Lung Cancer: Jo

“When you hear the word cancer, you feel as though your life is over,” she said. “However, this team at Coborn Cancer Center gives you hope that they can make a difference for you and your future. ”

Simply enjoy each day

After being diagnosed with stage one cancer, Jo Hendrickson, age 70, from Cushing felt her stomach drop. “When you hear the word cancer, you feel as though your life is over,” she said. “However, this team at Coborn Cancer Center gives you hope that they can make a difference for you and your future.”

“Traci Zenner, a registered nurse and lung cancer care coordinator at Coborn Cancer called to explain and coordinate my appointments; she mapped everything out for me. She gave me her full attention and took me through the process step by step. Everyone was very positive, considerate and accommodating.”

Jo was able to utilize Coborn Cancer Center’s new Multidisciplinary Cancer Clinic, which is currently available for lung cancer and breast cancer patients. This program minimizes the time between cancer diagnosis and treatment. In a single visit, the patient meets with a team of experts in a comforting environment and together, the patient and care team select a personalized and unified treatment plan. This process leads to improved communication between providers, better patient experience, higher quality outcomes and lower cost of care. When asking Jo about her experience with the Multidisciplinary Cancer Clinic she stated, “All I had to do was show up on this one day and see all my physicians and care team. Everyone was on the same page, so nice, so caring and so kind. It was like I was the only person they were taking care of. I call them the ‘A team.’”

Throughout Jo’s journey, she received a tremendous amount of support from her family and close friends. They listened to her, drove her to appointments and provided comfort when she needed a friend. From this experience, Joann looks at life differently, wants to travel more and simply enjoy each day!