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On Dec. 16, 2016, while Ken Staber, 77, and wife Marie, 73, were at their “snowbird” home in Englewood, Fla., Ken fell in the kitchen. “It was a Friday afternoon,” Marie says. “On Monday he was in so much pain that he had me call the doctor.” The next day, after examining Ken, the doctor determined he had likely broken a rib.
Not satisfied with the recommendation to go home, take an over-the-counter pain reliever and rest, Ken said, “I want a chest X-ray. I want to know if I broke a rib.” The doctor obliged, and by 5 p.m. that day, they had the results. While the X-ray confirmed that Ken had, indeed, broken three ribs, it also uncovered something else – a suspicious mass in his left lung.
A few days later Ken went for a computed tomography (CT) scan. “On Dec. 23 the nurse called with the results,” Marie recalls. “She said, ‘I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, but your husband has cancer.’ I almost passed out.” After Christmas Ken had a positron emission tomography (PET) scan, after which the couple determined that they needed to get back to their home in Sugarloaf, Pa., so Ken could receive treatment there.
“We left Jan. 10. It took us three days to drive,” Marie says. “It was the worst trip of our lives.”
Confirming the diagnosis
The next step for Ken was a biopsy. For that he saw interventional radiologist Larry Braunstein, MD, with Medical Imaging of Lehigh Valley, at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Hazleton. His biopsy was done using interventional radiology techniques.
“With interventional radiology, we use all imaging modalities – from X-ray to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – to diagnose various diseases,” explains Braunstein. “We subsequently can confirm a diagnosis utilizing image-guidance to biopsy the identified area.”
In Ken’s case, Braunstein obtained a biopsy under CT scan guidance. That tissue showed that he had non-small-cell lung cancer, which, much to the family’s relief, was not as aggressive as small-cell lung cancer.
Ken’s oncologist determined the best treatment for him was chemotherapy, which he started in late January.
Beyond diagnosing disease
While Ken’s interaction with Braunstein ended after his biopsy, this isn’t always the case with some patients. In addition to being a diagnostic tool, interventional radiology is used for treatment.
“We also can treat various entities using the imaging tools we have,” says Braunstein, “including X-ray all the way up to MRI and ultrasound.” He explains that with interventional radiology, imaging helps surgeons perform minimally invasive procedures that could replace surgery or be used in conjunction with surgery. “We work with all of the specialists, from family practice to oncology and urology. It’s the full spectrum.”
Caring communities here and afar
Nichole Ditzler, RN, interventional radiology nurse supervisor at LVH–Hazleton, who works closely with Braunstein, recently saw Ken and Marie out for breakfast in the community. “He is doing well, responding to treatment, and he looks great,” Ditzler says.
While it might sound strange, Ken and Marie are thankful for his fall and rib injury last year. “The doctors told us that in about two years, we would have seen signs of the cancer,” Marie says of her husband, who started smoking at age 15 before quitting at age 65. “By then it would have been too late.”
“The key thing here is community,” Braunstein says. “The people treating them are the same people they will see in the community. We really care about them as individuals.”
After chemo is over, Ken and Marie are heading back to Florida and look forward to rejoining the bocce league in the 55-and-over community where they live. This time, instead of facing a long drive, the snowbirds are flying back.