out burning up the fairways or showing properties, he’s making deliveries for Brenda at Joy’s Flower Shop.

Thanks to the teams at Columbus Regional Doctors Hospital and John B. Amos Cancer Center, Tommie’s back to the life he enjoyed: very busy and very blessed.
As the region's leading provider of healthcare, Columbus Regional Healthcare System has touched the lives of most of the children and adults in this region through its comprehensive network of services. Located in the West Georgia city of Columbus, Columbus Regional was established in 1986 as a not-for-profit health services organization, but its roots can be traced back to 1836 when the local hospital was a small wooden building on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.