In the Spotlight

Standing Her Ground Mother Fights Cancer at Home with Agency’s Help, specialized Services

by Nicole Fedeli-Turiano

Leslie Parson is living strong. For nearly half her life, she has conquered ensuing medical challenges with stamina, optimism, and a strong faith much like LIVESTRONG© Founder and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong.

A high-spirited woman, Leslie, 39, has battled Crohn’s disease, endured several miscarriages, and undergone surgeries on both her large and small intestines. Just two years ago, Leslie finished radiation treatment for a cancer affecting her reproductive system. “It’s been quite a journey, but the nurses from Home Nursing Agency have been my companions along the way,” said Leslie, seated comfortably as Agency nurse, Megan Husick, checks her vital signs. Last June, Leslie encountered another road block when she was hospitalized for severe abdominal pain. Tests confirmed a diagnosis that was perplexing and mindnumbing to Leslie, her doctors, husband, Jody, and their eight-year-old son, Rylan. Leslie had colon cancer. She’s been in treatment since that time. From her tidy, Shade Gap home not far from the Fort Littleton exit along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Leslie and her friend have been making the two-hour drive to Lancaster Cancer Center at least twice a month for Leslie’s three-to-four hour chemotherapy treatments. This is only part of her regimen. The remaining occurs at home where Home Nursing Agency nurses, Megan and her nursing colleague, Lisa Keebaugh, are often greeted at the door by Rylan, or Max and Shye, the family’s chocolate and yellow Labradors. Additionally, Leslie receives 46-hours of intravenous (IV) chemotherapy on a bi-weekly basis – plus IV hydration therapy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Specially-trained and certified to administer these procedures, Megan, or Lisa, will typically arrive late Friday afternoon to start the IV chemo treatment via an intravascular access device (IVAD), and return on Sunday to disconnect. “I am so grateful to be at home. Without the Agency’s services, I would have to check in as an outpatient at a hospital on a weekly basis,” said Leslie, who lives almost 45-minutes from the nearest hospital. “Being home allows me to be actively involved in caring for Rylan and Jody, and alleviates a lot of anxiety so I am really able to focus on getting better. That suits me best,” she added. In addition to the Agency’s staff, Leslie knows her oncologist, Tracy DeGreen, D.O. M.A., of Lancaster Cancer Center, is extremely supportive of her efforts to remain at home. Leslie said Dr. DeGreen suggested homecare after a monthlong hospitalization last summer led to excessive fluid retention, the reliance on a wheel chair, and a deep yearning for her family. Within a week of returning home, Dr. DeGreen and the Agency’s healthcare team were stunned with how Leslie’s new surroundings, along with support from family and friends, had impacted her progress and spawned a renewed independence. “Leslie became a different person. Her edema subsided and she regained a quality of life that I didn’t think was possible when I first met her,” said DeGreen. “I dropped nearly 80 pounds of fluid and retired the wheelchair,” revealed Leslie, with a brimming smile. “My mobility improved and I started losing that extra fluid, which had a huge impact on how I felt and what I was able to accomplish.” “I go day-by-day, and my ultimate goal is for a simpler, less regimented life. Home Nursing Agency has certainly given me a head start,” said Leslie. “I may have cancer, but it doesn’t have me. This disease may have stifled my mobility and daily routine — but not my spirit, or will to live strong.”