Liz Nielsen
A high school English teacher, Liz Nielsen had always found teaching rewarding. But when she fell seriously ill, she learned a valuable lesson herself. Suffering from jaundice and nausea, Liz sought help at a local hospital. Tests revealed she had ampullary cancer, a tumor at the location where the bile and pancreatic ducts empty into the small intestine. Because even a small tumor can obstruct the bile duct, signs and symptoms of ampullary cancer usually appear earlier than do symptoms of other pancreatic cancers.
Liz was referred to Loyola’s Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology Center in the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. On the day she first came to Loyola, every member of her multidisciplinary GI oncology team – a medical oncologist, surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist, interventional radiologist, radiologist, pathologist and gastroenterologist – reviewed Liz’s test results, discussed among themselves the best treatment plan and met with her to share their findings and recommendations.
Surgeons who specialize in oncology removed portions of her digestive tract, which was then reconstructed. Loyola’s GI oncology surgeons have undergone extensive specialty training in procedures to remove solid tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. Their surgical practice is exclusively on patients with complex cancers of the pancreas, esophagus, stomach, liver, colon and rectum.
Surgery was followed by radiation and chemotherapy. During her treatment and hospitalizations, Liz’s Loyola doctors kept up on her progress. “I was amazed at how things work at Loyola. They keep tabs on you,” Liz said. “I think it’s just fantastic.”
Following her radiation therapy to treat her ampullary cancer, Liz developed acute myeloid leukemia in 2006. She underwent an additional eight months of chemotherapy to treat the leukemia. Liz was cancer-free for nine months. When the aggressive leukemia returned, her only option was a bone marrow transplant.
Leading to the transplant, this courageous young woman received high-dose chemotherapy. The treatment killed her immune system cells, so Liz could now receive an infusion of bone marrow cells from a donor. Her best match was found in Germany. The donated cells developed into healthy new immune cells.
"My donor, who chose to remain anonymous, saved my life," she said. "I'm astonished at his generosity."
Liz spent a month in the hospital. Until her new immune system took hold, the Chicago resident was vulnerable to infections. She spent three months in isolation at the home of her parents, Lee and Marianne Schmidt, leaving only to take walks.
Liz was treated by Patrick Stiff, MD, Coleman Professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine, and Division Director, Hematology/Oncology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, and Medical Director, Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola University Health System. Dr. Stiff is an internationally known specialist in bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants.
"Dr. Stiff is a miracle worker," Liz said. "It inspired a lot of confidence to know that I had not just a good doctor, but the best doctor."
More than two years after her transplant, Liz remains cancer-free. “I have a little bit of insight that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t gotten sick – insight about what’s important in life and what’s not,” Liz said.
Liz is forever grateful to her Loyola physicians. "I'm convinced Loyola has the best bone marrow transplant team in the country," she said.
Liz now works full time as a book editor and loves to play tennis. Liz and her husband, Peter, are feeling confident enough about the future that they would like to start a family.
To learn more about the multidisciplinary GI Oncology Center at Loyola University Health System, call (888) LUHS-888.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
