When diagnosed with endometrial cancer — a cancer that originates in the inner uterine lining — Stacey Lopez was faced with the many potentially life-altering decisions so common to new patients: What treatment will offer me the best chance? Where should I receive my care? How can I be sure that my doctors will have my best interests at heart during my cancer journey?
Her experiences with her mother's cancer journey a few years earlier had taught Stacey the importance of voicing every question. She remembered attending appointments with her mother, armed with pages of research and notes: "If you don't ask questions, you could go down the wrong path. And it's hard to know what the right path is."
During her initial surgery, Stacey's doctor discovered her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Already familiar with Penn's excellent reputation through her mother's experience, Stacey decided she wanted to receive her radiation therapy at Penn Medicine's Department of Radiation Oncology — she felt it was the right place for her care, too.
Assisted by a supportive surgeon from her local hospital, Stacey connected with Penn Medicine and radiation oncologist Neil K. Taunk, MD, MSCTS, who would eventually become pivotal to her decision-making process: "He explained everything: here are the options, here is why I would recommend this and not that." His focus was on providing Stacey with the knowledge she needed to make an informed choice about her own treatment.
Penn Medicine's collaborative approach to endometrial cancer brings together experts from the Department of Radiation Oncology with gynecological oncologists, medical oncologists, and clinical trials to pioneer innovative new treatments and guide patients through their experience as comfortably as possible, with treatments tailored for their cancer. Depending on their cancer's stage, patients with endometrial cancer consider a combination of therapies including radiation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy.
After meeting with Dr. Taunk, Stacey was able to decide which treatment options made the most sense for her life and her health. Her radiation and chemotherapy treatments were administered at Penn Radiation Oncology Valley Forge, allowing her to remain close to home while receiving Penn Medicine's world-class care. She also had the bittersweet experience of working with the doctors and nurses who had treated her mother.
When her local gynecologic oncologist left her practice, Stacey’s positive experiences with Penn motivated her to transfer all her care to Penn's expansive Cancer Network. She now sees Ashley F. Haggerty, MD, MSCE, at Penn Health for Women Radnor for follow-up — conveniently receiving care in her own community, while maintaining the seamless, centralized care and access to clinical trials that brought her to Penn Medicine.
With regards to her diagnosis and treatment, Stacey says, "[Being informed] helped me get through it because I wasn't surprised about things. I knew what was coming and I knew when it was coming."
Armed with this knowledge, Stacey took control where she could as she navigated the often uncertain world of cancer. She cut her long hair to chin length, before shaving it off when she knew it was going to fall out; and she began journaling as a way of documenting her experience.
Researching the cancer journey, speaking with others who had cancer experiences, and working with doctors who provided thorough information empowered Stacey to make the choices that were right for her and her health. She encourages other cancer patients to advocate for themselves in the same way:
"Think about the whole journey and what questions to ask and when to ask [them]."