Patient Stories
Sutter Health Cancer Services
Nancy – Taking Charge and Beating Lung Cancer
As a former hospital administrator, Nancy knows a thing or two about health care. She also is a woman in tune to her own health. When she noticed she was losing weight on her naturally thin build, she grew concerned and scheduled an appointment with her doctor.
A chest X-ray revealed something suspicious, so her doctors ordered a CT scan to investigate further. Indeed it was a mass, which clinicians later determined was benign through dye-testing. Nancy’s follow-up tests on her mass kept coming back benign for the next two years. But in 2008, she started to mysteriously lose weight again, and she knew that it was time for action.
Nancy met with thoracic surgeon Costanzo Di Perna, M.D., at the beginning of 2009 to figure out a game plan. She said she really admired Dr. Di Perna’s passion and earnestness to help. “His body language demonstrated that he was truly focused on me as an individual with a disease and not just on the disease,” the 64-year-old retiree said. “His eye contact told me that he was truly listening to me, and not simply waiting for me to finish speaking. He was very articulate when explaining the process and procedure of the surgery, as well as the minimally invasive method which is his expertise.”
Nancy’s surgery was scheduled for late February 2009. Through his minimally invasive technique, thoracoscopic lobectomy, Dr. Di Perna removed her 4-centimeter tumor, which was deemed cancerous. Dr. Di Perna's minimally invasive approach to this surgery meant that Nancy spent only three days at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
Nancy was able to quickly rebound and get back to what she loves best: retirement! “I’m back to all normal activities,” she said. “I love to work in the yard and ride my bike.”
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