Northwestern Medicine

Vanessa Padelford-Olivares was making a grocery list in her Mexico City home when suddenly she could no longer write. The 45-year-old wife and mother of three was also experiencing headaches and memory loss, so she went to the doctor. Scans and a biopsy revealed Padelford-Olivares had stage 4 brain cancer that could not be removed.

“We were completely shocked,” said her husband, Homero Pedrero. “We were one day away from moving into a new house, and this diagnosis was the last thing we expected. But we had renewed hope when the doctor told us, ‘You need to go to Northwestern Medicine.’”

Padelford-Olivares traveled from Mexico City to Chicago, where she was treated at the newly established 

Northwestern Medicine Hispanic Brain and Spine Tumor Program

. Led by neurosurgeon and Mexico City native Dr. Adam Sonabend, the program makes lifesaving neurological care more accessible for the Hispanic and Latino population by removing cultural, linguistic barriers to patients who speak Spanish.

“As a diverse city with two dominant air transportation hubs, and a vibrant Hispanic population, I was compelled to start a program in Chicago that accommodates the local and international Hispanic community and provides world-class care for patients with brain and spinal tumors,” said Sonabend. “Patients and families are able to pick up the phone to schedule an appointment in Spanish, understand their diagnosis and treatment options and undergo treatment and surgery including brain mapping for language in the operating room in Spanish. They also receive care by a clinician in Spanish at all follow-up appointments and while recovering at the hospital.” 

A multidisciplinary team of oncologists and Spanish speaking nurses, medical assistants, clinical registration staff and phone operators are available to assist patients. The program also provides one-on-one support with a care team member who assists in travel plans, airfare, hotel accommodations and connecting the patient and family with places of worship, if desired.

“From diagnosis to treatment, our goal is to provide personalized care in Spanish to our patients and their family, but it also goes beyond language,” said Sonabend. “It’s really about being culturally sensitive; people from different cultures may have specific needs for communicating with their physicians. We want to adapt our team to best accommodate these needs.”

Padelford-Olivares underwent months of chemotherapy and tumor-treating electrical field treatment, coordinated by Dr. Roger Stupp, a world-renowned neurooncologist and medical director of the Lou and Jean Malnati Brain Tumor Institute at Northwestern Medicine, in collaboration with her doctors in Mexico. Then, Sonabed was able to safely remove an orange-sized tumor from her brain. A combination of chemotherapy and radiation completed her treatment.

“I feel very grateful to be treated at Northwestern Medicine,” said Padelford-Olivares. “I’m excited to return home and be with my three children again, but Chicago will always have a special place in my heart. I now consider it my second home.”

Articles

After receiving a stage 4 brain cancer diagnosis, a young mother traveled from Mexico to Chicago for treatment.

Providing Personalized Care in Spanish to Patients With Brain and Spine Tumors

If your little one has ever read a children’s Bible, chances are, it was developed and written by 

. The Elgin, Illinois, author has written more than 200 books, selling over 13 million copies. At 91-years-old, Beers is still busy writing — including nearly weekly love letters to his five children, 11 grandchildren, their spouses and 18 great-grandchildren; for a total of 48 (and growing) family members.

“It’s something I started about five years ago, and much to my amazement, they read them!” laughs Beers. “I share advice and stories about my life. It’s all about legacy — if you don’t know where you came from, you don’t know where you’re going.”

In December 2018, Beers’ life veered in a surprising direction. During a routine trip to his cardiologist, lab reports indicated Beers was losing blood. At the time, he wasn’t having any pain or 

. But from there, it was an interweaving of Beers’ primary care doctor, gastroenterologist, medical oncologist and surgical oncologist all working together to diagnose and treat the then 90-year-old for gastric (stomach) cancer.

“When I heard the dreaded word ‘cancer,’ I had so many questions. How early was it? How fast would it grow? Would it be fatal?” says Beers. “But what happened next is a story about beautiful and orderly medical teamwork that saved my life.”

For many 90-year-olds diagnosed with cancer, they’re already struggling with co-morbidities such as advanced heart disease, kidney disease and liver disease. Typically, surgery isn’t an option because it can be too aggressive for the elderly patient to recover from. But Beers’ case was different.

“Gil was an amazing patient,” says Dr. 

Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Warrenville

. “At 90 years old, Gil’s general health was so good that he had just about every treatment option available. He also had a ‘favorable tumor’ — meaning, a relatively early stage of gastric cancer. Plus, Gil’s family was a huge support system. That’s not always the case with cancer. But with Gil, all the stars aligned.”

On March 13, Abad removed half of Beers’ stomach and the surrounding lymph nodes at 

Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital

. He also confirmed the cancer hadn’t spread to other parts of Beers’ body — which meant, Abad got it all. There would be no need for chemotherapy or radiation. After five days of recovering in the hospital, Beers returned home to his wife of 69 years, Arlisle.

“There was a lot of prayer. My honey was praying deeply and so was I,” says Beers. “I felt very strongly that God — The Great Physician – was in charge, and Dr. Abad was an instrument of His healing. I credit them both for saving my life.”

“Gil made a very advanced operation look like a breeze. It was an amazing demonstration of his inner-strength and spirituality,” says Abad. “Generally, I see cancer patients do better when they have a strong sense of who they are combined with their faith and spirituality. I’m hopeful Gil still has another five years or more ahead of him.”

