Couple leans on Beacon’s compassionate care team during back-to-back cancer battles

What started as a small skin irritation became the start of a journey that would turn Dianna and Robert Garrard’s lives upside down.

Dianna first became concerned when an irritated spot on the back of her head wouldn’t go away. “It almost felt like a heat bump or a pimple,” she said. Her primary care physician referred her to a dermatologist, who did a biopsy during her first visit.

When the biopsy came back, Dianna learned she had stage 3 melanoma.

During surgery to remove the cancerous cells, the team discovered the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes in her neck, so those they were also removed.

The surgery was successful, but it left her with some numbness, including in her right arm. “I didn’t have the mobility or the rotation I would normally have,” she said, adding that she couldn’t return to her job loading trucks until she had regained strength and range of motion.

A frightening turn

Dianna started immunotherapy after her surgery and had received her first few treatments when something odd happened. While out shopping with Robert, Dianna felt him push against her shoulder. She asked him if he was alright.

He replied that he was just tired, and they went home. But a few days later, he had trouble parking their trailer. Then, as he got out of the car, he collapsed in the yard. Dianna rushed him to Elkhart General Hospital.

Because he was experiencing dizziness and a headache, the emergency department team immediately did a computed tomography (CT) scan.

It showed a tumor in Robert’s brain. Further imaging also revealed a mass in his chest and an abnormality in his bones.

It was now just before Christmas.

Adamant about going home for the holiday, Robert left the hospital, then returned on December 30, his birthday, for further evaluations and a lung biopsy. The news was devastating: Robert had stage 4 lung cancer that was spreading to his brain and bones.

The oncology team was ready to start Robert’s chemotherapy, but because it would affect his healing from brain surgery, they decided to address the brain tumor first.

For Dianna and Robert, the challenges were just beginning.

Navigating crisis together

Two cancer diagnoses meant navigating an overwhelming new reality.

“It was overwhelming to try to comprehend that I’ve got to go through cancer treatments. And four months after my surgery, we found out Robert’s got to go through it,” Dianna said.

She had only returned to work for one month when Robert collapsed, and she went back on medical leave to care for him. She remembers one three-week period when, between the two of them, there was a medical appointment every single day.

Robert had lost his health insurance when his company changed ownership, but Beacon’s oncology navigators and social worker helped the couple secure assistance. “The navigators at Elkhart are the most amazing people ever,” Dianna said.

To shrink Robert’s tumor as much as possible before surgery, the care team gave him three radiation treatments.

First, he received stereotactic radiation therapy. Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Aslam, hematology oncology, Beacon Medical Group Oncology Elkhart, explained that this is a non-invasive, highly focused type of radiation therapy that targets cancerous tissues while sparing nearby healthy tissue.

This therapy was followed by craniotomy, a procedure in which part of the skull is removed to allow access to the brain. Dr. Wei Huff, neurosurgeon at Beacon Medical Group North Central Neurosurgery South Bend, performed the procedure.

“There’s always worry, there’s always a risk. She made him feel so much more comfortable,” Dianna said.

After undergoing surgery, Robert spent several nights in Elkhart General Hospital’s intensive care unit to ensure he was healing well.

“After recovery from the stereotactic radiation therapy and brain surgery, he began chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” Dr. Aslam said. Robert’s chemotherapy took place in Elkhart’s General Ambulatory Infusion Center.

“We couldn’t ask for a better doctor. All the girls at the infusion center, you couldn’t ask for better people,” Dianna said. “They’re very compassionate and totally understand what you’re going through.”

It was the infusion center team that notified Dr. Aslam about some strange pains Robert mentioned during one of his visits. Dr. Aslam sent him straight to the emergency room, where the team discovered that he had developed blood clots in his lung and leg.

Once again, Robert fought back.

Moving forward with hope

Robert will continue on chemotherapy, immunotherapy and a bone-strengthening treatment, but he is doing well. All signs of cancer in his brain are gone and only a tiny, shrinking spot remains in his lungs.

Reflecting on their journey so far, Dianna emphasizes how grateful they are.

“No matter what time of day or night, Beacon has a care team you can call, and somebody will get back to you. If they didn’t have an answer, they’d find someone who did,” Dianna said. “We were very comforted by how much the care team at Elkhart was with us. We couldn’t ask for a more caring, attentive, wonderful group of people.”