Anusha’s Story

ANUSHA

My name is Anusha. I’m a data scientist at a financial services firm in New York City.  I’m also a mother of a four-year old and a wife and a survivor. My story begins two years ago when I found a lump on my neck. My physician suggested for me to go for an MRI. The MRI reports came out that I have Stage One Sarcoma I had just graduated from my Grad School and we just had a baby. I felt like my career and our life was just starting. A diagnosis like this did not just hit a pause button it was a screeching halt. We reached out to a local hospital here in New York City.  The initial treatment plan was for me to go through chemotherapy.  We thought we would like to go for a second opinion.

ANUSHA

We wanted to reach out to MSK because MSK has the cutting-edge solutions to problems and we weren’t sure how to get there.

MARCY MILLER

Fortunately, Anusha had easy access the exceptional care at Memorial Sloan Kettering through an employee benefit called MSK Direct. By partnering with employers and unions, MSK direct takes a comprehensive approach to helping reduce the total burden of cancer.

ANUSHA

We had an MSK Direct program representative at work. It was a random chance that I saw them at the cafeteria. I reached out to them and I asked them, what does the MSK Direct program offer and what does it mean?

SARAH HARVEY

I explained to Anusha that through MSK Direct, she would have access to a dedicated Care Advisor who would guide her through the process, help get all of her medical records in place and set her up with the most appropriate doctor, which was Dr. Singh, a specialist in head and neck cancers.

DR. SINGH

When I first met with Anusha, things just didn’t fit. The one rule that I have is I trust my hands more than I trust a test or a scan or anything. The diagnosis that was being given didn’t fit with what I was feeling with my fingers. And that always is a bit of an alarm bell. I knew we had to take a step back and reassess exactly what was going on, before committing to any diagnosis, cancer or otherwise. One of the critical pieces of the assessment was to re-review the radiology which we did with our highly experienced radiology group and we put it together with the biopsy results, it became quite evident that this was not a cancerous growth, that this was actually a benign tumor. At that point, even though it’s not cancer, we had to still treat her. Her tumor was growing quickly and left untreated it was going to cause her harm. We required collaborative involvement of our neurosurgeons. Having worked with Mark Bilsky before from our neurosurgery service, I knew he was going to be the right guy to safely remove this disease

ANUSHA

Getting prepared for the surgery was the most difficult thing that I ever did in my life.

BILSKY

The really critical and difficult part of the surgery was next to the spine, the nerve roots and the arteries that go into the brain.  Ultimately the tumor was taken out successfully and she has normal neurologic function and is really doing remarkably well.

SINGH

Anusha now is back to a full-time job.  She’s raising her daughter.  She’s living a normal life. It’s exactly what you want for every patient you treat. 

ANUSHA

I’m living my life to the maximum.  I’m completely back to work. In fact, I’m actually roaring at work now and people tend to think, how is she doing it?  This person - does she have superpowers?   Yes - the MSK has given me superpowers to come back to work and do things more effectively. 

MARCY MILLER

Anusha’s story really highlights the value of MSK Direct. 

BILKSY

MSK Direct is a great example of a program that allows people to take advantage of this incredible cancer institution that is in our community.  In Anusha’s case, it actually completely changed her management, her diagnosis, and ultimately her life.

ANUSHA

I’m incredibly lucky and very thankful to MSK Direct. The path that they put me at and the kind of guidance they gave me, helped me make the right decision. I owe this second chance to MSK Direct.