Patient Profile: JoAnn Costa Changed Her Mind and Her Life
When JoAnn Costa was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in the summer of 2022, she did what she had done with any previous health diagnosis. She went to the hospital for treatment. It was close to home, literally right next door to her home, in fact. The decision of where to seek treatment was a non-issue, as Mrs. Costa was struggling with grief in addition to her new diagnosis. Her daughter, Jennifer, had died just six months earlier.
Overwhelmed with all that life was throwing her way, it made sense to Mrs. Costa to simply do what she had always done and seek treatment in the same location where the rest of her health care was provided. Initially at stage three, Mrs. Costa’s endometrial cancer was treated with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
It was not easy, “The side effects were horrible – diarrhea, nausea, pain. I felt terrible all the time,” remembers Mrs. Costa, “And the radiation was even worse than the chemo.” At the end of the treatment, though, she heard the words she had hoped to hear. Mrs. Costa was deemed ‘cancer free.’ She had nine months of being disease free before her cancer returned.
This time, Mrs. Costa opted to get a second opinion. She was reluctant to go through another treatment protocol that resulted in the high degree of discomfort she had previously experienced. For the second opinion, she saw Dr. Srilata Gundala, founder of Hope & Healing Cancer Services in nearby Hinsdale, Illinois. “I loved her,” says Mrs. Costa, “but it was January, and I couldn’t imagine driving further for treatment in snow and ice when the hospital cancer center was right next door.” Again, logistics dictated Mrs. Costa’s choices.
Around this same time, Mrs. Costa had a fall and broke her pelvis, tail bone, and sacrum. When it rains it pours. “I was in and out of the hospital and the doctors had no idea what to do. I was eventually sent home with morphine, but that made me too lethargic,” says Mrs. Costa, “I was screaming in pain and would keep going back to that big hospital. I thought I was living there! I told the doctor to do something, DO SOMETHING!’ I shouted at them.”
The too frequent back and forth visits to the hospital coupled with a growing sense that her hospital oncologist was too negative was enough for Mrs. Costa to decide to make some changes in her health care. “My original oncologist left no hope for me. They blamed the OB-GYN for not getting all the cancer the first time. They always had me on death’s door,” said Mrs. Costa, “I needed someone more positive like Dr. Gundala.”
In medical care, it is easy to believe that it can be too late to change your mind, but that is exactly what Mrs. Costa did. She changed her mind and changed her oncologist. Turns out, that decision also changed Mrs. Costa’s life, and for the better.
“I love to go to Dr. Gundala,” says Mrs. Costa, “I love that woman, I really do. She is so positive and has such a good personality. She lifts me up a lot and has such a good nature.” Mrs. Costa was hoping to extend her life by two years, as her endometrial cancer had advanced to stage IV with her relapse. She wanted to be around to enjoy her grandchildren, including meeting any that had yet to be born. “I told Dr. Gundala that I was hoping to last two years. Dr. G looked at me and said, ‘Two years?! We’re shooting for five!’ She is such a powerful little dynamite.”
The transition to getting cancer treatments outside the hospital system she still goes to for other health care needs has been an easy one for Mrs. Costa, “Dr. G gets all my info from the patient portal. When she needs to talk with one of my other doctors, they pick up the phone and talk with one another. It’s no problem. And the nurses are so nice here! They know my family and whatever I need, it’s taken care of.”
Dr. Gundala started Mrs. Costa on an immunotherapy and targeted therapy protocol. She takes oral pill medication to block tumor growth and gets an immunotherapy infusion every few weeks to help prevent any cancer cells from hiding and boost her immune system. Mrs. Costa tolerates these treatments much better, improving her quality of life immensely. “Before, with that other treatment, I couldn’t even function. Now I can walk around and do my grocery shopping. I can cook for my family. I can be active before I need to rest.”
Better than all of that, though, is that Mrs. Costa’s son had a second baby recently. Seeing another grandchild being born, her third now, is a blessing she does not take for granted, “He’s six weeks old and looks just like his six-year-old brother. The lungs on that kid!,” Mrs. Costa laughs thinking about the cries and screams from her newest grandbaby.
Dr. Gundala is happy that Mrs. Costa exercised her choice and that it is having such a positive effect on her day-to-day life, “Patients needs to know they can do what is best for them and that best doesn’t always mean biggest or closest. Hospitals are large and sluggish systems that aren’t always able to provide personalized care or everything a patient needs. At Hope & Healing, we work with each of our patients to meet their unique needs. I am so happy Mrs. Costa chose what was best for her. She is a joy to treat.”
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
