A lesson in care: Breast cancer deepens AdventHealth leader’s commitment to team member growth

ORLANDO, Fla. - Vivian "Viv" Cook spends her days helping AdventHealth team members imagine what might be possible for their futures.

During the first year of a career development program she helps lead, she received a cancer diagnosis of her own.

"I was told on my birthday that I had cancer," said Cook, a project manager with AdventHealth Learning and Leadership Development. "I am such a faith-driven individual that I just said, 'God, you and me, and let's go.'"

"I believe that everybody deserves a chance to grow."

At the time, Cook was helping lead EmpowerED, an AdventHealth career development program that helps team members pursue education while balancing work, school and life.

"I believe that everybody deserves a chance to grow," she said. "When we invest in people, we're going to strengthen the care that each patient is going to have."

"Becoming a patient gave me a new lens."

Cook's diagnosis required her to step away from work for a time as she underwent treatment, including mastectomies.

Becoming an AdventHealth patient gave new meaning to the mission she had spent years sharing with others.

"Becoming a patient gave me a new lens," she said. "When we talk about whole-person care and the mission statement, it's real. It's not just words on paper or on a wall."

The experience also changed how she thought about the team members preparing for work caring for patients.

"People who we are training aren't just learning a skill," Cook said. "We're preparing them for something deeper. We're preparing them to hold someone's hand and be with them in the hardest moments."

Cook said the experience made her even more intentional about helping team members understand that technical skills are only part of caring for another person.

"Their presence matters," she said.

During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Cook hopes her experience encourages others to remember that every breast cancer journey is different.

For her, awareness is about more than wearing pink.

"It's more than the ribbon. It's more than the month on the calendar," she said. "It means creating a space for people to feel safe to talk about their fears, their diagnoses and their hopes."

Cook said early detection played an important role in her journey. Faith, family, her caregivers and music also helped carry her through difficult days.

She created a playlist of songs that helped her reflect, cry, laugh and keep moving forward.

That same sense of hope connects her cancer journey with the work she continues through EmpowerED.

"There is always something forward," Cook said.