Indiana Broadcast Hall of Famer Patty Spitler shares cancer battle
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s a typical Tuesday for Patty Spitler. She’s on the set of “Life.Style.Live!” fresh off an interview with actor Channing Tatum about his upcoming film “Dog.”
When her segment is over, Spitler and her sidekick — who she calls her “hot mess,” mutt Mable — exit the studio and the two head home.
As the host of “Pet Pals” and “Great Day TV,” this has been the norm for Spitler since 2009 after she retired from WISH-TV in 2004. Known for her charisma, humor and brutal honesty, Patty is an Indiana TV icon and Indiana Broadcast Hall of Famer. But, there’s another side to Patty, one that she wants to welcome you into.
“In July 2021, I had my mammogram and they said, ‘Did you fall recently?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know. Maybe. I’m kind of clumsy.’ And they said, ‘Well, I think we found a bruise. Come back in six months.’
“So, six months later I go back, and it’s still there … that little bump … and they said let’s do a biopsy. After they did the biopsy, they came back and said I had stage one cancer … breast cancer. It’s hard.”
In March 2020, Spitler did what many people across the country did: held off on her annual mammogram. The country was stricken with the coronavirus. In-person check-ups were nonexistent for fear of infection. For most of those who did the same, it was harmless, but not for Spitler. She tells me the lump was small; however, when a person hears “cancer,” she says, it doesn’t matter. There is always the possibility, no matter how slim, the disease could divide, spread and destroy.
Dr. Tara Spivey is Spitler’s oncologist, and a person Spitler would come to rely heavily on in the months ahead. Spivey tells News 8 about their first meeting.
“Getting to know Spitler was truly getting to know her medical history,” Spivey said. “Then we got her dressed and we went into the consultation room and basically laid out everything: explained what she’d been through, what her pathology meant, drew some pictures so that she could understand what her type was, what her prognosis was and what we had to do to develop a treatment plan.”
The morning of Dec. 30, Spitler arrived at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital for an operation. The cancerous lump on her breast had to be removed.
While she smiles on the outside, fear lies within. Wearing an oversized green gown, Spitler was carted through the swinging blue doors for her procedure. Six hours later, she’s back at her hospital bed. The tumor is gone. But, Spitler’s a warrior. She was back to work just four days later.
Skip ahead to March 4. Spitler has just completed her final radiation session. She walks down the hospital corridor. Spitler is now cancer-free. To celebrate, she’ll ring a bell signaling the end of treatment.
By sharing her experience, Spitler hopes to help others. Her message to Hoosiers is this: “Go get your mammogram. Get everything checked. It’s time to get back into the swing of things and take care of yourself.”