Cancer and Clinical Services Patient Stories

Earning a superpower

Joyce Buckley had already been on the provider side of health care as a patient access coordinator for the OSUCCC – James. As a patient, she got a completely different perspective.

That’s now her superpower.

To understand how that developed, it’s important to know her background and personal experience with cancer. As part of her job with the gastroenterology care team at The James, Joyce sits in on their regular tumor board, which is when groups of specialists meet to discuss patient cases and determine the best possible treatment plan for each person.

“I’d sit in these boards, listening to them describe pancreatic cancer symptoms, and I kept thinking ‘that’s me.’ I’d already had months of weird symptoms, including swelling, bloating and not being able to eat, but I kept explaining it away,” she says.

“But then I ended up in urgent care, and they sent me to the emergency department. Everything moved very quickly after that.”

Within days, Joyce met with a gynecologic oncologist at The James, who ruled out ovarian cancer, but referred her to Alex Kim, MD, PhD, a surgical oncologist who specializes in treating patients diagnosed with complex gastrointestinal cancers - the same Dr. Kim who was part of Joyce’s department.

“That made it pretty intense,” Joyce says. “I already knew him; I knew his nurses and the rest of his team. At my very first appointment with him, he just met me where I was and gave me a hug.”

A year after her surgery, Joyce describes her treatment succinctly. “Dr. Kim is an expert in HIPEC and that’s what he did for me. He also took five of my organs.” HIPEC is short for hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion, a complex two-part surgery that’s ideal for abdominal cancers like Joyce’s. For this innovative procedure, the surgeon first removes as much of the visible tumor as possible, then uses a machine to circulate a warm, ultra-concentrated chemotherapy solution directly into the abdominal cavity. After the organs have been adequately “washed” in this solution over a period of time, the solution is taken out and the abdomen is rinsed.

What Joyce spends more time describing is the very personal care she received at The James. “Every interaction I had helped me get through those days,” she says. “I had such positive experiences with everyone, including the people I didn’t already know. For the most part, I had a different team than my regular co-workers for my direct care, but those on my work floor rallied around me too.

“They were also attentive to my family. During appointments, it’s almost like there were two patients - me, who understood the medical terms, and my mom, who needed a different level of explanation. They made sure both of us could process things.”

Joyce emphasizes the importance of her support system, from her care team to her co-workers. “They rallied around me in ways I didn’t know I needed,” she says. “I just wanted to be the best patient ever, to prove to Dr. Kim especially, but also to everyone else, that I was fine. I sometimes hid what I needed, but they knew.” Those from her work floor continued that support after Joyce left The James. “I arrived home to a house that had been completely cleaned,” she says. “There was food in the refrigerator. There were candles, pajamas, slippers and comfortable pillows. I’ve never experienced anything like it in my life.”

Those moments are what continue to fuel Joyce’s superpower now — call it part empathy, compassion and an ability to connect. “Going through what I did, it created an obvious circle,” she says. “Now I’m able to help patients in a completely different way. When I tell them what I’ve been through, and that I understand, you can see them visibly relax. They know they aren’t going to face anything alone.”

About six months after her own surgery and return to work, Joyce became Dr. Kim’s direct scheduler, coordinating his calendar with those of his patients. “I’m completely back to normal,” she says. “My surgery is just an event in the past, but it does give me a perspective that I think makes a difference in my relationships with patients.

“Some of them have a long drive home after appointments, and I understand that they have so much information to process. I let them know that I’m available for any questions, even the personal ones."

“I just want to be the person for them who others were for me.”