Through sickness and in health, Lisa and Roger have stood by each other's side. Both members of this loving, dynamic duo have battled lung disease, with Lisa’s journey most recently.  

The couple has been married for 40 years and reside in Plainfield. Their health challenges are just one chapter of their epic love story, which has included much love and laughter and a connection that has grown stronger through the decades. They first met when they both attended Indiana University in Bloomington, sharing a love for listening to live music at the historic venue, The Bluebird. Music isn’t their only shared passion.

In their free time, they love going to the parks in Hendricks County. When Roger had undergone his double lung transplant, Lisa began cooking at home, which led to their bond over cooking meals together. Now, Roger has provided support for his wife in her journey.

They have raised two children, a son and a daughter, who take prevention seriously when it comes to their health because of their parents' experiences. 

Making Prevention a Priority 

As a past nurse, Lisa has made it a priority to get routine checkups with her primary doctor, Dr. Michaela Besold of Avon Internal Medicine. She did not have early symptoms of lung cancer, which is not uncommon. However, with Lisa's smoking history and other health factors, Dr. Besold suggested that Lisa get a lung cancer screening CT. 

Lisa didn't know at the time, but this one step would save her life.

Diagnosis

A lung cancer screening CT is a quick, noninvasive test that screens for lung cancer. This important annual screening has been shown to reduce the risk of lung cancer death in high-risk individuals by 20 percent.  To qualify for a lung cancer screening, certain criteria must be met, and it is encouraged to discuss these requirements with your healthcare provider. 

Lisa’s lung cancer screening CT led to a biopsy, and her results came back positive. Her diagnosis was non-small cell lung cancer. “You hear the words ‘lung cancer’ and it's frightening,” Roger reflected in his concern for Lisa. “It's hard to put it into words, but it's scary.” 

The next step in Lisa’s journey was a lobectomy, a surgical procedure that involves removing a lobe of the lung. Since Lisa’s cancer was caught early through a lung cancer screening CT, the lobectomy procedure was able to remove all of the cancer and leave Lisa cancer-free.

Judgement-Free Care

At the beginning of her lung cancer journey, Lisa was worried that others may judge her for her past smoking history. Especially as a former nurse, she was concerned some on her care team may think “she should have known better.”

After seeing Dr. Bolla, an Oncologist at Hendricks, and others in the Oncology office, she felt much more at ease, and they quickly put that concern to rest. “They didn’t think like that at all,” Lisa said. “They know it could happen to anybody.”    

Recovery

After lung cancer treatment, care from a pulmonologist as well as participating in pulmonary rehab is helpful to recovery. For example, some of the benefits of pulmonary rehab include reduced shortness of breath, reduced fatigue and improved strength and endurance.

Lisa’s recovery included a care plan from the team at Hendricks Pulmonary and Critical Care as well as support from the pulmonary rehab experts at Hendricks. Her pulmonologist, Dr. Sami Abuqayyas, designed a recovery process to meet Lisa’s unique needs and tailored it throughout her journey to healing. “I fully trust Dr. Abuqayyas. If I was tired, he adjusted my plan to work for me,” said Lisa. 

"We Now Have More Time."

Like he has for 40 years, Roger walked alongside Lisa every step of her cancer treatment and road to recovery. “I got my girl back,” Roger said with emotion in his voice. “With four grandsons and one on the way, we want to be able to spoil the last one too ... and now we can.”

Roger and Lisa reflected on the importance of early lung cancer screenings and how the results could have ended up completely differently. But now they have time, and they are going to take advantage of every single day.   

After her experience with cancer, Lisa has advice for others about having a lung cancer screening CT: “I would tell them if it's offered, please go do it, because they can find it early like they did with mine. Just go get it done.” 

Learn More

Visit hendricks.org/lung-scan to learn more and check to see if you are eligible for a lung scan screening.