Patty Leavenworth met and married her husband, Rick, shortly after graduating from nursing school. They built their home in West Lebanon, a small town in eastern New York where they raised their two children. Patty worked as a nurse in several different specialties before taking a job as a school nurse where she would work for 24 years before retiring. In 2021, Patty faced her own health challenges while supporting her husband who was battling a difficult diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer.
When Patty Leavenworth felt a painless lump in her thigh during March 2021, she wasn’t too worried but brought it up at one of her next doctors appointments. Her doctor quickly referred her to Dr. DiCaprio who was concerned about a possible sarcoma. She had an MRI and then had a visit with Dr. DiCaprio during which he performed an in-office biopsy. Unfortunately, the biopsy results showed an undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. She was recommended radiation followed by surgery which she started shortly after her diagnosis. All while dealing with this challenging diagnosis and treatment, Patty’s husband of 55 years was going through cancer himself and passed away in June 2021. This made her treatment even more difficult, but she leaned on her children, friends, and Dr. DiCaprio’s supportive treatment team for support. She recovered from surgery fairly quickly and did not lose much function in her ability to walk and maintain her level of activity before her diagnosis.
Her initial surgery went well, and she had clear chest and leg imaging for a year after surgery. Unfortunately, at her 1-year leg MRI, a new lump was found. She was quickly taken to surgery given the great likelihood of a sarcoma recurrence. This surgery was complicated by a post-op DVT and several months of fluid accumulation and drainage from her leg. At her surveillance follow-up in March 2023, an area concerning for sarcoma was seen on her chest X-ray. She was brought to surgery with Dr. Fabian in May 2023 to remove this area of her lung. She recalls that day of lung surgery and how caring and supportive her sarcoma team was. Even though she was being cared for by the thoracic surgery team, Dr. DiCaprio and Brad his PA visited Patty post operatively to offer comfort and reassurance. Despite all the challenges and curveballs, she has faced during her sarcoma journey, Patty has preserved and remained motivated to recover.
Patty has not let her diagnosis slow her down and she is actively working in the community to increase advocacy and awareness for sarcoma. She recently spoke at a sarcoma patient and physician panel at Albany Medical Center, aiming to teach medical students and residents about sarcoma as well as the patient experience of going through a cancer diagnosis. She has also started a monthly Sarcoma Strong patient support group at the Hope Club in Latham, NY, aiming to provide a comfortable space for patients and families to build community with others who have been touched by sarcoma. She continues to approach each day with a positive attitude and take things “one day at a time”.
By Claire King, Albany Medical Student, Class of 2027