Patient Profile: Susan McTigue and Breast Cancer
It is not uncommon these days to put off medical screenings because of a lack of insurance, and that is exactly where Susan McTigue found herself in 2019. After a doctor in a community-based hospital encouraged she apply for the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, Susan was finally able to gain access to a mammogram, which is recommended for all women age 45 and older, and younger for those with a history of breast cancer in their family.
To Susan’s surprise and sadness, the mammogram came back with something visible, but inconclusive, which was when a needle biopsy was ordered. That procedure was a bit painful, but conclusive. Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2019.
It took a few more months of staging and testing to learn that she was Stage 2. This was good news, as it meant Susan’s cancer had not migrated anywhere else in her body. It was during this period in the fall of 2019 that Susan connected with Dr. Srilata Gundala, the hematologist/oncologist who would go on to manage her treatment. That active treatment would start in January 2020.
At that time, Susan was working at a grocery store, filling as many as fifty delivery orders a day. The work was physical, but Susan had learned the ups and downs of her treatment schedule and it was manageable. Because the treatment was consistent, Susan learned the rhythm of her body’s reactions to the chemotherapy and how best she could manage the side effects, primarily fatigue and nausea.
Dr. Gundala, the founder of Hope & Healing Care Centers in Lombard and Hinsdale, Illinois works with all her patients to understand their lives outside the treatment room and how best to manage the side effects of treatment, “Everyone’s lives are different. Some of my patients are retired and others are working. Some have responsibility for young children or older parents. It is so important for me to know what is important to my patient, so I can work with them to manage both side effects and their increased risk because of how the treatment is impacting their immune system.”
That uncertain balance of juggling side effects and risk became a driving factor for Susan, as she was working in a grocery store while still in active treatment for her breast cancer when COVID-19 hit last March. Dr. Gundala advised her against continuing to work in that environment while the virus spread through the nation, making front line workers, like Susan, much more vulnerable. Susan left that job to preserve her health.
At the end of six rounds of chemotherapy, Susan had a lumpectomy in July 2020 followed up by twenty radiation treatments in late summer. Now at the tail end of her treatment, Susan goes into the outpatient treatment center every three weeks and sits down with her doctor every six weeks. Her hair, after having fallen out, is starting to return.
Things are looking up. With her immune system in repair, simple things like eating deli meat or fresh produce – foods considered too risky for a cancer patient with a compromised immune system, are once again on the menu. “I have never craved a salad so much in my life. With my numbers back up, I’m now able to eat salad again. I never thought I would be so happy to eat lettuce!,” says Susan about one of the benefits of being at the tail end of successful cancer treatment.
With Spring in the air in every way, Susan reflects on the last couple of years she has had. When asked if she had any advice for someone just starting treatment for breast cancer, Susan says, “I sometimes make bad jokes about it. Some people feel sorry for themselves, but I tried to have a good attitude. Things go better with a positive attitude. The doctors did what they had to do and I did what I had to do. I’m not lucky that I got cancer, but I am lucky that I got great care.”
Learn more about Dr. Gundala and her care philosophy here.
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
