Patient Story

Kate Titus

"The palliative doctors and team were amazing. They make you comfortable, and they also give you hope."

Kate with her beloved dog and companion.

After completing four months of grueling radiation and chemotherapy, Kate Titus was told her non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma was in remission, and she thought the worst was over.  In fact, the worst was yet to come. Her immune system weakened by the cancer treatment, Kate developed a serious infection that caused abscesses in every major joint in her body.  Because of the excruciating pain, Kate, who was 22 years old and taking a break from college, was moved to the hospital's palliative care unit. "I was a little freaked out because I thought that's where you went when you were at the end of your life," she said, "But I didn't care because I was in so much pain."  

Kate soon learned that palliative care was not about the end of her life, but rather about helping her have a future.

"Within a week, I knew I was in the right place.  My pain was finally under control, and it gives you that first sign of hope."

Kate and her family at Thanksgiving.

Dr. Susan LeGrand, a palliative doctor at the Cleveland Clinic palliative unit, took over her case. "Thank God," said Kate. "She is like the captain of my ship.  There are a whole host of doctors, and they all communicate and know what's going on."

Kate spent 270 days on the palliative care floor, and endured 34 surgeries and infusions of powerful antibiotics, which finally rid her of the infection and abscesses.  She spent holiday after holiday - as well as her 24^th birthday - with the palliative care team. Her supportive family visited her often, but still she faced boredom, depression and fear.

Kate on her first day out of bed.

"The palliative doctors and team were amazing," said Kate. "They became my extended family, my emotional support. I'm not a real religious person, but there was a minister there and she would come to visit me almost every day and that was a very, very strong support for me.  You name it, they've got it. Someone to sit and read a book to you. Music therapy, so you can talk about and listen to music, which is an escape from all of the medical stuff."

The palliative care team taught her to do guided imagery a "mind over matter" technique to direct her thoughts and relieve pain, which helped her recover from her surgeries. "When I did the imagery, I would ‘go' to the Outer Banks in North Carolina, where I imagined myself sitting on a deck, feeling the breeze, hearing the pelicans." Two months after Kate was released from the hospital, her family surprised her with a vacation to the Outer Banks.

Now home, cancer-free for a year and a half, and getting stronger every day, Kate still sees Dr. LeGrand, who works with Kate's other doctors to be sure her recovery continues. Dr. LeGrand is working with Kate's gynecologist to try to ensure that if she chooses to, Kate can someday have a baby.

"Palliative care is about comfort in so many ways - emotionally, spiritually, physically, getting you through a rough patch in life," says Kate. "They make you comfortable, and they also give you hope."