These days Beers is back to his routine, which includes daily games of Rummikub and Parcheesi with his wife. The two have visited 90 different countries, and in the summer they travel back and forth to a cabin in upstate New York. Beers is also busy writing a new book on prayer. And of course, the nearly weekly love letters to his family. Beers estimates he’s written more than 130 letters with 70 more planned.

‘Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going?’ 

And the answer is, start with where you’ve been and what has contributed to your life,” explains Beers. “Someday, I won’t be here and I want my family to be able to read those letters and remember where they came from.”

“Gil is an inspiration to so many people,” adds Abad. “People are living longer and longer. Our children will have life expectancies in their 90s and beyond. We’re seeing more people as they age develop aggressive types of cancers, and it’s important that we don’t dismiss someone based on their age. Surgeries are getting better. Treatments are getting better. Gil’s case reminds us that for some, age is really just a number.”

“I don’t believe in numbers!” laughs Beers.

To find a Northwestern Medicine cancer specialist or care center near you, 

Best-selling author V. Gilbert Beers surprises doctors and proves “age is just a number.”

91-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Writes Love Letters to His Family

Kristina Hughes was weaning her 14-month-old son from breastfeeding when she felt a lump. As a 27-year-old nurse practitioner with no family history of breast cancer, Hughes wasn’t overly concerned. But tests confirmed, she had stage 2 breast cancer and an inherited genetic mutation in a tumor suppressor gene called PALB2 — which stands for partner and localizer of BRCA2.

“Most people have never heard of it,” says Hughes. “It’s not as widely familiar as 

, which are known to increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancers. But more people are being diagnosed with it.”

“The PALB2 gene codes for proteins known to interact with BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins. Together, they aid in DNA recombination and damage repair. When working properly, these proteins help prevent a person from getting certain types of cancers,” explains Mike Suguitan, a genetic counselor at Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Delnor. “But when we find a PALB2 mutation, we can confirm there’s a hereditary cause or underlying predisposition for breast cancer in the family.”

Breast cancer can happen at varying ages in the same family with the same PALB2 mutation. For female breast cancer, the risk increases with age. Carriers of PALB2 mutations have a 15% risk of developing breast cancer by age 50, and a 35% increased risk by age 70.

“Approximately 5% to 10% of breast cancers are hereditary,” adds Suguitan. “Whether it’s BRCA1, BRCA2, PALB2 or another gene, we tend to find gene mutations in women diagnosed with breast cancer below the age of 50.”

Due to her cancer diagnosis and PALB2 mutation, Hughes’ dream of biologically having three or four children took a different direction. Before starting cancer treatment at 

Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Delnor

, Hughes underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) to save some of her embryos. Unfortunately, they were too immature and unable to survive. Needing to start chemotherapy right away, there wasn’t enough time for another round of IVF. And on top of that, Hughes’ body was about to be put into early menopause.

“Kristina is on adjuvant [Soltamox (tamoxifen)] and a monthly injection drug called Trelstar (triptorelin) which suppresses her ovarian function,” explains Dr. Perry Menini, hematologist and medical oncologist at Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Delnor. “She also received adjuvant chemotherapy, which temporarily suppresses ovarian function and puts her into a chemotherapy-induced menopausal state. Based on a clinical trial, the risk of her cancer returning is significantly less if we combine ovarian suppression and an antiestrogen hormonal therapy compared to antiestrogen hormonal therapy alone.”

Attempting to conceive a baby would require Hughes to be off the medication for six months prior to conception and then throughout her entire pregnancy, putting her at an increased risk of metastatic recurrence of breast cancer. If Hughes is able to have children in the future, there are options to conceive a child without passing on the PALB2 mutation through pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

“PGD is a procedure that combines IVF with genetic testing,” says Suguitan. “IVF is used to help create embryos, then PGD is performed by testing one cell from each embryo for the mutation carried by the parent. Only embryos that are negative for the mutation would be implanted back in the mother. This procedure significantly reduces the chance of a parent passing on a mutation to their children.”

After researching their fertility options, Hughes and her husband, Marcus, decided to grow their family in a way that will keep her safe and healthy. Towards the end of Hughes’ cancer treatment, which included chemotherapy, a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction, and radiation, the couple learned they were accepted by an adoption agency. Their hope is to adopt a child within the next two years.

“Because of cancer, I had to grieve the idea of not having any more children; but adoption has given us a chance for a new life,” says Hughes. “I want people to know that cancer doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you’re 27-years-old, breastfeeding your child, and caring for others in your career. It can happen out of nowhere and it’s important to listen to your body — even if you don’t think it could be serious. Cancer affects everyone differently, but I hope my story inspires people to look for a positive light in a dark situation.”

Carriers of PALB2 mutations can be passed down to both women and men. Ideal candidates for PALB2 genetic testing are those with breast, ovarian, pancreatic or prostate cancers. Pre-test and post-test genetic counseling is also recommended for anyone interested in testing.

“Genetic testing is complex and rapidly growing,” says Suguitan. “Some genes we know more about than others. Some results may give us answers, but many results give us more questions. Genetic testing is a personal choice, but it should include a conversation before and after testing.”

Talk to your doctor to see if you’re a good candidate for genetic testing, and for more information, visit 

Northwestern Medicine shares how one mother learned of her breast cancer diagnosis and PALB2 genetic mutation.

Northwestern Medicine

Providing Personalized Care in Spanish to Patients With Brain and Spine Tumors

91-Year-Old Cancer Survivor Writes Love Letters to His Family

The Genetic Mutation in Breast Cancer Most People Don't Know About - But Should

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