Creativity is at the heart of Marla Yates’ family. At age 70, Marla, of Maywood, Missouri, fills her days with hands‑on projects that include sewing, knitting, crocheting, woodworking, and nearly anything else she can craft. Alongside her daughter, Megan, she creates everything from décor to jewelry. Her husband, Joe, is also a longtime poet, adding yet another layer of artistry and creativity to their home.
That shared creativity became an anchor for the family as Marla navigated cancer twice with the help of her Blessing Health System care team. The diagnoses arrived within just two years of each other.
A family familiarity with cancer
“My dad passed away of colon cancer and my mom passed away of uterine cancer,” Marla says. “My sister had thyroid cancer, too. So, out of my seven siblings, we all pretty much thought we were going to get cancer somewhere along the way.”
In 2024, during a routine gynecology visit, she accepted an optional mammogram.
“It was a good thing I did because they caught it real early,” Marla says. “It was real small.”
She then completed five radiation treatments and believed the chapter had closed. What she didn’t know is that another cancer was already developing.
A sudden pain and a discovery
Three years before her breast cancer diagnosis, a colonoscopy had revealed “three little diverticulosis starting.”
When Marla began experiencing severe abdominal pain in 2023, she assumed that was the cause.
After two rounds of antibiotics for a suspected abscess, she returned to Blessing Health System gastroenterologist Dr. Daniel Moore. He began a colonoscopy but, to Marla’s surprise and confusion, stopped within minutes.
“He couldn’t go any further,” Marla recalls. “It was basically blocked.”
Blessing’s fellowship-trained Colon and Rectal Surgeon Dr. Harsha Polavarapu took her to surgery days later and found a tumor the size of a baseball, nearly blocking her entire colon.
Dr. Harsha removed six inches of her colon along with 37 lymph nodes. Afterward, Blessing Health Hannibal Medical Oncologist Dr. Arif Bari recommended chemotherapy, and Marla began treatment, determined to beat cancer again.
Creativity as medicine
Chemotherapy meant long infusion days at the Blessing Health Hannibal Cancer Center. But Marla never went through them alone. Megan sat beside her during every treatment, bringing her jewelry‑making supplies to help pass the time. Marla’s son had also asked if she’d be interested in crafting an heirloom afghan during treatments, a task she eagerly took up. Between her afghan making and Megan’s jewelry endeavors, the duo began to garner a lot of interest with their wares.
“Megan would sit there and make earrings and give them away to patients, nurses, and doctors,” Marla said.
Megan personalized each pair based on what she learned about other patients, nurses, and doctors. She created countless designs that lifted spirits in the infusion room and helped distract Marla through difficult treatments.
Meanwhile, Joe wrote poems for Marla and the staff—offering encouragement in the way he knows best.
A close‑knit care team
Marla leaned heavily on her Blessing care team.
“He’s very knowledgeable,” she says of Dr. Bari. “He’s so experienced, and that’s what I wanted.”
Nurse practitioner Amanda Jennings of the Blessing Health Hannibal Cancer Center team prepared the Yates family for chemotherapy, explaining the plan, expected symptoms, and coping strategies.
From receptionists to nurses she saw several times each week, Marla grew close to everyone involved in her care. Their kindness reaffirmed her decision to stay local for treatment.
“It wasn’t just that Blessing was close to home. That was convenient, sure, but I don’t think I would have had this experience anywhere else,” Marla notes. “I couldn’t have gotten any better care than I did at Blessing.”
Ringing the bell
Marla completed chemotherapy on February 11, 2026, and returned on February 25 to ring the ceremonial bell marking the end of her treatment, surrounded by family and staff.
Megan, Joe, and the Blessing Health Hannibal Cancer Center team stood with her as she celebrated a long‑awaited milestone. And while she once imagined she might cry, joy took over.
“I was just so happy and ecstatic, and when they told me, ‘okay, ring that bell,’ I rang that bell,” she says, noting the enthusiasm she employed during the task.
Now, with treatment behind her, Marla is ready to return to the parts of life that cancer interrupted. She looks forward to her daily walks, tending her garden, and diving back into the creative projects that have always kept her grounded.
For more information on Blessing’s cancer care, go to blessinghealth.org/cancer