St. Luke’s Cancer Patient Defies Odds

At 68 years old, Carole Kruslicky feels fantastic. 

Sure, she deals with the aches and pains many people encounter as they age. But given the diagnosis she received 7 1/2 years ago — stage IVB cervical cancer — Kruslicky considers each day a treasure. 

Kruslicky credits Dr. Israel Zighelboim and the rest of the St. Luke’s University Health Network cancer team for giving her the life she has today. Reaching 2026 was far from certain given that stage IVB cervical cancer is considered incurable. The 5-year relative survival rate is 19%, per the National Cancer Institute website. 

“I was just so well taken care of,” Kruslicky said. “They were just always, always there. And not only for me. For my daughter too — to explain things, to keep her in the loop. Because it actually is harder [the cancer diagnosis] on the family than on the person.”

“A lot of people don’t realize that, but the family goes through way, way more. Because they don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Kruslicky lived with plenty of uncertainty leading up to and after her cervical cancer diagnosis. She endured pain and bleeding in July 2018 that led her to seek emergency-room treatment. 

ER doctors ordered bloodwork and a CT scan. They discovered a tumor that required the expertise of a gynecology oncologist.

Kruslickywas taken by ambulance to St. Luke’s campus in Bethlehem, where she met Dr. Zighelboim. After a biopsy confirmed Kruslicky’s tumor was cancerous, Kruslicky asked Dr. Zighelboim how much time she had left to live. 

“He said, ‘Well, Carole. I’m going to be honest with you,’” she recalled. “‘Let’s try a couple rounds of chemotherapy. We’ll see how your body reacts, and then we’ll talk further.’”

Kruslicky never needed to discuss her life expectancy again despite it being what she called “the elephant in the room.” She had a port installed for chemotherapy and began treatment within 2 weeks. After 3 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, her tumor began to shrink.

“Carole’s case exemplifies the positive results that are possible through St. Luke’s sophisticated cancer care,” Dr. Zighelboim said.“We are proud to be able to offer a range ofinnovative cancer treatments that were hard to imagine not that long ago. But beyond our access to innovative treatments, what sets us apart is our team’s approach to patient care. We treat each patient as we treat our own family.”

Kruslicky had 6 rounds of what she termed hard chemotherapy and another 80 rounds of maintenance over a 5-year period. These days she has 6-month checkups with Dr. Zighelboim.

Kruslicky is thrilled with how far she has come since her initial diagnosis. If she ever has a question, she knows where to turn. 

“To this day, it’s just such a positive and reaffirming office,” Kruslicky said. “They just all work together so well in that office, and you know you’re just always taken care of.

“[Dr. Zighelboim], he’s on speed dial if I ever need anything,” she added. “He’s my first phone call.”