Lung care that brings a sigh of relief.
Meet Marcella
As a wife, mother and now grandmother to 15 grandchildren, it is easy to understand that Marcella is one busy lady who doesn’t have time to slow down. But a health scare and a trip to the Summa Health Emergency Department (ED) ended up being a blessing in disguise.
A cough, shortness of breath and sharp, burning chest pains sent Marcella to the Summa Health ED for help and answers. With a personal history of deep vein thrombosis (when blood clots form in the legs), the Summa Health emergency department team sent her right away for a CT scan to eliminate the possibility of two dangerous conditions, pneumonia or pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs). While these conditions were ruled out, the scan was able to discover something else entirely.
Summa Health’s augmented intelligence read Marcella’s CT scan and discovered a nodule and ground glass opacities (hazy, gray, or white patches found on chest CT scans that indicate increased density) in her upper-left lung.
Confirmation from a radiologist led to a referral to a Summa Health Pulmonologist, Dr. Chelsea Kennedy-Snodgrass. A repeat CT not only confirmed the existence of the lung nodule, but that it was also growing. An endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) with Summa Health Pulmonologist, Dr. Mansur Assaad, confirmed Marcella’s worst fears—cancer, stage II-A (adenocarcinoma).
“When I received my diagnosis, I was devastated,” Marcella said. “I was very depressed and felt like I had been given a death sentence. But I had and have faith in my doctors.”
Dr. Anand Desai, a Summa Health radiation oncologist, recommended two rounds of radiation as the best course of action when taking into account Marcella’s other health conditions and today — she’s cancer-free!
Marcella now sees Dr. Desai for her regular checkups and follow-up screenings. “The care I’ve received has been excellent. Dr. Desai makes everything understandable. And the nurses are wonderful too, so sympathetic. Keep up the good work, Summa,” she said.
Summa Health. All for the better.
