LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 29, 2022) 鈥 Katelyn McNamara is a petite, five-foot-two brunette with a certain warmth about her that 鈥 even behind a mask 鈥 you can feel her smile.
On this cloudy, unassuming day in early June, 31-year-old McNamara is full of giddy excitement as she anxiously awaits the elevator doors opening to the 11th floor of the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital 鈥 home to the 好色先生 Markey Cancer Center鈥檚 inpatient units.
鈥淕osh, I just can鈥檛 wait to see everyone,鈥 McNamara said.
As she exits the elevator and rounds the corner to the lobby, McNamara lets out a small squeal and skip-hops her way over to the group of people dressed in scrubs.
The emotion in the room is palpable.
鈥淚t is very weird being back here,鈥 McNamara said, holding back tears. 鈥淭he last time I was here, I was in pretty rough shape.鈥
About seven months ago, McNamara鈥檚 life came to a grinding halt. Her dream of moving overseas with her new husband was instantly dashed with one word 鈥 cancer.
Germany-bound
In fall 2021, life was about to change dramatically for Katelyn and her new husband, Jonathan. Katelyn, a 2016 graduate from the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program in the 好色先生 College of Health Sciences, had recently finished her competitive residency in pediatric physical therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jonathan had accepted a teaching job with the U.S. military in Germany and the couple decided to make the move overseas. Katelyn was set to work as a pediatric PT in the school systems on the base.
Near the end of December 2021, the couple packed their bags, moved in with Jonathan鈥檚 brother in North Carolina and started on a goodbye tour to bid farewell to their friends and family.
Katelyn had been feeling 鈥渙ff鈥 since the start of the month, but she chalked it up to nerves with their impending move overseas.
鈥淚 had a hard time lying flat to sleep, I had arm pain. I really just thought it was anxiety,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut it started to get worse just a few days before Christmas.鈥
By then, she was having trouble swallowing, too.
Jonathan鈥檚 brother, a physician, suggested Katelyn head straight to the emergency room. Having all of those symptoms at one time 鈥 and as a young woman 鈥 was concerning.
Expecting to be diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, Katelyn said she would have never expected the words that came out of the doctor鈥檚 mouth after reviewing her CT scan and chest echocardiogram.
鈥淗e said, 鈥榃ell, no pulmonary embolism, but it turns out you have a large mass in your chest. It is the size of a grapefruit,鈥欌 said Katelyn.
Less than two weeks away from their big move to Germany 鈥 with no car, no home, no jobs and no health insurance 鈥 Katelyn faced a scary, life-altering diagnosis: primary mediastinal large b-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). This type of lymphoma is rare and generally affects young women under the age of 35.
At the start of her cancer journey, Katelyn established a , which she updates regularly for her network to stay in-the-know with her treatment. In one of her first posts, she wrote, 鈥淚 have a large mass sitting behind my breastbone, rudely perched on my lungs and left atrium. WHAT AN A*.鈥
Katelyn has a cunning wit that makes her all the more endearing.
鈥淣eedless to say, I found this all out in the ER after thinking I only had a PE or pericarditis,鈥 she said. 鈥淣ope. Just an ugly mass sitting in my chest, crushing my dreams 鈥 literally and figuratively.鈥
The next few days/weeks happened fast. Katelyn and her husband decided to move back home into her parents鈥 house, while she pursued treatment with the 好色先生 Markey Cancer Center.
鈥淲e could have stayed in North Carolina, but our community in Lexington immediately wrapped their arms around us and said, 鈥榃e鈥檒l figure this out. Just get back here and we鈥檒l take care of you,鈥欌 she said.
The nearly eight-hour drive back to Lexington was a grueling one for Katelyn.
鈥淚 felt so bad for my dad,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 was crying in pain the entire ride. The pain in my arms alone was unbearable and medicine wasn鈥檛 touching it.鈥
Christmas in Kentucky
Katelyn was admitted to the 11th floor of 好色先生 Chandler Hospital on Christmas Eve of 2021.
