Rosemarie's Story 
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 “The best doctor is the one who says, ‘I don’t know.’”

“During the floods of ’99, Rosemarie lost every material possession. But she escaped with her life. Six years later, she almost lost that. Though others misdiagnosed her symptoms, Geisinger physicians and researchers rescued her from that fate.

“It’s just a cyst.” That’s what several doctors told Rosemarie, 79, each time she asked them about a small growth and puffiness under her arm. Unconvinced, she went back to various doctors over a period of six months.

“I felt so silly,” she says. “I mean, how many different doctors have to tell you the same thing before you’ll believe it.”

Two physicians, two questions

She continued with regular annual check-ups, including a visit to her gynecologist at Geisinger. There, her doctor asked a final, simple question that might have saved her life: “Rosemarie, is there anything else on your mind?” 

Though she didn’t think her puffiness was related to gynecological issues, Rosemarie explained her concerns. The physician replied, “I don’t know what this is. Let’s find out.” 

Her gynecologist arranged for Rosemarie to visit one of Geisinger’s general surgeons. He, too, had a question. “‘I think it’s a cyst. Would you like to know for sure?”

The answer comes quickly

“Yes,” she almost yelled. The surgeon even gave her the option of having a biopsy right then. She agreed.

After months of wondering and worrying, she and Frank, her husband of 57 years, were close to an answer. But when it came, just a few hours after the biopsy, it came like a swift, violent storm.

Rosemarie's Story Part I

Cancer patient and clinical trial participant Rosemarie describes the discover and diagnosis of her lung cancer

Rosemarie's Story Part II

Rosemarie explains why Geisinger's Cancer Institute was the right choice for her.

Though she had never being a smoker and had no family history of cancer, Rosemarie had lung cancer.

Her five grown children rallied around in a flurry of activity that day. “My whole family was in an uproar,” Rosemarie recalls. “They all started doing research to figure out the best place for me to go.”

“My doctor called me that night at home to tell me that I needed to start therapy right then,” she says. “I had two cancerous lumps on my lungs, but every other organ was clean at that point.” 

Geisinger is “one of the best”

Immediate treatment would be Rosemarie’s best chance to stop the cancer from spreading, her doctor told her. By this time, her daughter had already spoken with respected physicians several hours away. Their advice: “Stay at Geisinger. It’s one of the best.” 

“That was a great turning point for me,” Rosemarie recalls. 

Rosemarie had surgery and chemotherapy in October, six months after she first noticed the puffiness under her arm and after physicians elsewhere had thought it was a harmless cyst. “This tumor could have spread to every other organ I had, but it didn’t. I have such faith in Geisinger, faith in my doctor and, above all, faith in God.”

Research brought home

During treatment for lung cancer, Rosemarie learned that Geisinger’s oncology specialists work closely with specialists at other renowned cancer centers across the world. 

In fact, when Rosemarie began treatment, researchers here were partnering with the Mayo Clinic to study a promising new cancer-fighting drug. This put Rosemarie in line for some of the most advanced treatment available anywhere. Among the many clinical trials and research studies here in rural Pennsylvania, 30 involved cancer research. 

“I didn’t even know about clinical trials at that time,” she says. “But I do now.”
Since her diagnosis and treatment in October 2005, both spots on her lungs have shrunk, and she remains in the clinical trial. She feels great and continues to meet regularly with both Geisinger physicians and Mayo researchers to help evaluate whether the cancer-fighting drug she’s taking could benefit others. 

Eternally grateful

“This cancer blindsided me,” Rosemarie says. “I’ll be eternally grateful to my gynecologist for her willingness to say, ‘I don’t know.’ There weren’t many doctors elsewhere who were willing to say that.”

Rosemarie thanks God, she says, that she found physicians who wanted to find the truth about her symptoms, and researchers willing to explore new, effective treatments for cancer. 

“I escaped the flood in 1999,” she says, “but it’s thanks to these people that I’ll be around in three years to celebrate my 60th wedding anniversary."