When Katie was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 35 years of age, she soon transferred her care to Dr. Michelle Gentile at Northwestern Medicine. Her tumor was overlapping her heart making it challenging for standard treatment to protect her heart and lungs from negative side effects.
“For younger patients like Katie, and those who have left-sided tumors, proton therapy may significantly reduce the risks of damaging other organs, and there may be fewer side effects in the future,” explains Dr. Gentile.
Now, Katie is cancer free and happy to be back in the classroom. As she delivers lessons, she carries perhaps the biggest lesson she learned through her cancer journey. “Having cancer puts things into perspective in a way that I’m not sure everyone gets in life,” she explains. “Don’t sweat the small stuff.