Quincy Reporter

Blessing Health System issued the following announcement on Oct. 21.

Penny Sue Nobel knows more about healthcare than the average 48 year old because she has been through so much. That’s why she is a patient of the Blessing Cancer Center.

“I’ve been seen by doctors up in Rockford and in Springfield, Illinois, and down in St. Louis. I never received the treatment I get at Blessing. They are amazing. They’re family.”

Penny is a two-time cancer survivor. She beat Stage One cancer in her right breast in 2015.

She learned in April 2018 that she had Stage Four cancer in her left breast and it had spread to her bone marrow. Penny decided to become a patient of a new medical oncologist at Blessing at the time, Basel Jallad, MD.

“I had a bad experience before,” she recalls. “Whenever my husband would ask questions about my cancer, he was ignored. They would turn around and talk to me about it.”

She says it is different with Dr. Jallad and his team.

“Dr. Jallad will physically turn his body and talk to my husband and respect my husband. He included my husband in everything. He said my husband was going through this, too,” Penny recalled.

“To me, that was a world of difference. The respect the team at Blessing showed me and my husband was the reason I chose Blessing Cancer Center,” she said.

Family doesn’t give up on each other. Early in diagnosis, Penny said she was not responding well and she was ready to give up treatment. She talked about her feelings with Dr. Jallad.

“She had an unusual presentation of breast cancer,” the doctor said. “It is in the bone marrow and interfering with her body producing enough blood cells and platelets to keep up her immune system.”

Dr. Jallad recommended a medication change. Penny agreed.

“Now, I feel better than ever. Some days I forget I even have cancer,” she said.

Patients of the Blessing Cancer Center don’t have one doctor. They have a team of providers – doctors, nurses and support services specialists - who develop a patient’s plan of care based on the patient’s specific needs and national cancer care guidelines. Then, they meet weekly to track the patient’s progress, and agree as a team on adjustments to the plan if needed.

Robert Johnson, MD, radiation oncologist, Blessing Cancer Center, is on the team and treated Penny, too.

“When I first met Penny, she was having pain. My role is to help get her back to doing her normal activities without pain and symptoms from her cancer. A short course of radiation therapy can help do that,” he said.

“We use the same technology at the Blessing Cancer Center that is used by St. Louis providers,” Dr. Johnson continued. “We have very state-of-the-art technology and the techniques that allow us to spare normal tissue while targeting the tumor. Our goal is to minimize side effects and maximize the benefit of treatment.”

Both doctors agree there is a secret ingredient to Penny’s progress that they have nothing to do with. Call it Penny Power.

“I’ve seen multiple patients who had the same aggressive presentation of cancer and did not do as well as Penny. She stayed strong, patient and believed in herself and that she could get better,” said Dr. Jallad.

“Penny’s cancer could be in remission for many, many years potentially and she can enjoy a good life. We’ll be there for her if needed. Otherwise it’s all about perspective. Penny’s optimism is very strong” added Dr. Johnson.

“Don’t give up. It’s not over,” she shares with other cancer patients. “You may think the outcome of the game is already determined. But it is how you play the game that really matters. Play really hard. Swing for the fences and you may get a couple of extra innings out of it.”

Original source can be found here.