I went from being an avid runner,
being super active, you know, being a normal college kid
to then having this massive crazy speed bump in my life happen.
It was hard. It was hard going through it.
But now, five years later, I have my hair back.
I've learned how to ski since I had surgery.
I love painting.
I'm back into my normal, active lifestyle.
Now it's time to live.
When I was a junior
at Virginia Tech, I had a big tumor in my spine
that ultimately led to a surgery to remove that tumor.
I recovered from that surgery, and then the pathology report came back
that it was a cancer called Ewing Sarcoma.
And I went through the gamut of understanding
what was next, chemotherapy versus radiation.
And then Dr. Toretsky came along.
My sister Googled Ewing Sarcoma experts,
and his name popped up and I called him.
He answered his phone.
And we talked for about 45 minutes to an hour.
And he just said, This is what I want you to do.
He has been doing this for many, many years and knows these drugs in and out.
I was 20 when I was diagnosed, and I was an adult with a pediatric cancer
and I went the pediatric route,
which was by far and away the best thing that I could have done.
He spearheaded my treatment and I underwent 13 months
of chemotherapy and then six weeks of proton beam radiation.
I finished out my treatment.
I have recovered well and I really honestly have not had any bad
adverse medical events from the treatment.
Then, Dr. Toretsky told me about this survivorship program
with a structured treatment plan that targets young adults.
One of the things that we're able to do here at MedStar
Georgetown is hook patients up with the appropriate internal medicine
specialists, cardiologists, gastroenterologists, and so on.
That's really critical to somebody having a good, healthy survivorship experience.
Our survivorship program focuses on their physical, psychological and social needs.
For every patient that comes through our clinic,
we create a personalized treatment care plan for them, and that includes
details of all their treatment that they had for their cancer,
including any surgeries, any radiation and any chemotherapy.
And based on the treatment they received, we tailor
the recommendations for follow up.
We also have a multidisciplinary
care team, which includes the psychologists, social worker,
and other supportive care services, including integrative medicine specialist.
And we're able to tailor
those specialties for each patient depending on what their needs are.
They can educate you with regards to things to look out
for, talk you through things that you might not understand,
and also just be a source of contact.
You know, sometimes people feel lost and they don't feel like they have somebody to go to.
But also, I think that it's vital to have a whole group of people behind you,
including your family, your friends, significant others, and your medical team.
And that, now, for me, includes Dr.
Toretsky, who has watched me from start to finish and will continue
kind of following my journey.
So, Eileen has just crossed
her five year mark, and she's absolutely amazing.
It's such a wonderful thing to know that people get through this kind of treatment.
They survive it.
And I think in her case, thrive after it.
And now I'm working in spine surgery
and being a physician assistant was something I always aspired to be.
I've put myself in the patient's shoes.
I remember,
and I can, you know, relate to the patient.
To think about six years ago when I was originally diagnosed,
this day, five years post-treatment
seemed impossible.
You know, it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
You know, I didn't really know how long I had to live, which sounds dramatic,
but it's true at the time.
You really don't know. So, now looking
back, it's really, truly amazing.
And I cherish the
wonderful group of people that not only got me through the hard part,
but will also continue to support me and watch me living.