12 DAYS OF GIVING ~ GRATEFUL PATIENT SPOTLIGHT

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Mary Robdrup’s rare cancer diagnosis receives specialized treatment

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As someone who describes herself as self-aware about her health, Mary Robdrup is truly grateful to have access to a team of healthcare professionals who will advocate for her as she undergoes treatment for a rare form of cancer that has become part of her life.

Mary has been a patient of Dr. Bryan Lee in the Brant Community Cancer Clinic (BCCC) at Brant Community Healthcare System (BCHS) since early 2015 after a visit to the Emergency Department at the Brantford General.

Leading an active lifestyle, Mary chalked her initial bout of breathlessness up to her age. She was 54 at the time, and first noticed the problem while walking her dog. Five weeks later, Mary experienced a sudden and intense increase in her heart rate, along with the shortness of breath, and it was enough of a concern that she went to the Emergency Department.

X-rays showed some white spots on Mary’s lung, which were initially thought to be fluid, so an antibiotic was prescribed. Later, a second prescription was given for more antibiotics when further X-rays showed more white spots. A third round of antibiotics was recommended several months later.

Whatever the problem was, it was causing Mary to have to stop and catch her breath regularly. She even took time off from work.

“I’m very self aware about my body,” she said. “I’m healthy. Or I was.”

When Mary arrived by ambulance at the Emergency Department, Dr. Mary Ilo saw her right away, and further X-rays showed the entire right side of her chest was white. The images also showed her lung had collapsed.

“She said, ‘You’re not going anywhere until we figure out what is going on’,” said Mary, who spent the night in the Emergency Department and was visited by four different specialists within the next 24 hours. One specialist was Dr. Abayomi Ajayi, a respirologist at the Brantford General.

During that visit, Mary was admitted and a procedure was performed to draw fluid from her lung for testing to monitor for a potential case of pneumonia. When tests came back negative, Mary was moved to another department.

“At that point, I knew there was something more serious going on, and it wasn’t pneumonia,” she said.

When the results of the lung fluid tests came back, Dr. Ajayi was the doctor who saw her.

“He came walking in and I saw his face and I said to my husband Gerry, ‘That’s not going to be good news’.”

Mary underwent more testing to confirm, but her diagnosis was Stage 4 lung cancer, and included a rare mutation that effects only 10 to 15 per cent of lung cancer patients in North America.

Mary had the chest tube removed so that she could go home, have a shower and await the next step. That next step was to see Dr. Lee in the Cancer Clinic.

“Dr. Lee is awesome,” said Mary. “He talks to you as an equal.”

Dr. Lee explained Mary had the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutation of lung cancer – one of few cases of this type.

“They didn’t expect me to live,” said Mary.

When she first saw Dr. Lee, the cancer was seriously affecting her right lung and also portions of her spine, ribs and right hip. Her cancer was considered end-stage.

Dr. Lee and Mary worked as a team to come up with ways to treat her. She was started on a round of brand new gene-targeting drugs and after a week of that treatment, began to feel some relief from her pain and symptoms.

“I felt so good, I was going to go back to work,” she said.

But after 10 months, the drugs were no longer effective. Mary developed what she thought was a chest infection and was once again a patient in the Emergency Department. More X-ray images showed the cancer had progressed and Mary was scheduled to start chemotherapy.

“Right now there is nothing available to cure the cancer I have,” she said, but the chemotherapy treatment would help.

Mary attended the Brant Community Cancer Clinic at the BCHS to receive her treatment once every three weeks for a half-day procedure. During her visits, she would discuss her case with Dr. Lee, and receive her treatment under the care of the nursing staff.

“All of the nurses really care about all of their patients,” said Mary. “They want to be there. We share each other’s lives. It’s not just a nurse-patient relationship.”

“They’re just so very, very helpful. They make everything as easy for you as they can.”

Mary’s chemotherapy treatment seemed to clear up the symptoms that were causing her discomfort. She had no side effects other than some exhaustion, and she continued treatment every three weeks for a year under the care of Dr. Lee. At the end of the year, Dr. Lee and Mary noticed her current treatment was no longer effective.

After consulting together, they agreed a second, different treatment of chemotherapy would begin the following month.

“The good news is my cancer had shrunk so much they couldn’t get a proper tissue sample,” said Mary, always having something positive to say about her situation.

Every three months she has an appointment in the Diagnostic Imaging Department for a CT scan to enable Dr. Lee to monitor the progress of the treatments and watch for any changes in the cancer.

The new chemotherapy treatment is administered every three weeks. This time, along with the exhaustion, Mary has noticed some other side effects, such as numbness in her hands and feet and sudden “jolts” of pain, but Mary has learned to take it easy after receiving her treatment.

“Because I’m such a go-getter, it’s difficult not to be doing things,” she said.

And despite the lack of cure for her type of cancer, Mary remains positive and upbeat through it all.

“I’m coping very well with my illness,” she said. “Because I have a great relationship with God, my church, my family, my husband and my kids.”

As Mary and her family have learned first-hand, when a health emergency or illness impacts you or a loved one, the Brant Community Healthcare System is here to offer you exceptional healthcare in your time of need. Now is the time to make a difference, please consider making a gift that is meaningful to you, and support a strong healthcare system for our community.

Your involvement, through a donation of any size, will allow the BCHS Foundation to purchase patient equipment not funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, provide essential resources to maintain the exceptional level of compassionate patient care, and invest in new and innovative technology.

To make a donation, visit the BCHS Foundation website at bchsysfoundation.org or call 519-751-5510.

 

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