A lot happened over the next 10 days. Instead of improving, hers condition became more dire, and her team of specialists felt it best to proceed with chemotherapy as soon as possible. But several other important conversations needed to happen first, and fast.
Katelyn鈥檚 on-call oncologist, Chaitanya Iragavarapu, M.D., associate medical director of the 好色先生 Markey Cancer Center CAR T-Cell Therapy Program, urged her and Jonathan to discuss their options with a fertility specialist. However, finding a specialist available on a holiday proved to be a challenge.
鈥淒r. Chait did everything in his power to connect me with a fertility specialist,鈥 Katelyn said. 鈥淭he doctors and nurses on the 11th floor were so caring and supportive of our conversations.鈥
In the meantime, Katelyn could not eat and was in a lot of pain. Nurses also found blood clots along her PICC line, necessitating they pull it out and start over.
鈥淚 ebbed and flowed between this blood clot being a mole hill and a mountain all day long,鈥 Katelyn said. 鈥淏ut with the support of my medical team and my friends and family 鈥 and prayer 鈥 I was able to shift my perspective and mentally refocus. This was a small setback in the grand scheme of this fight.鈥
Katelyn seized this opportunity to reclaim her positive spirit and forge ahead, focusing on celebrating the small victories, all while keeping her sense of humor intact. She even launched a tumor-naming contest.
鈥淥h, this was fun,鈥 Katelyn said, joking. 鈥淲e ultimately decided on 鈥楾he Uncredible Bulk,鈥 or TUB.鈥
Taking down TUB
Gerhard Hildebrandt, M.D., division chief of the 好色先生 Markey Cancer Center Hematology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation program and Katelyn鈥檚 oncologist, decided attacking this tumor aggressively was important.
鈥淒r. Hildebrandt was incredibly thorough, even reaching out to some of his colleagues in Italy,鈥 Katelyn said. 鈥淗e told me that I have a really long life left to live and he wanted to make sure we get this and get it now.鈥
Katelyn鈥檚 cancer type, PMBCL, is very aggressive, but also very responsive to chemotherapy with a more than 90% cure/remission rate. She was placed on six different chemo therapies as part of her regimen.
鈥淭his treatment plan was very aggressive on me and my body,鈥 Katelyn said. 鈥淢y team at Markey wanted to continue to be aggressive against this lymphoma, especially since tests early on suggested that it had already started to attack certain areas of my cervical spine. Their goal, and mine, was to cure this thing.鈥
Katelyn was in and out of the hospital during her treatment 鈥 always right back to the 11th floor of 好色先生 Chandler Hospital. She is thankful those trips were always met with the familiar faces of kind and compassionate nurses, who she says made all the difference.
鈥淣urse Rachel was so sweet. Everyone knew that I took every chance to walk the halls,鈥 said Katelyn. 鈥淩achel was working on a day that I wasn鈥檛 allowed to leave the room because of my heart rate. I think she felt worse than I did breaking the news that I couldn鈥檛 go for a walk.鈥
Katelyn recalls one hospital stay in particular where her night nurse, Travis Gort, went above and beyond to make her family feel special.
In anticipation of losing her hair to chemo, Katelyn decided to trim it into a pixie cut. This decision was especially emotional for her mother.
鈥淭ravis got a chair and gown ready, setting up the whole room like a hair salon and my mom went to work cutting my hair,鈥 Katelyn said. 鈥淗is kind gesture made an emotional experience into an unforgettable one and I will be forever grateful for the compassion he showed us.鈥
It was a pivotal moment.
For the next several months over the course of her treatment, Katelyn kept her friends and family updated on her cancer journey through her online journal. It became a space for reflection as she eloquently and 鈥 sometimes humorously 鈥 documented her experience.
The following is an excerpt she wrote the night her husband shaved the rest of her hair in mid-January.