By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
    September 10, 2025
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    pharmaphorum
    Democracy Comes to Healthcare
    May 12, 2015
    health reform
    Medical Regulations Run Amok!
    March 11, 2013
    The Risk of Concussions in Contact Sports
    September 22, 2017
    Latest News
    Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
    September 9, 2025
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: A Triumph Over Illness
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Specialties > A Triumph Over Illness
Specialties

A Triumph Over Illness

Andrew Schorr
Andrew Schorr
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Kara, her mom and me

Kara, her mom and me

When someone is stricken with a serious illness their world is rocked. I know, it has happened to me with cancer twice. And, in this age of social media, you might well go searching online for information and posting your story of fear and uncertainty. The health-related communities are full of introductions from newly diagnosed patients or their loved ones. The community I found was lifesaving. But I wanted to make a comment and tell a story. The comment: when sick people do better, or even get well, they go on with their lives and they may no longer post online. They are, too often, the invisible success stories that I think – for most illnesses – are the norm.

As we make progress and people seek out and get better treatments, even where the picture may have been bleak to begin with, patients may recover. Yet their story is rarely reported and the online readers are left with that image of the initial bad news.

Here’s what I mean: In the spring of 2012 a college freshman named Kara was intermittently getting a feeling of deja vu. Sometimes she’d get a metallic taste in her mouth. As this continued it was unnerving. But Kara is an international business student and didn’t have time for doctor visits. When she got home from college, to Pittsburgh, her mother took her to the pediatrician. The doctor diagnosed it a migraine. That was last June. But the problem continued into July and finally mom insisted Kara see a neurologist. The doctor was all booked up for months but a pleading mom got Kara in on the doctor’s lunch hour. He quickly knew the problem was serious and definitely not migraine. The next morning Kara had an EEG and an MRI. The news was bad: grade 3 astrocytoma, brain cancer. Kara’s college girl world of classes, friends and sorority sisterhood was crumbling.

The next stop was a brain biopsy and exploratory surgery in her home town at a major medical center. The doctor removed what he could of the tumor and then gave more bad news: Kara had, at best, two years to live and chemo and radiation would not be effective. He recommended no treatment.

Kara’s family did what most of us should do – they sought a second opinion. That brought them to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where a team there performed a second surgery and removed much more of the tumor. Now 97 percent was gone. That team saw value in following with chemo and radiation and it was effective, although it required Kara to live in a Houston apartment for the month of October and into November. What propelled the young woman was the dream of going back to college in the new year, to become a sophomore and resuming her studies and life with her friends. Three of her close friends from college came for Thanksgiving. One was my daughter, Ruthie. But Kara’s health remained uncertain as her platelets had crashed. During the Thanksgiving holiday Kara needed a second platelet transfusion and she was in and out of the hospital.

Fortunately, Kara’s blood system recovered from the toxic effects of the radiation and chemo. From a low of 15,000 platelets she climbed back to 266,000 and the doctors and Kara were confident she could, in fact, go back to college. An MRI back in Houston confirmed she was “clean” from the cancer. All systems were go!

The other day Kara’s parents drove her back to college, a triumph for all of them and the medical team who thought they could do better. Kara starts classes this week with a new head of hair and hope for a long future. She knows life is now one day at a time, but she is now, once again, living a full life without limitations.

Kara has not written this story just as many people who feel better do not share their stories. They move on with each normal day without doctors, pokes, and tests. Keep that in mind when you read sad stories online and know it is often just a slice of the story of that person who was affected by a diagnosis. Many, like Kara, are just too busy living to write the happy later developments. Forgive them. They care about you but they are also moving on.

Wishing you and your family the best of health,

Andrew

TAGGED:cancer
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

technology to treat dental phobia
Dental healthSpecialties

The Role Of Technology In Managing Dental Phobia

May 27, 2024
Health carePolicy & LawPublic HealthSpecialties

Should Universal Healthcare Systems Cover Cosmetic Dentistry?

April 29, 2019

Another Pan Mass Challenge Enters the History Books

August 12, 2011
BI analytics HIS
BusinessFinanceHospital AdministrationRadiologySpecialties

Using Business Intelligence and Analytics for Radiology Billing

May 11, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?