Cancer Patient Gets Marching Band Fanfare for Final Chemotherapy Treatment

— -- When Ann Trachtenberg started chemotherapy at the University of Wisconsin’s Carbone Cancer Center about five months ago, she jokingly said a marching band should be on hand when she got through her final treatment.

It happened. When Trachtenberg, a breast cancer patient, walked out of the center Monday afternoon, not only were loved ones present, but several members of the University of Wisconsin’s Marching Band were waiting for her, instruments at the ready, and they struck up a jaunty tune to greet her as she walked out the door.

The Madison woman beamed with pleasure and hugged her daughter, Lindsey Trachtenberg, while the band wrapped up the song.

“Thank you, this was great,” Ann Trachtenberg said, hugging a member of the band who came up to greet and hug her.

Trachtenberg’s niece was the one who contacted the band to make it happen, Kelly Jones, the woman’s primary nurse, told ABC News on Tuesday.

Jones described Trachtenberg as loving, strong and friendly.

“She and I hit it off instantly … and she’s a very caring person,” Jones said.

Trachtenberg couldn’t be reached for comment, but her daughter expressed her own thanks on Facebook.

“Thank you to the UW Carbone Center for taking great care of my mom, to the UW marching band for providing the perfect celebratory soundtrack, to my amazing cousin for all she has done over the past few months, to our family and friends who have provided support in many ways, and to all of you for your kind and supportive comments here!” she wrote.

Trachtenberg will continue to receive maintenance treatments.

The Carbone Cancer Center posted the video on its Facebook page, where it had been viewed more than 292,000 times as of Tuesday night.

“We’ve never had anything like this before,” Susan Lampert Smith, the center’s spokeswoman, said of the response to the video. “It touches a lot of hearts.”