Jennifer Duch of Gurnee Celebrates Life at Cancer Treatment Centers of America

DATE RELEASED: 6/6/08

Zion, Illinois – June 6, 2008 – Jennifer Duch of Gurnee is celebrating five years as a breast cancer survivor at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) at Midwestern Regional Medical Center in suburban Chicago.  Duch was joined by doctors and the clinical support team in a tree-planting ceremony in her honor.  
Duch was diagnosed with stage II Breast Cancer at the young age of 29. With a history of cancer in her family, including her grandmother, mother and two aunts, Duch knew she had to control it. She had a lot life to live. She explored all options and got a lot of opinions before deciding how she would approach treatment.  She had heard of CTCA through a motivational speaker, Vicki Girard, who spoke at the Cancer Resource Center in Gurnee. She attended the speech with her mother and childhood hero, who had just recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, a mere five years before Duch was diagnosed. Both Duch and her mother are survivors of the disease.
During her treatment, Duch received a line of treatment that had been approved in 2002, a year before Duch was diagnosed. She had dose dense chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Duch took full advantage of the complementary therapies available to her at CTCA. She would get massages, engage in physical therapy and utilize the naturopathic support offered at CTCA to help ease the pain she was experiencing as a side effect to her treatment. Although she suffered side effects, Duch said that the staff offered her a beam of hope during treatment.
“Their compassion cannot be found anywhere else. The nurses, doctors and volunteers stand by you, support you, and make you feel like family,” said Duch.
Duch found more compassion a year after finishing treatment, when she met her husband of, now, two years. All of her life, Duch had always had long hair, but after treatment she had lost all of her hair. After sharing a first date that lasted almost twelve hours, he told her, “I will be with you to watch your hair grow long.”
Now, Duch has been married for two years, and is celebrating her fifth year as a cancer survivor. Of being a celebrant this year, Duch says, “It brings more compassion to your life. You know what it feels like to suffer, and it gives you the ability to have empathy.” And to others who may be facing a cancer diagnosis, Duch offers this advice: “have faith. Have hope because I have seen miracles happen. Just because you are diagnosed, doesn’t mean you are dying.”
This year 105 CTCA patients are celebrating their five year triumph over cancer at CTCA at Midwestern Regional Medical Center. “At Cancer Treatment Centers of America, we empower our patients and help them take control of their cancer,” said Anne Meisner, president and CEO of CTCA at Midwestern Regional Medical Center. “Our team provides state of the art treatment protocols with fully integrated complementary therapies. We are committed to treating the whole-person and every patient is treated as though they were a member of our own family. We are so proud of our celebrants and honored to acknowledge and celebrate their journey and their continued success,” she added.