Enzaime Health Stories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM3wSfXpemI Spencer's Story Spencer Glendon has lived with progressively dire medical circumstances for most of his adult life. As a young man, he had suffered from ulcerative colitis (UC). He was later diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) – a rare autoimmune disease caused by progressive inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts of the liver. The buildup of scar tissue makes the ducts narrower and stiffer, impeding the flow of bile and eventually spreading throughout the liver and causing cirrhosis and liver failure. The disease is progressive and there is no known way to stop or slow its degenerative process. The only definitive treatment is liver transplantation. Spencer was told that he might not notice many problems from the disease for several years, but that at some point in the future (anywhere between 5 and 15 years), he would start to have more serious problems as the general functioning of his liver started to be compromi...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw4As-wXepk “I think Lahey is amazing. I can honestly say that this is the best possible outcome I could have imagined. I can be nothing but thankful for Lahey Clinic. I’m extremely grateful; I had a great result.” January 26, 2011, was just another ordinary day for Kim Richard-O’Brien of Arlington, Mass. She woke up and began getting herself and her two young daughters ready for the day. Strangely, while brushing her teeth, Kim noticed that she was struggling to remove the toothpaste cap with her left hand. The next thing she knew, she was on the floor. Though unsure of what was happening, Kim remained calm as her two and a half year-old daughter stood over her, repeating her request for pancakes for breakfast. Because she works for a biotech company that manufactures drugs to treat multiple sclerosis, Kim immediately thought she had MS or was dehydrated as a result of not eating well the night before. She was struggling to talk a...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISBJSjaME54 Normally I would never be so vocal about this because, let’s be honest, the topic of incontinence is embarrassing. However, after living with incontinence for 20 years I feel compelled to tell my story to help other women who are living in silence.” Becky lived in silence for much of her life. She remembers being a 17-year-old cheerleader and dealing with urinary incontinence (UI). Urinary incontinence, the loss of voluntary bladder control which leads to urine leakage, can be temporary or chronic. In Becky’s case, it was chronic and she suffered with the issue and the embarrassment for years. After giving birth to her daughter, Becky’s UI became quite a bit worse. She could no longer exercise, dance, or even play with her little girl without having to excuse herself to run to the bathroom. Eventually, Becky decided enough was enough. She decided to get herself some help. Becky began her research the way many people do:...

Lahey Hospital & Medical Center is known for its “team approach” and “coordinated care." However, sometimes people wonder what that really means. Lahey patient George Busch, MD, of Bedford, Mass., is a great example of how a team approach often results in extraordinary outcomes and a superb patient experience. Dr. Busch had been healthy all his life, but, in 2008, that all changed dramatically. It started with a sore throat and hoarseness in his voice that he couldn’t shake. Dr. Busch eventually visited Lahey Hospital & Medical Center’s Emergency Department in Burlington to find out what was going on. The ER team referred him to an otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) specialist who suspected thyroid cancer. Dr. Busch was then referred to a thyroid surgeon who confirmed the diagnosis and quickly removed the tumor. About a year later, a new mass was discovered on Dr. Busch’s lung during his routine check-up. It was then that he was referred to...

As vice president of regulatory affairs for a biotechnology company, Judy Newberne was at a World Health Organization meeting in Geneva five years ago to discuss a vaccine for a bioterrorism agent when she first felt terribly ill. She thought her cough and hoarseness were signs of a respiratory infection, but after returning home, when these symptoms persisted, her dad, a cancer pathologist, insisted she seek medical help. When a workup at a Boston hospital initially showed several negative diagnostic findings, Newberne felt assured that she was not seriously ill. But subsequent testing proved otherwise. A final diagnosis was made. The 52-year-old who had smoked socially in college, and always enjoyed good health, had non-small cell adenocarcinoma. Judy NewberneSurgery was indicated to remove what was thought to be a tumor, but the procedure was aborted when doctors discovered her lung was “stacked with nodules.” Later at a follow up appointment at the same hospital, she wai...

n 2014, Marguerite Smith learned that she had about a 70% risk of developing an aggressive type of stomach cancer called hereditary diffuse gastric cancer due to a mutation in the CHD1 gene. With her doctor, Marguerite made a crucial decision to have her entire stomach removed — called a total gastrectomy — to eliminate that risk. Today, like many others who undergo this surgery, Marguerite has no sign of cancer in her body and has adjusted well to life without a stomach. For Marguerite, the first inkling that she might be at risk came in 2013, when her younger brother was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer at the age of 30. His doctors suspected it might have a hereditary cause, so MSK’s Clinical Genetics Service tested him for the CDH1 mutation. Their suspicions were confirmed — he was positive for the mutation — and Marguerite, who had just turned 40, was tested soon after. She, too, tested positive. A biopsy done at MSK showed she was already positi...

Ted retired from teaching college English in 1998. Since retirement, when he began to make serious daily efforts, he has found that the exploratory work of writing provides clarification of feelings and a sense of consolation through connecting one with the sufferings and joys of others. During his treatment for cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, he was involuntarily looking for a reciprocal recognition in a physician, and by confronting his internal search was able to create a vision of how this might happen and how it might help heal the spirit. Except in the face of another. It’s time. I feel the cold moon-loneliness of a sailor peering through spray far out from shore. The doctor now must speak the unspeakable words and give me a clear sustaining call over the rocking heart of things. He stands en face. How odd that he looks a bit like me. But he’s afraid of my face. His blank eyes skitter beneath my chin, caught in a thought-nystagmus looping on itself, so that I canno...