Judy Klungler
When Judy Klungler of Monroe, Mich., was diagnosed with lung cancer in March 2007, she was given the worst possible news.
“They told me I probably had only six months to live,” Judy said. “They wanted to do surgery, but where I live is a tiny town. I needed more information on the options that might be available to me.”
Judy and her husband, Hugo, went online and researched hospitals and major cancer centers across the nation. The couple stopped when they came across Kathy Albain, MD, a lung cancer specialist at Loyola University Health System’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center in Maywood, Ill, and professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
“Someone from another hospital told me that she was one of the best,” Judy said.
Judy decided to travel to Loyola solely to get a second opinion on her condition.
“But when I got there, it was so different from where I had been,” Judy said.
“Everyone was just so positive, right down to the people in the gift shop. It’s just amazing. I knew I’d find the right answers here.”
Judy decided to get her care at Loyola, a place she was confident had the expertise necessary to treat her condition. She was impressed by the one-visit, one-team approach she encountered, which enabled her to see all of her physicians, have lab work done and undergo therapy, among many other services, in one location.
A multidisciplinary team of specialists at Loyola immediately began collaborating to determine the best treatment plan for Judy. The team included surgical oncologists, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists, as well as a complete professional staff including oncology nurses, psychologists, dietitians, social workers and chaplains who all tailored their support to Judy’s needs.
“There are three things that I truly believe you need when you have cancer. That’s faith, a good doctor and hope. You have to have those. I absolutely found those at Loyola,” Judy said.
The first week, Judy underwent a full battery of tests to determine the extent of her disease. Judy’s was a stage II lung cancer, and she had one tumor.
Dr. Albain and Suneel Nagda, MD, a radiation oncologist, and assistant professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, placed Judy on a custom-tailored program of chemotherapy and radiation. Surgery wasn’t necessary.
“They made me believe that I had a good shot,” Judy said. “That coupled with the positive attitude of the nurses and staff in the day hospital made me believe that I could beat this.”
The treatment program worked for Judy. Currently, her cancer is in remission. To monitor her health, she sees Dr. Albain every six months for a checkup. She says her life is as normal as everyone else’s around her. The 61-year-old knits, bakes, crochets, quilts and participates in all the activities she loved doing before her diagnosis.
“I don’t think there is any place better than Loyola that someone in my situation could go to for help,” Judy said. “I just think that you have to be in a very positive environment when you’re going through something like this – and that’s Loyola.”
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
