Advocate Christ Medical Center patient honored at recent Chicago Bears

Earlier this year, Mary Santangelo learned she had breast cancer – the third of three sisters to receive the diagnosis.

Fortunately, Santangelo’s was caught early and considered Stage 0. Given her family history, Santangelo underwent a double mastectomy last June and is now cancer free. Santangelo was one of 10 Advocate Health Care breast cancer patients, their family members and care teams celebrated Oct. 6 at the Chicago Bears Crucial Catch game at Soldier Field.

The game was meant to be a tribute to honor breast cancer survivors and fighters and raise awareness for the disease that develops in one in eight women during her lifetime.

Santangelo said she was excited to be at the game, and remains grateful for her care at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Though Santangelo is originally from Chicago Ridge, she had since relocated to downstate Effingham and still traveled to Advocate Christ for her care. There she could see Dr. Ameer Gomberawalla and have access to innovative care – particularly the process the care team used to ensure her cancer had not spread.

When patients are diagnosed with Stage 0 breast cancer, it means the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes. But physicians must make sure and often perform invasive procedures to remove a portion of the lymph nodes, which can lead to complications like lymphedema. And most of the time, it’s determined the cancer has not spread, meaning the procedure was unnecessary.

However, Dr. Gomberawalla was able to use a new technology for Santangelo called a delayed sentinel lymph node evaluation. This involved injecting a “mapping agent,” at the same time as her mastectomy, which can mark the lymph nodes and remain in the body for 30 days. This allowed time for additional testing following Santangelo’s mastectomy. Ultimately, Santangelo’s care team determined the cancer had not spread and she didn’t undergo any additional, invasive procedures.

“I’m very grateful. I had read about patients with painful lymphedema complications,” Santangelo said. “To have a team that is innovative so I could avoid that and get on with my life was important to me."

“It’s important we listen to our patients and help them avoid any unnecessary procedures as we offer the best course of treatment,” Dr. Gomberawalla said. “It’s not just about saving lives, but quality of lives.”