A Scan, a Score and a Second Opinion
Amy Nader has spent her entire career under one roof, even if the name on the door has changed.
She started with St. Jude Medical in 2004, fresh out of college, and later made the transition to Abbott through the acquisition. Today, she works in Abbott’s pacemaker and defibrillator division, supporting sales across the Cleveland area.
In January 2025, Amy went in for what she expected to be a routine mammogram.
“I’d had a couple prior to that, so I just expected another in-and-out thing,” she says. A few days later, the clinic called. They’d seen something they wanted to investigate further.
After more testing, Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 42, with no family history, and two young sons at home. “It was a shock to everyone,” she says. “I was young. It was just not something I ever expected to encounter.”
Amy and her husband met with a variety of doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, and in February she had a lumpectomy. From the start, she was told to expect the standard sequence: surgery, chemotherapy, then radiation. After surgery, her care team mentioned the possibility of sending her pathology out for an Oncotype score – a test that analyzes tumor tissue and gives it a score. A lower score generally indicates a lower risk of recurrence and can signal that more aggressive treatments like chemo may not be necessary.
But her first oncologist wasn’t sure the test was worth it. “She said, ‘I don’t think you need this,'” Amy recalls. “It wouldn’t change my treatment plan.”
Amy and her husband weren’t convinced. Even if the score didn’t matter for the moment, they figured it might matter ten years down the road. They had questions. And to her credit, the oncologist encouraged them to keep asking.
“She actually said to us, ‘Maybe you should get a second opinion. You guys have a lot of questions. It can’t hurt to hear things, even if it’s the same thing, hear it multiple times.'”
The second opinion came from a physician who had been recommended to Amy. That physician, the head of the department, recommended the Oncotype test. Amy switched to his care, the pathology was sent, and the score came back low.
“The physicians came in the room and said, ‘I would not do chemotherapy if I were you. You don’t need to do it,'” Amy recalls. “It totally shifted the way my treatment plan went.”
Amy recovered from surgery, completed radiation, and is now on a medication regimen she’ll continue for the next five to ten years. No chemo.
Throughout the whole experience, Abbott was a constant presence. Before Amy had even gotten her second opinion, her diagnosis flagged on her insurance, and a nurse care coordinator named Jocelyn reached out.
“She said, ‘I’m here from diagnosis to survivorship. I’m here to partner with you,'” Amy says.
Jocelyn became a rock throughout Amy’s experience. She joined calls with Amy and her husband, offered to speak with him separately if he ever needed it, and gave the family a heads up about practical things her medical team didn’t always know to mention — like how certain medications should be handled in a household with young kids.
“She knew the treatment plan, and she knew me and my family,” Amy says. “I talked to her just last week.”
Another part of Abbott’s benefits team reached out separately to ask whether Amy felt she was getting the right care, and to let her know Abbott would cover travel for her and a partner to seek a second opinion at a center of excellence if she wanted one. The Oncotype test itself was covered without pushback.
“Throughout the whole process, Abbott had my back, and it was there for my family — not just me.” – Amy Nader
Then in July, Abbott announced its acquisition of Exact Sciences, the company behind the Oncotype technology that had changed Amy’s treatment plan.
“Abbott likes to stress that we’re helping people live healthier lives,” Amy says. “There’s some statistic about how many people are touched by Abbott technologies. I’m seeing it firsthand in what I’ve gone through. I really believe Oncotyping is a technology that’s going to change how cancer is treated and detected. I’m just very proud that Abbott is supporting that and driving that technology forward.”
That connection between her own care and Abbott’s broader work has stayed with Amy. When she thinks about colleagues who may one day face a cancer diagnosis, or another unexpected health challenge, she hopes they know they do not have to navigate it alone.
“It’s a shock. You don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how it’s going to impact your life. But Abbott is there — locally, on your team, organizationally. They are walking alongside you. And you’re going to get through it. It’s tough. A lot of it’s mental, maybe even more than physical. But there are people walking beside you through it.”
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