This time the diagnosis was definitive – and devastating.
After first being told that she had bronchitis, and then pneumonia, Joanne Teeney had traveled from her Upper Township, NJ, home to Philadelphia, hoping a specialist at Penn Medicine could determine why her respiratory symptoms were not responding to the medications she had been taking.
The sophisticated imaging studies the specialist ordered revealed the reason.
“Unfortunately,” the doctor said, “you have Stage 4 lung cancer.”
“I just lost it,” Ms. Teeney recalls, adding, “Two of my children were with me and they were trying to support me, but they were shocked, as well.”
The bad news would get even worse. Ms. Teeney learned she had small cell lung cancer (SCLC), an uncommon, aggressive form of lung cancer with fewer treatment options and a worse prognosis than non-small cell lung cancer, which constitutes almost 90% of all cases of the disease.
Ms. Teeney – who describes herself as “a defiant little woman” – responded to that shattering information with a simple question: “OK. Now what do we do?”
The answer, as it has unfolded over almost five years since her diagnosis, has entailed radiation therapy, participation in a clinical trial of immunotherapy, and monthly chemotherapy. It also has included shifting her care from Philadelphia to Hope Community Cancer Center in Cape May Court House, a member of Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA), one of the nation’s largest networks of oncology specialists, serving patients in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and the Washington, D.C., area.
Throughout that time, Ms. Teeney has not only survived, defying the grim odds that mark SCLC, she has also thrived, living her life with zest and sharing her experience and message of hope with others at the start of their cancer journeys.
Ms. Teeney was diagnosed in 2020, in the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the respiratory symptoms that had prompted her to seek medical care, she was experiencing back pain caused by two tumors in her lower right lung pressing on her spine. After receiving radiation therapy to shrink the tumors, she began a clinical trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), an immunotherapy drug given by intravenous infusion.
“That first year, I was very sick. I was physically sick, but I also was emotionally sick. The first thing you think of when you’re diagnosed is, ‘I’m going to die,’” Ms. Teeney says. She explains that while her cancer responded to the immunotherapy, the side effects caused her to lose a significant amount of weight and weakened her to the point that she had to use a wheelchair for some weeks. The toll of treatment occasionally made her wonder whether she could stay the course. Then a complication landed her in the hospital.
“I had to stay overnight, and I was on oxygen. I was beside myself. You have to understand I’ve never had surgery. I wasn’t on any medication before this diagnosis. I’d never had an overnight hospital stay except to have my babies. I was a gym rat. I was the picture of health and all of a sudden, I’m a sick woman. The pulmonologist came in to see me. He was very competent, but he looked like he was about 12 years old. I asked how long I would have to be on oxygen, and he said that, unfortunately, it would probably be for the rest of my life.”
That was one medical pronouncement Ms. Teeney was not going to accept. “I’m alive by the grace of God and thanks to modern medicine, and I’m very grateful for all that the doctors have done for me, but after two weeks at home on oxygen, I said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore.’ I have things I want to do and places I want to go. I’m a beach girl. So, I called them and said, ‘Come pick up the oxygen equipment.’ They said, ‘You shouldn’t do that because you might need it later.’ I said, ‘If I need it down the road, I’ll call you but get this out of my house.’”
The oxygen equipment has not returned.
Ms. Teeney soon made another change that also has had a huge impact on her quality of life.
“My kids were taking turns driving me to Philadelphia and it was an all-day affair. I would get a scan in the morning and then I would get my treatment and then I would see the doctor. It was exhausting, but I thought I could only receive good care there. I was wrong about that,” Ms. Teeney says.
She explains that she learned that Hope Community Cancer Center, which has offices in Cape May Court House and Marmora, provides the latest cancer therapies, including the monthly chemotherapy treatments she transitioned to after she began experiencing a diminished response to her immunotherapy regimen.
Being able to receive treatment at a comprehensive cancer center 10 minutes from her home has made a major difference, she explains. “You’re not dealing with getting to the city and the traffic and the parking there. And if you don’t feel well, it’s great to be back home quickly,” she explains.
Beyond the convenience factor, the human factor is a decisive plus for Hope Community Cancer Center, Ms. Teeney says. “I’ve received nothing but the best care there. I love Dr. Kaleem Ahmad. He is upfront and honest and compassionate, and the women in the office have been unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for a better care facility.”
Ironically, Ms. Teeney says that her regard for Dr. Ahmad owes not only to all he has done to provide her with the right care but also due to one point on which he was wrong. She explains that she got her first tattoo when she turned 50 years old and has since added several others. At different points in her cancer care, she adds, she has asked oncologists whether she could get another tattoo to mark her fight against the disease. The answer – from Dr. Ahmad and her previous oncologists – had always been a flat no due to concerns about potential infection.
“About three months ago I was in the office for a treatment and Dr. Ahmad walks in and says, ‘I have to apologize to you.’ I said, ‘For what?’ You have to understand, this man has given me his cell phone number and told me to call anytime I have a concern. I know other people he’s treating whose children have texted him with a question they had about their parents’ care. He always says that this is what he is here for. So, he explained that after he told me that I couldn’t get a tattoo, he went home that night and researched the scientific literature on the risks of tattooing in cancer patients in active treatment and that he could not find solid evidence against it, so I could get a tattoo if I wished. He knew how much this meant to me and he looked into it on his own time. It made me cry.”
Ms. Teeney explains that while she is a people person, focusing on herself and public speaking are not in her nature. For that reason, she adds, her first instinct was to decline when she was asked to talk with others about her experience with cancer. “Then I thought, how dare I not talk about what I’ve been through if it gives one person hope? I think a lot about my purpose, and I say, ‘OK, Lord, use me . . . but please use me for at least the next 15 years,’” she says with a laugh.
That willingness to share her story has prompted Ms. Teeney to participate in a support group operated by Gilda’s Club, a nationwide non-profit organization named for the late Gilda Radner that offers a range of services to people with cancer and their families.
She also agreed to appear in a video in which she shared her hard-won insights on living with cancer. Those insights include:
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Ms. Teeney’s oncologist, Kaleem Ahmad, MD, is among 100+ medical oncologists and hematologists who practice with Regional Cancer Care Associates (RCCA) at more than 20 locations across New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and the Washington, D.C., area. RCCA’s cancer specialists see more than 30,000 new patients each year and provide care to more than 265,000 established patients, collaborating closely with those patients’ other physicians. RCCA physicians offer patients innovative therapies, including immunotherapies and targeted therapy, as well as access to approximately 300 clinical trials. In addition to serving patients who have solid tumors, blood-based cancers, and benign blood disorders, RCCA care centers also provide infusion services to people with a number of non-oncologic conditions—including multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, asthma, iron-deficiency anemia, and rheumatoid arthritis—who take intravenously-administered medications.
To learn more about RCCA, call 844-928-0089 or contact RCCA.
For more information or to schedule an appointment,
call 844-346-7222. You can also schedule an appointment by calling the RCCA location nearest you.
What if there was a safe, painless, and quick screening test that could reduce the number of lung cancer deaths by 20%? And what if that test was covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most commercial insurers?
For 2022, let’s resolve to stay active with cancer screenings! According to the American Cancer Society more than 1.9 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer. The best way to protect ourselves from poor outcomes is detection in early stages when cancer can be cured.
Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on linkedin Share on email Share on print While lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths,
Regional Cancer Care Associates is one of fewer than 200 medical practices in the country selected to participate in the Oncology Care Model (OCM); a recent Medicare initiative aimed at improving care coordination and access to and quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
