Cancer Patient Shares Her Remarkable Journey

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Newswise Phoebe T. Ward, Jr., keeps her own opinion on statistics. Its a bell curve and Im on the side of the bell curve that succeeds and survives, she says. Thats my choice. Thats where I place myself in the picture every time. Diagnosed with lung cancer last September, she learned that the cancer spread to her brain in January. And yet, she considers herself lucky.

Listen to Your Body Ms. Ward retired from her 30-year career as an audio engineer with ABC on September 1, 2013. Back when I started, I was told that women dont do that kind of work, she says. But she persisted.

That perseverance continues to serve her well. In early September, she insisted on getting a chest x-ray for a cough that wouldnt go away, even after two doctors told her it was merely lingering bronchitis. But she knew something was wrong. Listen to your body, Ms. Ward says. I really encourage people to reach out. If they dont agree, ask somebody else for help. A chest x-ray on September 13th revealed a mass in her lungs, which was biopsied on the 19th. Ms. Ward turned 65 on September 20, 2013 and received her lung cancer diagnosis a few days later.

Facing cancer, Ms. Ward began to consider her treatment. She was willing to leave the state if necessary. But she didnt have to. She explains, A friend of mine who had been here at UNM for breast cancer sent me an article about Dr. Edelman having arrived in the last few months. And I said, thats my ticket!

Martin Edelman, MD, FACP, is a medical oncologist and a world-renowned lung cancer expert. To design the best treatment approach for Ms. Ward, he worked closely with radiation oncologist Thomas Schroeder, MD. But in January, surgical oncologist Jess Schwartz, MD, FACS, FCCP, told her that the cancer had metastasized to her brain, rendering her lung cancer inoperable. Dr. Schwartz was so beautifully compassionate, Ms. Ward recalls. It was not what I anticipated and I was terribly grateful.

Facing a cancerous brain tumor, the team pulled in neurologist Erich Marchand, MD. Then they approached Ms. Ward about the stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) procedure. Because she would be the first one at UNM Cancer Center to undergo the treatment, several people would be paying very close attention to the procedure to check, double-check and cross-check every aspect. She agreed without any hesitation.

A Long Day Ms. Ward, her sister Honey, and sister-in-law Sandy Davis arrived at the UNM Cancer Center at 7:00 A.M. for the SRS procedure. Dr. Marchand started by applying the metal head frame which Ms. Ward jokingly refers to as her Hannibal Lecter mask directly to her skull. By pinning it directly into her skull, Dr. Marchand ensured that it wouldnt move during the procedure. As Dr. Schroeder explains, There is no room for error.

With the head frame in place, Ms. Ward got an MRI and a CAT scan to pinpoint exactly where the tumor was, how big it was, and what its shape was in three dimensions. The medical physics team used these scans to develop the radiation plan. Then they double-checked the plan with Drs. Schroeder and Marchand. In SRS, Ms. Ward would receive a single high radiation dose to her brain, given in several arcs or sweeps that concentrated on the tumor. Radiation therapy to other parts of the body is usually given in a series of lower radiation treatments over several days or weeks. So, the medical physics team had to be sure their plans and calculations were correct and would not injure the delicate brain tissue surrounding the tumor.

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Cancer Patient Shares Her Remarkable Journey