The art of healing: Letta’s story of cancer and musical care

When you walk into Letta’s treatment room on infusion day, a small disco ball throws light across the walls and someone’s playing guitar. It doesn’t feel like a chemo suite. Letta calls it “Club Chemo.”

This welcoming atmosphere is thanks, in part, to the Arts and Healing program at Inova Schar Cancer. By bringing music and creative therapies directly to patients during treatment, the program helps make infusion days feel brighter.

This added support has been key in helping Letta navigate her unexpected reality – stage III colon cancer, ongoing chemotherapy and the demands of being a single mom.

Diagnosis and early challenges

Saletta, or Letta to most, was diagnosed in August 2025 after a colonoscopy to investigate her worsening gastrointestinal symptoms. The colonoscopy and further tests found a tumor that had grown through the wall of her rectum and spread to nearby lymph nodes.

Before her diagnosis, Letta described herself as constantly in motion. She was a runner, an aviation enthusiast and a single mother with many responsibilities. She dismissed early symptoms as temporary or just minor digestive issues. When they persisted, she sought care, but there were delays in getting a colonoscopy. By the time her symptoms sent her to the emergency room, more than a year had passed.

Letta wants others to learn from her experience. “I want to raise awareness that colon cancer is a thing – that stomach pain, that abdominal ache, that stool bleed – you need to check that out sooner than later, because it took over a year for me to get there,” she says. “I want folks who are 35 and older to pay more attention to this. We just don’t see colon cancer as a big thing for younger folks.”

And she’s not wrong. Doctors now see colon cancer being diagnosed in younger adults more often, and symptoms like abdominal discomfort, changes in bowel habits or unexplained bleeding are often dismissed. The earlier it’s caught, the more options there are.

Treatment, care and wellbeing

Today, Letta is undergoing chemoradiation and chemotherapy as part of a total neoadjuvant therapy regimen at Inova Schar Cancer. Her case is evaluated at a weekly multidisciplinary cancer conference, where oncologists, surgeons, radiologists and pathologists work together to assess her response, restage her condition and determine the next best steps.

“This collaborative approach allows us to deliver the most effective and coordinated treatment,” her oncologist, Khurram Anwar, MD, explains. “Care is personalized for each patient and follows the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s guidelines.”

For Letta, treatment has caused her to shift. “It’s been extremely humbling when you’re independent and do everything yourself,” she says. “I thought I’d be grinding to get my daughter to college these next two years. Then this diagnosis said, ‘Nope.’”

“The emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis can be profound,” Dr. Anwar explains. “That’s why comprehensive care at Inova includes mental health support, social work services and wellness programs alongside medical treatment. True healing helps patients maintain their emotional wellbeing, sense of identity and quality of life throughout the cancer journey.”

The healing power of music

Through Inova’s Arts and Healing program, Letta was introduced to live music during infusion visits. The free program, supported by Inova Foundation donors, uses art to bring comfort and connection to patients during treatment.

When Caleb, an artist-in-residence, played guitar in her treatment suite, Letta noticed an immediate shift in her mood and the whole room. “We can’t cure, but we can try and heal. Music is one way of doing that,” Caleb says. “I’m doing what I enjoy, the fact that it has such an impact, that it moves people, is pretty awesome.”

Letta agrees. “Music makes me want to dance. It makes me want to reflect. That’s medicine to me,” she says. “It got me moving, as opposed to sitting here being sad about the fact that this is happening. It helped me change how I was receiving these days.”

The nursing team soon added a disco ball. Letta began to show up differently. And just like that, “Club Chemo” was born.

Moving forward

Letta is now nearing the end of this phase of treatment. Her tumor markers and imaging have shown real progress, and her team is discussing her imaging results and planning the next steps.

“Her response so far is promising and reflects the benefits of timely, coordinated care,” Dr. Anwar says.

Through it all, Letta has remained strong. She’s still moving and still turns her chemo suite into a dance floor when she can. “Having Inova in my community was a huge advantage,” she says. “It’s a special community that has provided me with unbelievable support when I needed it most.”

Letta’s story is a powerful reminder: listen to your body, stay up to date with colon cancer screening (starting at age 45 for most adults), and know that healing can come from unexpected places.  At Inova Schar Cancer, expert treatment, emotional support and wellness programs work together to support you every step of the way.