Patient Finds Health Advocate in Support Services Team
When Jen Meier, 38, developed a mouth ulcer that just wouldn’t heal, her doctor suggested she consult an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist just to be safe. Keith Wilson, MD, a UC Health ENT surgeon, recommended surgery to close the wound and avoid potential infection.
The Edgewood, Ky., resident—then 37—went into surgery an ulcer patient and came out a cancer survivor: Pathology reports showed she had stage-1 squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. A follow-up imaging test revealed a suspicious lymph node, leading to a complicated partial neck dissection surgery to remove more than 25 lymph nodes. Fortunately, only one was cancerous but it elevated her diagnosis to stage-3 head and neck cancer.
That led to an aggressive treatment that involved surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
“After surgery, I had a choice: radiation alone, radiation with an experimental drug similar to chemo but with fewer side effects or radiation plus chemo. When we gathered opinions and consulted with the experts, we decided on the radiation plus chemo,” recalls Meier. “I knew it was the most aggressive choice and that it would most likely make me sicker and extend the length of my recovery, but I wanted to do everything I could on the front end. I didn’t want to look back and second-guess myself or go through treatment again.”
In August 2010, she underwent 35 daily targeted radiation therapy treatments over a period of eight weeks with William Barrett, MD, and a chemotherapy infusion once a week for three weeks with Tahir Latif, MD, at the UC Health Barrett Cancer Center in Clifton. Meier says her UC Health care team “became family” to her during the course of treatment.
“They held my life in their hands and the entire treatment team took that responsibility very seriously. They made sure I understood everything and showed personal attention to my needs. They treated my family and friends the same way,” Meier recalls.
In late October 2010, Meier was nearing the treatment finish line and needed to be discharged from the hospital to avoid infections while her immune function was low from the chemotherapy treatment. The problem was that she was having side effects that made the thought of going home daunting.
“I couldn’t swallow anything and was still on IV fluids. I wanted to get out of the hospital, too, but I didn’t see how that was possible when I couldn’t even swallow my meds or eat without throwing up,” she recalls.
That’s when Meier met Karla Shearer, a nurse practitioner with the UC Health patient support services team. The interdisciplinary team focuses on enhancing quality of life by tackling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of patients with chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Emphasis is placed on pain and symptom management as well as communication and coordination of care.
Shearer suggested sending Meier home with a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter) to deliver pain and anti-nausea medications intravenously while she recovered. Within a few hours, Meier was out of the hospital and at her house waiting for the home health nurse to arrive.
Being able to recover at home provided a big boost to Meier’s morale. A mother of three daughters—ages 13, 10 and 6—Meier was not only missing out on all the girls’ school and extracurricular activities, but also just seeing them.
“My husband insisted on staying with me while I was in the hospital and my mom would stay with the girls at our house,” she recalls. “The kids kept their normal schedules, but it was different because Mom and Dad weren’t there. It was hard on all of us.”
The PICC line was removed in December 2010. In March 2011, her second follow-up positron emission test confirmed she was cancer free.
“I am so thankful that I didn’t have to pack up and go out of town to get the best cancer treatment for me. The care I got right here in Cincinnati was supreme,” says Meier.
- More information on UC Health’s patient support services can be found here.