A story of hope
Judith Talarico, 68, of Cecil Township, takes a break from perusing photos on her iPad from her trip last month to Zion, Ill., for the Celebrate Life event at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center. Talarico was among 135 people from across the country who were honored for reaching five years of being cancer free.
Judith Talarico of Cecil Township stands alongside her commemorative tree with Bill and Annie Stephenson Hostetler of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s founding family at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Ill.
CANONSBURG – There is a tree at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in Zion, Ill., that was planted last month to celebrate the life of Judith Talarico and 460 other cancer survivors.
The tree symbolizes life, hope and growth, and was planted during the center’s 29th annual Celebrate Life event to honor the strength and courage of cancer survivors who have reached the five-year survivorship milestone. Those who attended the celebration received the red-carpet treatment and shared inspirational stories.
Talarico’s name also is prominently displayed on an engraved gold leaf on one of the four growing “Trees of Life” located within the hospital.
Talarico said she feels so blessed to have been able to participate in such an uplifting event.
“Being a five-year celebrant means the world to me,” the 68-year-old Cecil Township resident said. “I’ve been able to watch my daughter get married and my son have a baby, and I’m healthy and back on my feet. I’m really happy that I called CTCA because I got a second chance at life.”
Talarico remembers well that day in October 2012 when she received the phone call from her doctor’s office with the devastating news that she had kidney cancer.
Even though it explained why the bladder infections she had been experiencing for several years were becoming more frequent, she still was caught off guard, especially the way the news was delivered. Talarico was home alone when she was told her kidney would have to be removed.
“I said, ‘How do you know?'” Talarico said. “She said, ‘becauses there’s a large mass.'”
Talarico immediately called her husband of 38 years at work. He suggested she call a girlfriend who had sought treatment for breast cancer at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Talarico did – and it was among the best decisions she’s ever made.
Although CTCA in Philadelphia did not accept her insurance, CTCA in Illinois would. She called the center on a Monday, and on Thursday, she was on a plane to Zion, about a half hour north of Chicago, where one of her three sons lives.
“I wanted a second opinion, because that’s all they deal with,” Talarico said. “You don’t have to worry about anything.”
She and her husband, Lou, spent four days in Zion, where she had an MRI and blood work. It confirmed there was a large mass on her right kidney that was dangerously close to her liver and an artery.
“I had it for a while,” Talarico said, “but I wasn’t really sick. They said I could have been born with it because it was such a large mass.”
Ten days later, she returned to Zion to have the cancer – and the kidney – removed. The procedure was not easy. It was done laparoscopically, which promotes faster healing, but since veins encapsulated the tumor, Talarico required blood transfusions during the surgery.
Four days later she was discharged from the hospital, followed a few weeks later by a phone call from her doctor, who proclaimed Talarico cancer-free. She didn’t even require chemotherapy.
“They just concentrate on cancer,” Talarico said. “It’s not a death sentence; it’s a disease.”
Talarico said she and her husband talked to specialists in every field at CTCA who were relevant to her recovery, including nutritionists and naturopaths.
“It’s a frightening thing and overwhelming,” said Talarico, a mother of four grown children and a grandmother of two, with another on the way in November, “but I have been healthy ever since.”
Talarico, a former teller at PNC Bank, hopes that by sharing her story other cancer patients will be more proactive in seeking second opinions from cancer treatment centers. It was important for her to get all the facts, she said, because her father had cancer, and her sister died at age 55 of lung cancer from second-hand smoke.
“I was lucky that my liver was not affected, or my lungs,” Talarico said. “I’m glad to let other people know you don’t have to be afraid.”
Talarico now has annual CT scans to confirm the cancer has not spread to other organs, and she will continue to see her doctor on an annual basis.
“They don’t forget about you,” Talarico said. “I had such a great surgeon. I had no infections, and, I was fortunate that I had no chemotherapy.”
Celebrate Life is an annual event that brings together both cancer survivors and caregivers for a day of empowerment and celebration. Survivors stand united to support one another, celebrate the moments they’ve gained and encourage those who are on their own cancer journey. Many of the five-year survivors also took time to walk through the hospital, offering comfort, support and the traditional “Hope” pin to other patients who are battling cancer and their family members.
“I met so many people from all over the country who all had a different story,” Talarico said.
While some cancer rates continue to climb, medical treatments also are advancing, providing more patients with the hope and resources they need to battle the disease. Hospitals like CTCA offer dedicated survivorship programs to help patients achieve a high quality of life post-cancer treatment.
“Five years ago, this amazing group of cancer survivors came to CTCA with a great sense of hope, searching for answers and cancer care that fit their specific needs,” Scott Jones, president and CEO of CTCA at Midwestern, said in a press release.
“While everyone’s journey and experience is unique,” he said, “we honor and respect the strength and perseverance it takes for them to be here. Today is not only a testament to the CTCA five-year cancer survivors being honored, but also all survivors, wherever they may be in their journeys.”