“People usually associate lung cancer with smokers, but in my lifetime, I have never smoked.”
In July 2020, Eunice Muasya was at her routine primary care appointment when her primary care physician, Dr. Amer El-Haddad from Lynn Community Health Center wanted to check for tuberculosis in her chest. While the x-ray showed no tuberculosis, he found something else: lung cancer.
"He called me and brought the news to me," she said. "I thought 'This can't be true.' I had no symptoms and could breathe fine."
Dr. El-Haddad referred Eunice directly to BMC, where Dr. Kei Suzuki and Dr. Umit Tapan quickly began the process of removing cancer from Eunice's lungs. This process involved a CT and PET scan, as well as numerous biopsies.
“It was not about him being the doctor to do the surgery, it was about him being human to me."
On October 27, 2020, Eunice had her surgery to remove the cancerous mass from her lungs.
"Dr. Suzuki was epic. I couldn't help but feel warmth and compassion from him," she said. "It was not about him being the doctor to do the surgery, it was about him being human to me. He introduced me to the whole team before surgery and told me what each of them would do. I felt so safe in the operating room with that team."
And the surgery was a success. "It was a big experience for me," she said. "I give a lot of credit to my nurse, Nancy. She was so kind and went through it with me before the procedure. She was wonderful."
Cancer-free, Eunice stayed at BMC for about a week after her surgery to recover. "It was a wonderful experience for me. I always say to my family and friends, 'It was Boston Medical Center that saved my life.'"