Patient Profile: Nora Spencer Is Feeling Her Vibes
For Nora Spencer, it is all about the vibes – good or bad. Being diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in March of 2022 was a definite bad vibe, but now, still in treatment two years later with her last scan showing that cancer cells were undetected, Nora is enjoying serious good vibes. “It’s the worst experience I’ve ever had,” says Nora, “but then it’s good because it changes the way you look at life.”
Nora started experiencing excruciating pain in her back and wondered if it was from her sleeping position. When the pain did not subside, she sought medical help. The cause of her pain had nothing to do with how she was sleeping or her mattress, but stage IV lung cancer. “I didn’t understand it,” Nora remembers, “I was running on shock.”
After having cared for her mother, father, and sister during chemotherapy treatments for their own cancers, Nora knew she would not pursue chemotherapy. She felt strongly about that choice and was not willing to change her mind about it.
Nora’s psychiatrist, who had been treating her for depression, recommended Dr. Srilata Gundala of Hope & Healing Cancer Services in Hinsdale, Illinois. “I had an unwavering attitude about chemotherapy from the get-go and Dr. Gundala was very accepting of me. She never judged or tried to persuade me to do anything I didn’t want to do,” says Nora.
Instead of chemotherapy, Nora went through a series of radiation treatments. Nora found the radiation difficult. It burned her skin and caused pain and fatigue. “I don’t know how I did it,” says Nora of getting through that phase of her cancer treatment, “You get really numb. You do what the doctors tell you to do. You put your trust in them.”
A family member of Nora’s best friend had been treated successfully with immunotherapy and Nora asked about it. Turns out, her type of cancer was proving to be very responsive to immunotherapy treatments. “I’ll give it a go,” was Nora’s thought. “Luckily,” Nora reports, “it’s been working.”
While she remains on immunotherapy infusions every three weeks, Nora has had a year of clean scans under this treatment. And, best for Nora, the side effects have been minimal for her. “I get tired and my hair has thinned out, but my back pain is better.
When asked if she had advice for cancer patients who have been newly diagnosed, Nora is circumspect, “I’ll never give advice,” she says. More important for Nora is that new cancer patients understand that with cancer, no one is dealing with just one thing. “For me, it was cancer, pain, and depression. It’s all a circle and all those things are connected – they all need to be treated and managed.”
With another clear scan marking one year of remission, Nora is starting to look forward. “I can start my life again. I have a chance to live.” Before her diagnosis, Nora had considered a move to Florida, but, “Cancer put the crush on that.” After her most recent clear scan, “I am on my way to a little log cabin in the woods where I can see the church from my window. Cancer is such a terrible thing, but it makes you see things more clearly.”
“I’m really happy I went to Dr. Gundala. I felt a connection with her and she has good vibes. I knew when I met her, ‘She’ll try, she’ll try, she’ll try.’ I feel she is a healer.”
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
