Enzaime Health Stories

In September 2015, Mike Douglas checked into a hospital near his Virginia home for what he thought was going to be routine hernia surgery. As things turned out, the doctor performing the procedure instead did a biopsy when he discovered something unusual inside the abdomen of the then 54-year-old software engineer, husband and father of two. After an agonizing week of waiting for results, Mike got a call from his doctor with bad news. The tests indicated he had a very rare and potentially deadly tumorous condition in and around his appendix. Called pseudomyxoma peritonei or PMP, the condition is not curable, but it is treatable, Mike recalls the doctor telling him. “It was quite a surprise,” he says of the diagnosis. Treating Appendix Cancer A series of referrals from local doctors brought Mike to The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he met with an experienced surgical oncologist specializing in the treatment of appendix cancer. Of the six subtypes of appendix cancer, PMP ...

November 4 th  was Susan’s wedding anniversary, and she and her husband Tim were in the car on their way to The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Just two weeks earlier, Susan had been diagnosed with a  chordoma , a tumor that was growing at the base of her spine. “As an active, lifelong health, nutrition and fitness practitioner who has never been hospitalized, I was in shock.” says Susan. “For the first time in my life, my world suddenly felt like it had spun out of control.” On the way to Baltimore, Tim asked one more time: “Do you want to keep going, or do you want to just go to the airport and fly someplace wonderful?” Susan, thinking of future trips and adventures she wanted to share with him, said, “Keep going.” Chordoma: A Rare Diagnosis Chordoma is a rare tumor. In Susan’s case, the doctors had caught it early. But she says the diagnosis sent her reeling. Her general practitioner recommended a specialist in surgery for...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=sZ1ZmGQ2irI At age 9, Jaliyah was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma. After swelling from an ankle sprain did not subside, a visit to Jaliyah’s primary care physician revealed that her ankle pain was caused by a tumor. When local specialists recommended amputation, Jaliyah’s mother, Joyce, searched for a second opinion to save her daughter’s leg. Joyce found Carol Morris, M.D., M.S., chief of orthopaedic oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, who offered an alternative. Morris and her team performed a complex limb-sparing surgery, allowing Jaliyah to keep her leg. Learn more about Jaliyah’s story and the care team that gave her the chance to continue dancing. Original Published Link Osteosarcoma: Jaliyah's Story #CarolMorrisM.D, #ContinueDancing #Cancer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=RkrR0opalwQ   Original Published Link Parotid Salivary Gland Tumor: Jubenal's Story #Others

After leaving her doctor’s office in Taiwan, Esther Wong knew she needed a second opinion. At a routine physical in September, Esther’s doctor noticed something concerning under her tongue and sent her to see a specialist. The otolaryngologist she saw attempted a biopsy but had difficulty gaining access to the affected area. She was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer, and her doctor recommended surgery. Esther was told to expect a very invasive procedure that would leave scars on her face. She might even need to have some of her teeth removed for the surgeon to access the tumor. The last straw for Esther was the news that the surgery could damage her voice box and leave her without the ability to speak. This was unacceptable to the middle school teacher at Taipei American School, who wasn’t willing to risk ending her teaching career, her true passion. Traveling to Johns Hopkins Knowing Esther spent 15 years living in Maryland, the principal of her school asked why sh...

I was always the 'tough as nails, nothing can hurt me', kind of guy,” Steve recalls. But stress at work had taken its toll and his weight ballooned from what he calls his “fighting and playing weight.” Steve often didn’t feel well. In November of 2007 he developed a sore throat. “I didn’t pay much attention to it because it seemed like I always caught a cold or lost my voice around that time of year,” the life-long northern Virginia resident says. A week later, he not only experienced a sore throat but felt like something like a piece of food was stuck in his throat. After several trips to his primary care physician, he was referred to an otolaryngologist (also known as an ENT). Using a scope (a small thin camera) to see down his throat, they discovered a golf ball-sized tumor at the base of his tongue. Biopsy results a week later confirmed the worst — Steve had cancer. Stifling Cancer’s Stronghold It took a while for that to sink in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=_a33x5XgznI After a fall, 9-year-old Danica was left with metal rods, which had been implanted years before to stabilize her spine and had broken in the accident, floating dangerously close to her brain stem. Danica and her family traveled from Ohio to Johns Hopkins to receive life-altering, complex reconstruction surgery from Neurosurgical Spine Center Director  Nicholas Theodore, M.D.  Danica is now able to ride a bike for the first time ever. The first sign of something wrong with Danica Snyder’s spine came at age 13 months, when she cried out in pain when turning her head a certain way during diaper changes. Then, while posing for a family portrait at 18 months old, Danica’s head kept falling to one side. Danica and her mother share a special moment. “Everyone said she had torticollis,” says Danica’s mother, Monica Kaye Snyder. Torticollis, or “twisted neck” in Latin, which can oc...